UPDATED: June 2022
Today David and I made the mistake of visiting Kennedy Space Center, at Cape Canaveral in Florida. We first went there 20 years ago and loved it. They had a real Saturn V rocket left over from the Apollo moon landing program. The Saturn V remains the largest and most powerful rocket ever built. Seeing it 20 years ago was nothing short of awesome. Seeing the same rocket today was a big mistake.
Is Kennedy Space Center worth it?
Short answer - no! Long answer - read on. I have blogged before about why you shouldn't go back to places and, sitting in the living room of our hotel room now writing this, I can't for the life of me figure out why we didn't take our own advice. Far from re-living a great memory, we spent a day of frustration and disappointment, AND we had the privilege of paying a lot of money for it.
First let me say that today was not Easter or Christmas, nor was it any other national holiday. It wasn't even a weekend. It was Monday, 26 March 2018 - a totally ordinary Monday. It may have been Spring Break but I am not sure.
Tips for visiting Kennedy Space Center and not making the same mistakes we did.
Our first mistake - Don't buy your tickets at the gate! Buy them online before you visit, or better yet; buy them online from Viator and get free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance!
None of the tours below work for you? Find a huge selection of alternatives here.
Note: At the time of writing, Viator offers 24 hour free cancellations on all the tours above but please check when you book. You will find the 'Free cancellation' promise clearly stated in the tour description.
We arrived at the visitor complex about 10.45 a.m. By 11 we had parked our car, walked a few hundred meters to the ticket entrance and come face to face with our first line. (In America they call 'queues' 'lines'. Since we are in the States I'm going to go with the American vernacular rather than the expression we use in Australia.)
Twenty minutes later we made it to the ticket window and handed over what later proved to be the extortionate amount of USD 100 (AUD 138.68 - exchange rate updated as at June 2022) for two tickets. Being over 55 we qualified for seniors' discounts, so if you aren't a baby boomer you can expect to pay a bit more. Twenty minutes in a line to buy tickets may not seem like much time and it wasn't too bad at the time but read on ........
 |
| The Rocket Garden. |
If you buy your tickets before you arrive it costs exactly the same as buying them at the ticket window but you get to skip the line.
If you haven't purchased your tickets on line try one of the self-service machines opposite the ticket windows. The self-service lines didn't look like they were moving much faster than ours but you never know. Of course there is the added complication that if you are anything like us you will ALWAYS pick the slow queue. At least the manned ticket windows had only one line.
Why did we choose the ticket window? We wanted to do a Cape Canaveral Early Space tour and we weren't sure they ran on Mondays. David thought he saw something on the website suggesting they only ran from Wednesday to Sunday. It turned out the tour did run on this particular Monday but all the time slots were full. We should have booked the tour when we first decided to go to the Space Center months ago. It didn't seem a big thing at the time but this turned out to be a major mistake.
With our admission tickets in hand we progressed to the next line - the one where you go through a metal detector (at least I think that is what it was) and get your bag searched. To be fair this only took a few minutes but we were beginning to see a pattern.
 |
| Saturn V Rocket model showing what it was like on the inside. |
Our second mistake - We failed to go straight to the Kennedy Space Center Bus Tour
Once inside the visitor complex we got to relax and enjoy the moment for a few brief minutes during a guided tour of the Rocket Garden. We actually had a good time for a while. The thing we wanted to do most however was see the Race to the Moon exhibit with its Saturn V rocket. We had done our research and knew we had to join a bus tour (included in our general admission ticket) to get to the Apollo/Saturn V Center, so as soon as the rocket garden talk was over we headed straight to the bus tour departure point. It was still before midday and the Kennedy Space Center doesn't close until 7 pm but - hey - why take a chance. This was something we did not want to miss out on.
Have you ever been to Disneyland - or Universal Studios? Have you seen the queueing systems they have - where you wind around and around, up and down, as if in some devil's nightmare of a conga line. Dante's seven levels of hell have nothing on these lines. One look at the bus tour line and the sign which said '75 minute wait from here' and we decided neither our stomachs nor our bladders were up to the challenge - better to get a bite to eat and wait for the line to die down a bit.
 |
| The Stage 1 propulsion system |
Our third mistake - We should have brought our own lunch
I know, I know - I haven't finished telling you about our second mistake yet but our third mistake was a mistake within a mistake and I am trying to bring some calm and order to what was a pretty awful ordeal.
If you cast your mind back for a moment, we had decided to grab some lunch before trying the bus tour line again. The first food outlet we saw only sold hot dogs. David can't bear the sight of a hot dog, let alone the idea of eating one, so that was never going to fly. The second food outlet had a line which looked only slightly shorter than the bus tour line we had just abandoned.
