Fodor's Expert Review Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex

America's space program—past, present, and future—is the star at this must-see attraction, just 45 minutes east of Orlando, where you're treated to a multitude of interactive experiences. Located on a 140,000-acre barrier island, Kennedy Space Center was NASA's launch headquarters from the beginning of the space program in the 1960s until the final shuttle launch in 2011. Thanks to an invigorated NASA program and to high-tech entrepreneurs who have turned their interests to space, you can once again view live rocket launches from the Cape. In fact, there were a record 56 of them from the Space Coast in 2022, with even more expected in 2023.

The visitor center is divided into Mission Zones, with tours and exhibits organized chronologically, beginning with the Heroes & Legends attraction, which celebrates the men and women who've journeyed to space and features the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. The original Mercury 7 team and the later Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and shuttle astronauts have contributed artifacts and memorabilia to make it the world's premium archive of astronauts' personal stories. You can watch videos of historic moments in the space program and see one-of-a-kind items such as Wally Schirra's Sigma 7 Mercury space capsule, Gus Grissom's space suit (colored silver only because NASA thought silver looked more "spacey"), and a flag that made it to the moon. Throughout the visitor center, a wide range of hands-on interactive exhibits teach about space travel. One of the more challenging activities is a space-shuttle simulator that lets you try your hand at landing the craft—and afterward replays a side view of your rolling and pitching descent.

Opened in 2022, Gateway: The Deep Space Launch Complex simulates the Space Port of the Future, offering a glimpse of a world when catching a flight to a distant planet is as routine as jetting from Chicago to Boston. You choose from among four journeys and are taken on an immersive ride packed with interstellar marvels. The Red Planet trip soars over Mars' ancient oceans, while the Uncharted Worlds journey ventures 40 light years away to the Trappist-1 system of exoplanets. While waiting in the main concourse to board your flight, you can check departure and arrival listings and view rockets landing, taking off, and taxiing to their gates. 

The IMAX film Journey to Space, narrated by Star Trek legend Sir Patrick Stewart, fills a five-story movie screen with dramatic footage shot by NASA astronauts during missions highlighting the bravery of all space travelers and capturing the spirit of the human desire to explore and expand. The film also honors the milestones of the Space Shuttle Program—deploying and repairing the Hubble Space Telescope, assembling the International Space Station—and then looks forward to the deep-space exploration missions to come, offering a glimpse of the Space Launch System rocket that will send the Orion crew capsule toward Mars.

The drama of the IMAX films gives you great background for the many interactive programs available at the complex. The bus tour included with admission (buses depart every 15 minutes) takes you past iconic spots, including the 525-foot-tall Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and launch pads, where rockets once more await departure. Stops include the Apollo/Saturn V Center, where you can look up in awe at one of three remaining Saturn V moon rockets, the largest ever built. Attractions include artifacts in the Treasure Gallery and the Lunar Theater, which shows the first moon landing. You can also dine next to a genuine moon rock at the cleverly named Moon Rock Café.

Several in-depth tours (extra charge) offer more intimate views of the VAB and the Cape Canaveral launch pads, where NASA, SpaceX, and the United Launch Alliance rockets await takeoff. Other iconic images include the countdown clock at NASA’s Press Site, a giant crawler transporter that carried Apollo moon rockets and space shuttles to the launch pad, and the Launch Control Center.

The space shuttle Atlantis attraction offers views of this historic spacecraft as only astronauts have seen it—suspended as if in space, rotated 43.21 degrees with payload bay doors open and its robotic arm extended, as if it has just undocked from the International Space Station. The attraction includes a variety of interactive highlights, including opportunities to perform an Extravehicular Activity (EVA), train like an astronaut, and create sonic booms while piloting Atlantis to a safe landing.

Don't miss the outdoor Rocket Garden, with walkways winding beside a group of vintage rockets, from early Atlas spacecraft to a Saturn IB. The Children's Playdome enables kids to play among the next generation of spacecraft, climb a moon-rock wall, and crawl through rocket tunnels. Astronaut Encounter Theater has two daily programs where retired NASA astronauts share their adventures in space travel and show a short film.

More befitting a theme park (complete with the health warnings), the Shuttle Launch Experience is the center's most spectacular attraction. Designed by a team of astronauts, NASA experts, and renowned attraction engineers, the 44,000-square-foot structure uses a sophisticated motion-based platform, special-effects seats, and high-fidelity visual and audio components to simulate the sensations experienced in an actual space-shuttle launch, including Max Q, solid rocket booster separation, main engine cutoff, and external tank separation. The journey culminates with a breathtaking view of Earth from space.

A fitting way to end the day is a stop at the black-granite Astronaut Memorial, which honors those who lost their lives in the name of space exploration.