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  1. #1
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    Default Advice Pls! Hotels and activities after Disney Cruise in FL? Thank you!!

    Hi,

    Could you suggest good things to do and where to stay near Cape Canaveral with a 6 and 10 year old?

    We are going on a 4 night Disney Cruise (the 'Disney Dream' boat) in April and then disembarking on a Friday morning. We will stay Friday and Saturday nights in FL and then fly out from Orlando International Airport on Sunday afternoon... my mom is coming with us and does *not* want to go to a Disney Resort and do Disney World during those two days, which I would have wanted - so now I am trying to figure out what to do with the kids Friday and Saturday all day and early Sunday.

    We won't have a car, but hope to Uber around.

    For hotels...
    Can you suggest a good hotel / resort and where?
    I looked into Cocoa Beach, which seemed near and it seemed like the most centrally located were La Quinta Ocean Front, Best Western and Holiday Inn Express (tho two blocks off the water). Trip Advisor also recommended the A1A-520 area, including the Inn at Cocoa Beach and the Sheraton...
    Or the Holiday Inn which is far away but appears to have the best pool?
    Any of these particularly great for kids? Or, if other places, please give any thoughts!

    For activities...
    Cape Canaveral and astronaut stuff is good, but I'm having trouble getting my head around what exactly we could do. There seems to be a long tour, but 2 hours is too much for my 6 (and probably 10) year old. Anything suggestions?
    I also saw that there is something called Wild Side Tours?
    I also thought of SeaWorld - is it worth spending the day there and just finding a hotel on Fri and Sat nights closer to the airport?

    Thank you for any thoughts!!!!

  2. #2
    SnuggleBuggles is online now Black Diamond level (25,000+ posts)
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    The Kennedy Space Center is fabulous! Your 6 year old can hack the visit. We spent 1.5 days there and none of us are really space buffs. It was just so well done!

    We also really liked Canaveral National Seashore https://www.nps.gov/cana/index.htm
    Merritt Island is also amazing https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Merritt_I...cies.html.aspx
    Those are both nice because they are so natural- it's a nice contrast to the bustle of parks and cruise ships.

    No hotel advice- we stayed with family.

    If you want to go to Orlando, look at staying at Universal's Cabana Bay. It's a great resort even if not going to the parks. At the hotel, there's a lazy river, splash park, bowling alley, pools, and fun. YOu don't need a car at all and you can pool hop at the swankier hotels. YOu can also just walk to Citywalk for movies, mini golf, shopping and oodles of restaurants. I really like it as it's nice to have so much fun stuff to do and no need for a car. They do provide a free shuttle to Sea World (you must reserve the day before). Uber and Lyft are easily available too.

    We really enjoyed Sea World.

  3. #3
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    We went to Kennedy Space Center last year because my DS was interested in space exploration at the time, and all 3 adults enjoyed it much more than we thought we would. My mom said it hadn't been on her bucket list, but she was checking it off her bucket list because it should have been.
    We did one of the extra tours and it was totally worth it. You spend a lot of time driving in a bus. If your younger daughter isn't that interested, bring a book. It's not that much walking. I would be surprised if she wasn't interested though.
    There is also a huge climbing structure near the entrance that can be used to burn off some energy.
    We ended up spending a full day there.

  4. #4
    KrisM is online now Clean Sweep forum moderator
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    My brother is trying hard to convince me to take an air boat tour: http://www.airboatridesatmidway.com/

    He's done it and their whole family loved it. I don't think we will, but we are planning Kennedy Space Center. I had taken it of our list, but DS1 really wants to go, so we are.
    Kris

  5. #5
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    Thanks everyone!
    I did finally convince my mother to go back to Disney World for the last two days, but then found out it would cost $1600 !!!! So no, we won't be going to Disney World.
    I will check out the Kennedy Space Center. Thank you. I am still not completely convinced - a long bus tour sounds awful! - but sounds like it's amazing so I will go for it.
    I still can't figure out which hotel in Cocoa Beach to stay at or where on Cocoa Beach (some places more central to the pier than others). It sounds like no one really loves 'one' hotel on Trip Advisor.
    I don't think I will do the Airboat Ride! It looks scary to me .
    I did some research and think both SeaWorld and Discovery Cove would look good - but wow, they are expensive. So not sure what I'll do.
    Thank you!

  6. #6
    KrisM is online now Clean Sweep forum moderator
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    Seems like you could do Disney for less than that. A 2-day ticket is about $210 per person, so for 4 that's $850 or so. Off site should be less than $750 for 2 nights. Or just do 1 day at Disney or a day at a water park maybe?
    Kris

  7. #7
    SnuggleBuggles is online now Black Diamond level (25,000+ posts)
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    What’s this long bus tour your talking about? There’s a bus at KSC but I wouldn’t call it long.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  8. #8
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    Hi everyone,

    Thanks for your comments.

    SnuggleBuggles, I think I was talking about a long ride at the Kennedy Space Center because reviewers on Trip Advisor said that the tour there included a long bus ride... or maybe I was talking about the ride there from Cocoa Beach, I'm not sure

    KrisM, my agent didn't give me the break down (I asked him to, but then never heard back), but I believe that he included a bus ride from Cape Canaveral (when we disembark) to the hotel (Port Orleans) which would be $35 x 4 (= $140). Expensive, but probably very efficient. I just checked and Uber is approx $100 (range of 88 - 116) and Lyft is about $60...

    If we DID use the expensive Disney bus, that would mean:
    $840 for the 2 days of Disney;
    $140 for the bus from Cape Canaveral to Port Orleans hotel if we took it
    Which means that the hotel is approx $620 for two nights.
    = $1600

    Is off sight that much cheaper? Even if it were, with off sight, I would have to figure out how to get to the park every morning and I don't have a car. I assume off site don't have transportation?

    We are also thinking of going to Discover Cove now... anyone have any experience there?

  9. #9
    KrisM is online now Clean Sweep forum moderator
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    What about staying at a value level on-site instead of a moderate?
    Kris

  10. #10
    KrisM is online now Clean Sweep forum moderator
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    Quote Originally Posted by SnuggleBuggles View Post
    What’s this long bus tour your talking about? There’s a bus at KSC but I wouldn’t call it long.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    There are a few different tours. The shortest says to allow 1 hour 15 min. Another says to allow 2 hours. They do seem to use a pretty big chunk of time.
    Kris

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