The third outlet didn't look too bad - how wrong can you be! Instead of actual people taking the orders they had computer terminals. There can only be a few people left on the planet unable to manage a computerised ordering system - it has pictures after all - you barely need to be able to read. Yet every single one of those people were in the line in front of us. David estimates it took him 60 seconds to place our order, everyone else took between five and ten minutes. Lunch turned into a 50 minute ordeal - 45 minutes queueing and 5 minutes eating. The food was awful of course, and over-priced, but we expected that.
Just to add a bit of extra fun to the equation I had to abandon David in the line about half way through and find somewhere to sit down. I have a heart condition which is aggravated by stress. Sitting down doesn't really help - it is only marginally better than standing - but at least if I pass out I don't fall so far. Lying down makes a huge difference. It is however embarrassing so I try to avoid lying down in public unless I am literally about to have a stroke. One day my gravestone will be able to say truthfully 'she died of embarrassment'. Anyway the one advantage of the appallingly designed ordering system was that there were plenty of vacant tables to sit at.
As it turned out, there is a cafe in the building housing the Saturn V rocket. We could have had lunch there.
 |
| Stage 3 of the Saturn V on the inside |
Back to our second mistake
Don't abandoned the bus tour queue. It will only get longer. Having spent what felt like the entire morning lining up for admission tickets and then lining up to buy lunch, we rejoined the bus tour line in the faint hope we could see the Saturn V rocket before the Visitor Complex closed for the day. The line was now longer - a lot longer. It was 1 pm. The last bus tour leaves at 4.30 pm and we were beginning to wonder if we would make it. Kind of scary don't you think! The sign still said we had a '75 minute wait' - surely it couldn't be that long. It turned out that it was - 76 minutes to be exact.
Just so you understand - this wasn't 76 minutes of fun, or hanging around having a good time or being entertained or communing with nature or anything like that. This was 76 minutes (one hour and a quarter and a bit) of standing up in the hot sun (with short interludes of shade) shuffling forward occasionally and trying not to get kicked by the three very annoying people in front of us who used this spare space in their lives to have a 76 minute family kick-boxing match. Have I mentioned I have a heart condition? Is it possible to die by queueing?
 |
| A very small part of the bus tour line |
Our fourth mistake - We failed to buy an 'Add-on Enhancement' tour
While we were spending our very annoying 76 minutes lining up for the bus tour we watched small, privileged groups of people sail past us in the express lane straight to their buses - no lining up for them. They had purchased 'add-on enhancements' to their general admission tickets. BUY ONE! It doesn't matter much which as long as it concludes at the Apollo/Saturn V Center because the main thing you get is to SKIP the 76 minute queue. Trust me - it will be worth every cent of the extra USD 20 or so each. Oh, and buy it online as long as you can before you arrive so that you don't get to the ticket window to be told it has sold out and not have any idea how important that extra tour will prove.
 |
| Lunar Module |
Finally we got something right - We sat on the right hand side of the bus
Finally, after our 76 minute excruciating and life threatening wait (have I mentioned I have a heart condition) we boarded the bus and sat on the left hand side (looking forward). I have no idea why. Fortunately I overheard two separate groups of people say the right hand side was the best - and we swapped. That small decision was the only break we got all day. From the right hand side we saw half a dozen alligators in the canals next to the road and all the buildings which the driver pointed out. Don't stress too much though because after 76 minutes lining up the bus tour only took about ten minutes. It was really nothing more than a way to get to the Apollo/Saturn V Center. How can NASA send human beings into space with all the sophisticated logistics that requires and yet be unable to devise a system capable of sending people on a ten minute bus ride without a 76 minute queue.
The Saturn V rocket was great. It took us all day and USD 100 (more if you add in the cost of parking) but it was great. Would I do it again - ABSOLUTELY NOT - NEVER - NADA - NOT ON YOUR LIFE! Am I glad we did it! Kind of - it gave me the inspiration for this fun piece of writing.
I should perhaps add that Kennedy Space Center has quite a bit to see other than the Saturn V rocket but after finally getting to the rocket and spending enough time staring at it to justify the 76 minute line we had neither the time, the energy, nor the patience to join yet another line.
All I can say is if you do decide to go to the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral in Florida - GOOD LUCK!
 |
| The Saturn V rocket. It was difficult to get a full size photo because I couldn't stand back far enough inside the building. |
Have you ever been somewhere on your travels which should have been great but was so badly organised it was a nightmare? Tell me about it in the comments below. I won't be able to help but at least I can commiserate with you.
