Kennedy Space Center: Full-Day Tour with Airboat Safari Ride

About This Experience

You board at one of the listed meeting points in the Kissimmee, Disney, Lake Buena Vista, Universal or International Drive areas, and a driver-guide takes you about an hour east to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Admission is included, along with the bus tour out to the Apollo/Saturn V Center and the Shuttle Launch Experience simulator.

At the complex, kids can walk under the Saturn V rocket, watch a recreated Apollo launch in the firing room theater, stand beneath Space Shuttle Atlantis and hear a veteran astronaut at the daily Astronaut Encounter. Those 44 inches and taller can ride the Shuttle Launch Experience. Later in the day the group meets the bus again for a 30-minute airboat ride on the St. Johns River, looking for alligators, wading birds and swamp plants.

Squeezing both into one day is the catch. Several reviewers ran out of time at the space center and missed the IMAX film or other exhibits, and you must be back at the bus on time for the airboat. Airboats are loud, so small children need ear protection, and wildlife is never guaranteed. It is a working spaceport, so tours can change at short notice, and this trip does not run on launch days. Food and drinks are not included.

Pick it if your kids are about 6 and up, love both rockets and gators, and can handle a full, tightly timed day. Families with toddlers or nappers, or anyone who wants to see all of Kennedy Space Center, will do better with a space center trip on its own and an airboat ride on another day.

Highlights

• Walk beneath the Saturn V rocket at the Apollo/Saturn V Center
• Strap in for the Shuttle Launch Experience, for kids 44 inches and taller
• See Space Shuttle Atlantis up close and touch a piece of Moon rock
• Skim the St. Johns River by airboat looking for alligators and wading birds
• Combine a space day and a swamp ride without driving yourself

What's Included

• ✓ Round-trip transport from meeting points in Orlando, Kissimmee, Disney and Lake Buena Vista
• ✓ Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex admission
• ✓ Kennedy Space Center bus tour
• ✓ Shuttle Launch Experience simulator
• ✓ 30-minute airboat ride on the St. Johns River
• ✓ Driver-guide

Not Included

• Hotel pickup and drop-off; you go to a listed meeting point
• Food and drinks
• Souvenirs
• Gratuities for the driver-guide
• Paid extras at the complex, such as ATX training stages

What to Bring

• Ear protection for young children on the airboat
• A small soft-sided cooler with snacks, which the complex allows
• Sun hats, sunglasses and sunscreen
• Refillable water bottles
• Comfortable walking shoes

Good to Know & Caveats

• Book at least 7 days before your date. The trip does not run on launch days, and the space center is closed on December 25.
• The listing shows free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead but also mentions a fee for late cancellations or no-shows, so check the terms when you book.
• The listing names Magnificent Desolation as the IMAX film, but the films now showing at the complex are different. Check the daily schedule.
• The Shuttle Launch Experience has a 44-inch height minimum. Children under 3 enter the complex free.
• Airboat wildlife sightings are never guaranteed, and the boats are loud.
• Kennedy Space Center is a working launch site, so tours can change or close without notice.
• Keep to the meeting time for the airboat bus; reviewers say time at the complex feels short.

Meeting Point

Choose one of six meeting points at checkout in the Kissimmee, Disney, Lake Buena Vista, Universal and International Drive areas. Hotel pickup is not included, and drop-off is at the same point.