We completed our Florida holiday really strong. We visited the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on famous Cape Canaveral, where a lot of rockets launch from. For me, this is probably the best attraction in Florida and we recommend this place to everyone, no matter how much you are interested in outer space. If not elready interested, then making the visit will spark that interest!

Just a few months before the planned trip, I started checking on the Space Center website when the rocket launches are planned. Information about launches is unfortunately given quite late, i.e. maybe 1-2 months in advance, so planning a journey like we do, it would be difficult to change plans, but we took this situation into account. A few days before our trip, information about the planned launch of the Artemis I, which is the first test of the integrated system of deep space exploration. It is a combination of an Orion spacecraft, SLS rocket and an exploration ground system. For a moment there was a chance that this launch would take place exactly during our visit, but eventually it was on November 16th, i.e. a few days after our return home. But literally for 3 days before our trip, we got to know that SpaceX will just have a launch of the rocket! Of course it’s not the same, but it’s still a rocket launch! Unfortunately, for this reason, bus trips to Apollo / Saturn V Center were canceled that day (and this is supposedly one of the best attractions in the Kennedy Space Center), but you know, you can’t have it all 🙂

On the KSC website you can find information that it is best to spend 2 days there. There are also proposed routes/points that are worth prioritizing considering how many days you have and at what age your children are. We visited during 1 day and yes, we didn’t see everything, but we think there is no need to spend another day there. Well, unless you are totally into space and you will read in detail every plaque or sign up for astronaut training 🙂 And what exactly did we manage to see and experience:

Rocket Garden
This is nothing more than an external rocket exhibition that will no longer fly into space. You can get into the spacecraft capsule and feel what a strange feeling it is to sit at an angle of 90 degrees. 4 times a day guided tours are organized.

Journey to Mars
This is an exhibition devoted to trips to Mars. You can see there, among others copies of Martian rover (the original ones do not return to the ground) and listen to a short lecture and see a movie about expeditions to Mars. We had to work a little to explain to children, but it was very interesting.

Meet Space Person
A meeting with someone dressed up as an astronaut. The children did not want photos, but Tomasz and I did not miss such an opportunity 🙂

Planet play
It’s really a super fantastic indoor playground. All of course in the subject of space. For Gabriela and Adam it was certainly a WOW experience.

Start SpaceX rocket
The launch of the SpaceX rocket was planned around 11.06 am. So we followed the crowd to the lawn behind the Space Shuttle Atlantis building to see a starting rocket from a distance of about 10 km. Of course, there was a countdown and a large screen, on which we could see the start itself, and after a few seconds the rocket appeared to us above the tree line. From such a distance, you can’t see much, but you can feel the earth shaking, and the whole atmosphere was really cool. For me personally it was a fantastic experience.

Gateway – The Deep Space Exploration Complex
This is a newly opened complex dedicated to deep space exploration. Here you’ll find, among other things, replicas of modern spacecrafts and capsules that have already returned from space. In addition, Gateway has Spaceport KSC, i.e. 4D cinema/flight simulator. We managed to fly 2 trips: Red Planet and Daring Exporers. Tomasz managed to squeeze in one more flight a bit later, but unfortunately I don’t remember which one 🙂
On the ground floor you will also find the Space Bowl Bistro, where it is worth eating lunch if you are fed up with hamburgers 🙂 We were very happy to eat such self-composed bowls. Even the children ate without whining (although they made a mistake choosing Udon noodles instead of rice – these are not their favorite flavors).

Mars Rover Vehicle Navigation
This is the latest vehicle design that should deal with difficult Martian conditions. It is to be able to divide into 2 parts, where one is a standing “laboratory” and the other with a smaller vehicle.

Space Shuttle Atlantis
It is one of the most important attractions of KSC. There we can see a real Atlantis shuttle, which has been in space 33 times during 26 years. However, before we could see the shuttle, we had the opportunity to watch a movie in which we can see a short history of design and construction of shuttle. It is amazing how ideas, which seem totally unreal, become reality.
In addition to the shuttle itself, at the exhibition we can see various modules of the space station and find out how to function in it. Children can go through the corridor between 2 station modules (I warn you that the floor is partly transparent and is high). In addition, we have various simulators, where we can try our motor skills in the shuttle landing or repairing various parts of the spacecraft.
In the same building there is also Shuttle Launch Experience, i.e. a shuttle launch simulator. A really great experience!
Oh, and a replica of the Hubble telescope, which has been in space since 1990, providing us with an incredible amount of information about the universe.

Lego build to launch
This is a temporary exhibition that was created in cooperation with LEGO. As you can guess, most children simply use the opportunity to play with the bricks 🙂

IMAX
A huge 3D cinema. Currently, 2 films are displayed: Asteroid Hunters and Journey to Space. We have seen the first one. For me and Tomasz it was great, but Adam was already bored without understanding anything.

Practical info:
Tickets can be bought at the ticket office or online. However, it is worth looking for tickets sold by various websites, because you can really save a lot. If we wanted to buy tickets directly on the KSC website, for our 4, the price was USD 280. But Tomasz found the klook.com website, through which he bought tickets for USD 227.50, so the difference was really big!
The parking lot is paid $ 10 and it cannot be bypassed.
The whole complex is adapted to the needs of the disabled, so you can enter everywhere with a stroller. There are 2-3 fast-foods on site.