Pin this post to Pinterest
Pin this post to Pinterest
In a way, I feel bad for saying this was a great read. Most of the experience sounds quite miserable, I know I'd hate waiting like that all day and I don't have a heart condition, which I think you mentioned somewhere. Hopefully people are able to use your remedies when they visit. Great read! #TheWeeklyPostcard
ReplyDeleteHaha - don't feel bad. In the end it was worth it because I enjoyed writing the post so much. Did I mention I have a heart condition - lol!
DeleteIt helps if you plan ahead and do your research..I did and although there were some lines due to the holiday week we enjoyed it and were able to learn about our space history.
DeleteExactly. you can't just show up without planning ahead, then proceed to fuss over inconveniences. most of the problems listed were only due to decisions made by the visitors, having nothing to due with the space center management.
DeleteThe problems were caused by overcrowding. The venue operators want to make as much money as they can by letting in as many people as possible without giving any consideration to what a poor experience they provide on busy days. Once we got to the building housing the Saturn V rocket, it was not at all crowded. The problem was getting there. Putting on more buses would have solved the problem and provided us, and other guests, with a level of experience commensurate with the high price of admission.
DeleteOh wow, those lines are epic! (Is it weird that I say line instead of queue?). I can't believe the entrance fee is so expensive as well. I mean, I paid around $60 to see a huge aquarium in Monterey, California, but I thought that was the ceiling on ticket prices! #TheWeeklyPostcard
ReplyDeleteKennedy Space Center is a major attraction and I suppose they charge what the market will bear.
DeleteAw such a shame you're second visit wasn't as enjoyable as the first! We visited back in 2013 and I don't at all remember long lines! We were in and out in a few hours and were able to enjoy everything at a leisurely pace! We often visit our favorite places over and over again as we usually feel it's a great way to get to know a place better! Thanks for linking up with #TheWeeklyPostcard!
ReplyDelete(www.caliglobetrotter.com)
Maybe we just got unlucky - but somehow I doubt it. Attractions don't have such long queuing systems unless they think they are going to need them.
DeleteWhat I think possibly happened here is that you went during spring break. March is not an overwhemingly busy travel time in the U.S. except that several areas of the country have spring break during that time.
DeleteI think that is right. We may have been there during Spring Break but it really doesn't change the fact that the experience was awful and it should not have been. I do get fed up with attractions where you pay a lot and don't get the kind of experience their advertising promises and you have paid for.
DeleteI agree with the previous comment - its a great read. Shame it came at the expense of such a headache for you, Lyn. I could feel your frustration every step of the way.
ReplyDeleteIt's one of my biggest peeves when an amazing experience or an attraction is turned into a nightmare by poorly managed logistics. I would’ve expected more from NASA.
Thank you for discovering all the tricks of the trade and for such an entertaining read.
I am glad you enjoyed the post. In the end my main purpose in writing it was to entertain. I suspect that NASA has licensed a 3rd party to manage the attraction. It doesn't excuse them though. They must take some responsibility for how poor the experience is.
DeleteOh no - that doesn't sound like a fun day at all. I also balked at the price. That is really expensive! It might be worth it if you are really interested in space/rockets though. Thanks for warning your readers, and giving tips to make their trip better!
ReplyDeleteWe would not have minded the price so much if it had been a good experience. For what we got it was almost highway robbery.
DeleteOk, I am not going back. I visited years ago, and had a great time, but not crowds like that. #weeklypostcard
ReplyDeleteClever move.
DeleteHi Lyn. Sorry to hear of you're experience at the Kennedy Space Center. I was going to visit it a number of years ago but the timing did not work out. It sounds like I was lucky. If I do get there in the future, I will take your advice to avoid the 4 mistakes. I'll buy tickets on-line, buy the "fast pass", bring my own lunch, and remember to sit on the right side of the bus. For now, I'll be content with what I've seen in documentaries and on those launch days so many years ago.
ReplyDeleteThey still launch rockets from the space center - which I assume take up satellites. I hate to think what the crowds are like on launch days.
DeleteHilarious!! I loved reading your post and I will never go to Kennedy Space Center! #TheWeeklyPostcard
ReplyDeleteI am glad you enjoyed the post. I enjoyed writing it. It was the only good thing about the whole experience.
DeleteHahaha, oh my. After that day you needed a stiff drink or two, I'm sure!!
ReplyDelete#WeekendWanderlust
We our did give bottle of wine with dinner a good shake - I admit.
