Written by Nisheet: With family in town for the holidays on their first ever visit to Florida, we decided what better way to discover the sunshine state than taking a 6 day whirlwind road trip thru the state. With a car rental from Payless (avoid renting from them at all costs) and a full tank of cheap $1.90 gas, we hit the road in search of the best that Florida has to offer. With Magic Kingdom checked off the list a few days earlier (read all about it here), we decided to keep driving toward the east coast and work our way down south before heading back home along the west coast. First up was Kennedy Space Center.
Day 1: Kennedy Space Center
Remember all those space shuttle launches that you saw on TV growing up? Well…all those launches took-off from the Kennedy Space Center. Some might think the Kennedy Space Center has lost some of its excitement ever since the space shuttle program ended in 2010 (bonus: see our trip to see the last shuttle launch), but they are wrong. The visit is still a must to connect with your inner geek and admire what engineering marvels humans are capable of building. Plus, the missions that NASA is currently working on are even more amazing than the space shuttle!
On the day we went, there was a special event going on…Buzz Aldrin was signing his new book! To say the least, all of us were ecstatic to meet the world-famous astronaut that was in the first set of men that set foot on moon. Although it took us 2 hours to finally get to the autograph table, the wait was worth it as Buzz was kind enough to pose for photographs and do some minor chit-chat (minus the face punch). Afterwards, since the book signing was at the brand new Space Shuttle Atlantis building, we quickly made our way to the second floor and saw a cool movie on the space shuttle program. After the movie ended, a huge photo of Atlantis was projected on the screen and then the screen lifted up and BAM! the real space shuttle was right in front of our eyes suspended almost gravity-less in air. We spent a good 45 minutes walking around the shuttle taking pictures and reading everything about it. It was really cool how they chose to make the shuttle look like it was hanging in space with its cargo bay doors open and the Canada Arm extended out.
Next up was the bus tour. For this, we made our way to the bus tour boarding area. After about a 30 minute wait, we boarded a full size bus and our tour bus operator made a short 15 minute trip to the Apollo/Saturn V Center. After getting off the bus, we made our way to the movie room with the actual launch control room that was used to launch the mighty Saturn V rocket into space. The whole presentation simulated what happened on that fateful day in 1969. After the movie ended and the doors opened, right before our eyes was the largest rocket ever made (to date) – the gigantic Saturn V. The 365-foot rocket was used to transport astronauts to the moon and back. Make sure you explore the side-room full of spacesuits and moon rocks. We spent about 2 hours here before boarding the bus back to the visitor complex.
After making our way back, we stood in line at the IMAX theater to watch Journey to Space which featured stunning space footage. Make sure you get here early as the lines were out the door even 30 minutes prior to the show.
It was then time to do some more exploring. We checked out the “Journey To Mars: Explorers Wanted” exhibition next door. Although lot of it was geared towards kids, we all enjoyed playing with the lunar landing simulators and watching life-size models of the 4 Mars rovers that are currently on the planet.
We ended the day on a perfect note by visiting the outdoor rocket garden. The folks at the Kennedy Space Center had another special program that day where they projected 3D NASA and Christmas animations on a giant rocket.
>Even though I had seen the very last space shuttle launch and this was my 3rd trip to the Kennedy Space Center (first with the family), I was amazed just as much by the engineering that was put into building these beautiful machines. As an engineer myself, I loved admiring how intricately the thin pipes and harnesses were wrapped around the rocket engines and just how much of a nightmare it must have been to troubleshoot these things. Even if you’re not into science or engineering, I will guarantee that you’ll be struck with awe and amazement when you come face-to-face with the behemoth Saturn V rocket that took man to the moon.
With all the great things we saw at the Kennedy Space Center, there were still a few things that I wish NASA was still doing. Before the space shuttle program ended, the bus tour used to make a second stop at the observation deck overlooking launch pad 39B which was where most of the space shuttles took-off. This was a true disappointment, however, as I learned that you must pay an additional $25 on top of the $50 admission fee to take a different bus to the observation deck.
Pro-tip: Look for coupons from local fast food restaurants. At the time of this visit, we were able to save $5 per admission by using an offer from chick-fil-a.
