Kennedy Space Center with toddler?

[ForEver2016]

My husband and I are space junkies, and our almost 2 year old seems to be following in our footsteps. He lives spaceships and a highlight of our last Disney road trip was a stop at the spaceship at the Alabama welcome center.

DH and I have been once several years ago, and I remember that the best part was the bus tour to the vehicle assembly building, launch pads and Apollo/Saturn V center, but taking a 2-3 hour bus tour with a crazy toddler has me worried.

My questions are:

1) Would you take a 2 year old kid who loves rockets to KSC?
2) Is there enough in the main visitor complex to entertain? When we were there, the Atlantis exhibit wasn’t finished so there wasn’t a whole lot to see outside of the bus tour.
3) Can you take a separate bus to the Apollo/Saturn V center that doesn’t do the other parts of the bus tour?

 

[writerguyfl]

1) Would you take a 2 year old kid who loves rockets to KSC?

No kids and I didn't do much traveling with my niece when she was of that age. Hopefully, someone with personal experience will be able to answer this question.

2) Is there enough in the main visitor complex to entertain? When we were there, the Atlantis exhibit wasn’t finished so there wasn’t a whole lot to see outside of the bus tour.

The Atlantis building is pretty amazing. The pre-show you see before entering the area where the Shuttle is displayed is Disney quality. There are two elements to the pre-show. The first is a short movie that probably won't appeal to a toddler. The second element is more exciting, as it is film of a Shuttle launch.

Aside from the Atlantis exhibits, there is also an IMAX theatre that is included in the admission price. Also, the Rocket Garden probably will be of interest. And if you need to get some energy expended, there's a children's play area.

New since my last visit is "Legends and Heroes featuring the US Astronaut Hall of Fame". I have no idea if any of that is young child-friendly.

3) Can you take a separate bus to the Apollo/Saturn V center that doesn’t do the other parts of the bus tour?

There isn't a way to skip the first part of the bus tour. There is one stop between the Visitor Center and the Apollo/Saturn V Center. That stop is the Launch Complex (LC) 39 Observation Gantry. You should be able to stay on the bus and just continue on. (Worst case: You have to exit and then re-board the next available bus.)

According to the website, the bus tour is 45 minutes. That's the total time to get from the Visitor Center to the Apollo/Saturn V Center. I don't know if that includes the stop at the LC 39 Observation Gantry. There's not a ton to see there, so my best guess is that it is included in the 45 minutes.

You can take as long (or little) time as necessary at the Apollo/Saturn V Center. The website says the return trip back to the Visitor Center is about 20 minutes.

 

[RabFlmom]

I would go. Local resident and we used to take our sons about once a month(free back then) when they were kids. Of course they cut their eye teeth at rocket launches, too. I think our youngest was 6 weeks old the first time we spent the night in the car to watch the first night launch of the shuttle. There is a lot to see, but there is also room for little guys to run around and play. They have the water play area in the rocket garden where water squirts at them. There is a play ground and even some rocket capsules to climb in for picture ops etc. there too. There are hands on displays that you push buttons etc. that kids liked. Our kids were never bored there. Even in the Apollo center there is lots of free space on the floor to walk around etc. There are turtles and fish in the pond by the memorial and our kids loved seeing those too. Used to be a few gators around in the ditches/canals as you drive in so check out the water on the way in, too. Just do the usual things mom's know to do and you will have fun. Have some snacks, drinks, toys for the little one to play with as you take time to read or listen to something.

 

[smiths02]

Personally, I wouldn't take him because he loves rockets. My 5 year olds who are really into space (we checked out a book on Nebulae from the library, watched Apollo 13, etc), enjoyed it but were ready to move on from exhibit to exhibit like the 5 year olds that they are. They got really nothing out of the bus ride, but they were quiet enough.

Anyhow, my point is I would take him along if it is something you really want to see, you can keep him occupied, but I wouldn't go out of my way to take him.

 

[ForEver2016]

Thank you so much everyone for the responses, super helpful information here!! Really appreciate it! I think we’re going to do it!

 

[TravelingTotMom]

We took our son when he was two about a year and a half ago.

He loved the rocket garden and had fun climbing into the capsules. There is also a nearby playground that we had trouble pulling him away from.

The Atlantis exhibit also had some hands-on things for kids to do. My son wasn't going to sit through the movie, so I asked if we could go around (and we could). My husband got to watch the movie and read through the exhibit while we focused on the interactive elements, including the suspended mock up of the International Space Station, which kids can crawl through. When he ran out of patience, we went outside to get some Dippin Dots while my husband finished up.

He did so-so on the bus tour, and was listening when we explained about the different launch pads, etc., but it was a little more of a challenge. I packed snacks and a water bottle, and the bus was a great time to pull those out.

When you enter the Apollo/Saturn V Center, you go through the Firing Room Theater, which shows the launch consoles and plays audio of the countdown/launch... but then the windows rattle and light up (like the launch is happening right outside). This really freaked my son out, but a lollipop helped afterwards. He then enjoyed seeing the Saturn V rocket and touching the (really, really tiny) moon rock.

So I say go for it, but take lots of snacks and be willing to take turns doing something toddler-friendly while the other parent enjoys some of the exhibits.

The moment that made the trip for us was when he picked out a toy space shuttle in the gift shop at the end of the day. On the way to the exit, he was running around "flying" the space shuttle - a total kid moment made completely awesome by the actual rockets in the background.