DeleteA nightmare - worse than an amusement park. And I agree, I always hesitate on returning somewhere, especially if I found it to be a great visit or a magical place. I've not been to Kennedy Space Center but I was at the Huntsville Space Center in Alabama with absolutely no problem. I guess it's much less well known and less touristy. Thanks for the heads up - I won't be visiting Kennedy!
ReplyDeleteI will have to look up Huntsville. We have never been to Alabama so maybe I should put it on the list.
DeleteThank you so much for this post! My brother in law has been going back and forth trying to decide if they should add this in to their Disney trip, but with a nephew with severe ADD and my older in-laws, this sounds like something that they should skip as I don't think it would be worth it for them.
ReplyDeleteI don't envy you going to Disney with an ADD child. The lines at Disney can be frightening. Do your research and try not to go when it is peak season.
DeleteAww so sorry to hear you had such a bad experience! Thank you for sharing and 'warning' others though! #TheWeeklyPostcard
ReplyDeleteIt could have been worse. At least I got the inspiration for a blog post from it.
DeleteBrilliant read Lyn, thanks for having a shocker of a day for our enjoyment.
ReplyDeleteHaha - my pleasure.
DeleteOMG, this sounds miserable. I am so not going. But then, I did visit it way back in time and have no memory of lines. Your story reminds me of the misery of waiting in line for a cable car in San Francisco, only there street people provide free entertainment.
ReplyDeleteWhen we went the first time 20 years ago it was fine. I think it has become much more commercialised in the intervening years.
DeleteOh dear. That sounds awful. My family visited Kennedy Space Center a few days before you did (March 10) since we were disembarking from a cruise at Port Canaveral and had several hours to fill before our late afternoon flight out of Orlando. We only had about 3 hours to spend there -- granted paying a lot of money for just a few hours -- but our experience was much better than yours. Because we had no interest in special tours, we used the self-serve kiosk without any wait. The security line also had no wait. Because our main interests were the bus tour and the Space Shuttle, we skipped the Rocket Garden. We got into the bus tour queue at about 10:20 and had boarded within 15 minutes. Luckily, there are 5 in the family, so we sat on both sides of the bus to make sure that at least someone would have a good view. Our driver had a lot to say and didn't drive very fast, so the tour was probably about 45 minutes. Because we wanted to have time for the Atlantis Space Shuttle, we blasted through the Saturn V exhibit in about 15 minutes and boarded the next bus for the return trip. We had thought about eating there, but the first few places we saw had lines. My advice to anyone visiting Kennedy Space Center is similar to Disney touring advice -- arrive early, skip the stuff near the entrance and hurry to the ones that you have to queue for before the crowds reach it.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you had a much better experience. Sadly, the existence of the extreme queuing systems with roped off lining up areas snaking around and around suggest that our experience was relatively common.
DeleteThx so much for the tips! I have no intention of returning to the Kennedy Soace ( we were probably there about the same time as you!) but it's good to know the ropes so as to be able to pass them on.
ReplyDeleteWe were in the area anyway and thought it would be an interesting day out. What a mistake!
DeleteMoral of the story: Always check to see if you can buy tickets online (as in, on a website, not in a line (queue) if you really want to visit somewhere. I'm finally starting to wise up. The downside is that if you actually did have a stroke or heart attack, you'll probably have to eat the cost of the online ticket.
ReplyDeleteHaha - that would have been the least of my worries.
DeleteYour headline intrigued me to read the post and even though it wasn't funny while you were experiencing it, you gave me a chuckle and also offered some good advice re: booking ahead online. It's refreshing to read something that's not totally positive and gives an honest review.
ReplyDeleteI have to confess I enjoyed writing the story. It was almost worth the aggravation in experiencing the visit.
DeleteI am ultra conscious of your heart condition but we went 6 years ago and had fun! The difference? Booking online. That is the system for going around the queues!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely take your point and that is what we should have done. However if we had just booked general admission tickets online we would still have had to endure the 76 minute line to say nothing of the lunch queue.
DeleteI have to agree with the others above, this was a great read (sorry for your horrible experience, I was planning on going there shortly on my trip to America, so if I still do I'll have to plan a lot in advance!).
ReplyDeleteGood luck. I hope you have a better experience than we did. I would definitely recommend booking in advance and taking one of the add-on tours where you get to the Saturn V without having to queue. David read somewhere that you need your passport for the add-on tours if you are not a US citizen. It is probably worth checking that out too.
