Kennedy Space Center -- with 4 yo & toddler

[newcruiser1213]

Our Royal Caribbean cruise in December will be stopping at Port Canaveral and I'm trying to figure out how best to arrange a Kennedy Space Center trip that allows us the flexibility to leave when we are ready. We'll have a 4 year old and a 20 month old, and our ship arrives at Port Canaveral at noon.

 

I'm concerned about doing the Royal Caribbean excursion because it's over five hours long and it sounds like a lot of getting on and off a bus, and covering a lot of ground with not a lot of down time. Doesn't sound flexible enough for young kids.

 

Ideally, I'd like to have the leisure to go to only one or two exhibits, let my 4-year old (who's intrigued by space travel and the solar system) check out some gadgets, see some rockets, maybe catch an Imax show and then head back to the ship.

 

1) Has anybody done their own excursion -- with kids?

2) Can you recommend a taxi or shuttle company to go to and from ship to the space center?

3) any other suggestions and/or words of caution?

[Apexgal]

We just did Kennedy with my 4yo and he loved it. We had a car so can't speak to a taxi or excursion but ksc was great. A lot of interactive exhibits. Levers to pull. Slides to climb on. Things to climb in and around. They have made it very family friendly. We felt they had upped their dramatic factor. Don't take any of the extra tours - that's added cost and a lot of bus time. You could spend a day in the Atlantis exhibit alone (included with admission). If you have time do go to the Saturn 5 exhibit by bus (also included). A little less interactive but still exciting.

 

One thing we did notice was that there were a lot of dramatic reveals - you watched a movie or video (or 2) that explains what you were going in to see before you went into the exhibit. For the most part these were really cool but the youngest may be less excited. It was easily understood by my 8 yr old and my 4 yr old understood enough that those were enjoyable.

 

There is also a lot of outdoor space that has old capsules to climb in and around if your 20 mo old needs to stretch their legs or gets bored inside. We went at Christmas and it was empty.

[powelweb]

Not sure when your cruise is, but we when during Christmas week, and it was mobbed- crazy long lines for all the IMAX shows, and all the exhibits were packed.

 

Except for that, we really enjoyed the excursion itself and would have stayed longer (DH & I), but DD (11) was antsy after like 6 hours, so we grabbed a cab and headed back to the ship.

[newcruiser1213]

Thanks Apexgal -- That's some good info on the interactive exhibits and you've convinced me that we're definitely doing this trip!

Edited October 22, 2015 by newcruiser1213
forgot to add something

[newcruiser1213]

powelweb -- we are going between Christmas and New Years and i do fear it will be mobbed. Very helpful to know that it's easy to grab a cab from there once the kids get antsy and/or overwhelmed by the crowds. Thanks!