Jeez, this place is becoming a regular amusement park. All they need now is rides. (And we don't mean bus rides.) Plan on spending the whole day here. In the past couple of years, they've added lots and lots of cool stuff to do.
Getting There
From I-4, take the Beeline Expressway (route 528) to Titusville. Take the SR-407 exit on the left towards NASA KENNEDY SPACE CENTER/TITUSVILLE(I-95 N). Merge onto FL-407. Turn RIGHT onto FL-405 E. FL-405 E becomes the NASA Causeway, which should take you right to the Visitor's Center, where you start your tour.
Tickets
Yep, it's no longer an option. There used to be a time when you could come and visit without buying a ticket, but forget that now. It's gotten to be so much of an attraction that the entrance has ticket booths just like any other amusement park. There are a couple of different packages to choose from:
Maximum Access Badge
$24 for adults, $15 for children. Gets you everywhere including all the Imax movies, the launch status center, shows, exhibits, and the bus tour that takes you to the Saturn V Center, the International Space Station Center, and the launch pad observation gantry.
Cape Canaveral Then and Now badge
The best one to get. $44 for adults, $35 for children. Includes everything on the Maximum Access Badge, plus a special guided tour taking you to Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, current unmanned launch pads, and lots of other cool stuff you don't get on the regular bus tour. See below for the complete details.
The Bus Tour
Allow about 3 hours to experience all the neato stops on the bus tour. While travelling from stop to stop, your driver will have lots of stuff to tell you about the complex, making the travel time go faster.
Stop 1: The LC-39 Observation Complex
A tall gantry that is the closest visitors area to Launch Pads 39 A & B, the Space Shuttle launch pads. Climb the stairs or use the elevator to get to the top for a great photo opportunity. If you've got a telephoto lens for your still camera or a pretty good zoom on your video camera, your pictures will come out better. Even though this is the closest you can get, it's still pretty far away (over 1 mile). When the shuttle is on the pad, a bonnet is around it to hold it in place until launch day, but you can still see it poking out of the top and bottom. The view of the entire area is spectacular. There is also a used shuttle main engine on display on the gantry, an exhibit about the shuttle itself, as well as a briefing film about the shuttle.
Stop 2: The Saturn V Center
Firing Room Theater They took all the old consoles from before they remodeled Launch Control and recreated the original setup. You'll see a recreation of the countdown to the launch of Apollo 8, which is really cool. You hear the voices, see the consoles light up, and see film of the launch itself, making the whole experience seem real. Lunar Theater Check out this re-creation of the Apollo 11 moon landing. It's a huge model of the moons surface, complete with a model of the Eagle lander, along with the original audio. Also includes a recreation of the blast-off. Pretty neat. Saturn V Moon Rocket One of only 3 left in existence, this original piece is 363 feet long, broken into sections which are explained in detail. Apollo Command Capsule Lunar Module Moon Rover They used to let you sit on this for pictures, but now it's roped off. Apollo Mission Summaries The complete information about each Apollo Mission is displayed throughout the building.
Stop 3: International Space Station Center
Start out with a briefing film on the history of the International Space Station, then walk through mock ups of the astronaut living and working quarters. There are also exhibits on the Skylab and Mir space stations. Finally, there are viewing windows for you to look in the clean room at the ISS components getting ready for launches later.
Cape Canaveral Then and Now
It's well worth the extra $20 for this super cool 2 hour guided bus tour which precedes the regular bus tour.
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