DeleteLyn: I have to agree with you. I am a native Floridian. I live about 35 miles north of the Cape and there is absolutely no way you could convince me to take a tour of the facility. The price is outrageous. I can actually see the rockets from my home when they are launched. Of course it's not up close and personal, but I don't have to pay a fortune to view them. There's definitely more to Florida than theme parks and commercialized attractions. We've got some great State Parks, hiking and biking trails. Sorry about your experience.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. Kennedy Space Center was our only disappointing experience in your beautiful state. We started in Miami, spent a couple of days in Key West and then drove up the coast stopping at a few places along the way until we crossed into Georgia. We bought cheap bicycles at Walmart and so were able to take advantage of some of the great biking trails you mention. I would recommend Florida to anyone - just stay away from the Space Center or at least plan your day better than we did.
DeleteOn one hand, it's great that a science-based attraction is crowded! But not so great when you're part of the crowd. We've had similar experiences, where crowd size and queues were drastically different than earlier visits, but sometimes in our favor. I think you're right - all about planning ahead. Which is good to know, because we have yet to visit Kennedy! Thanks for the heads up & for sharing on #TheWeeklyPostcard.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy it more than we did when you go. Try to arrive early and head straight to the bus queue.
DeleteYou hit the nail on the head at every turn of your article...it's a busy attraction. My suggestion? If your're in Alabama, visit the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville. Perhaps not as impressive as "Houston," but just as educational and they have a great collection of artifacts!
ReplyDeleteSomeone else also mentioned Huntsville, either here or on social media somewhere. It sounds like it is worth a visit.
DeleteLyn not only do I appreciate your honesty in this article but also how one might try to minimise the issues. Dave would love to go here I'm sure, me not quite as keen. After your review i think I shall try to keep it lower on the list or perhaps completely off.
ReplyDeleteYou could try going in low season, buy your tickets online and arrive as early as possible. I can understand why Dave is interested. The Saturn V rocket is awesome.
Deleteomg, I'm annoyed and I wasn't even there. 76 mins for a 10 minute - greatest nation on earth! hahaha
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't a lot of fun but apart from that we enjoyed our trip to the U.S. David is busy planning another trip for next year.
DeleteJeff's mum lives in Florida, so we are there, but have never made it to the Kennedy Space Center. Honestly, I was over it after your intro here, but then it got worse. The only thing we would have done okay is to bring lunch. Perhaps one day, as we have never been, but probably not.
ReplyDeleteLet me know if you ever go - maybe on a wet day in mid-winterit might not be too crowded! And book ahead!!
DeleteThat is the worst! I hate how you have those days when it all seems to get worse as it goes along. You did make me crack up tho with the 'finally we got something right'. Hehehe
ReplyDeleteThe day was frustrating, annoying and not much fun but I enjoyed writing the blog post at least!
ReplyDeleteDidn’t see your story until days after visiting. My wife and I also had a great memory 25 yrs ago and thought to drop by this April. So long story short we paid the 10 dollar parking walked up to find out it would cost us 70 eacH to enter. We decided that was outrageous so we visited the pared down gift shop and left. I think it was a good decision based on your story. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI was blown away by the $70 cost per ticket mentioned in your comment, and I had to check it for myself. Not only are you correct, but that is for a senior's ticket. Hubby and I now qualify to senior's tickets, but I pity anyone wanting to take a family.
DeleteHindsight being 20/20, you did visit the Center 3 months after the Artemis Program to put humans on the Moon again was announced
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I don't think that was the problem. I think many big attractions, not just this one, judge their success purely by the number of visitors they get - the more visitors the better. They fail to appreciate that there comes a point where there are so many visitors that the experience they offer is awful.
DeleteThat is fair, although I still believe that would play at least a small part
DeleteI quit reading after mistake #1 *eye roll* it sounds like you came to the US, and did ZERO research. You literally went on one of busiest weeks possible. US school spring breaks are throughout March & April. Most theme parks encourage you to purchase packaged tickets (admission + tour etc.) online so you’re not standing at admission booth contemplating what to do/buy. Ie: wasting others’ time. Any travel website has hundreds of people suggesting packing your own light lunches & snacks into most parks that allow you to bring good in. And every park website will explain the security line process (what to have ready and open) DO YOUR RESEARCH ONLINE prior to visit!
ReplyDeleteI was tempted simply to delete this comment on the basis that it is rude, angry and aggressive. However every time a comment is posted it helps my google rankings which in turn allows me to reach more readers. So, first of all, thankyou for commenting. Second, why be so angry? You could have made your point without being rude. Perhaps we could have had a better plan for our day at the Kennedy Space Centre, or perhaps it is just not worth visiting when the crowds on busy days are managed so badly.
Delete