Canaveral National Seashore
If you are traveling to Orlando for a vacation, not much will change due to the government shutdown, yet there are some things to be aware of. Most of the theme parks will not see any differences. Air and rail traffic will continue as normal (as long as you already have your passport). There are a few attractions and fun things to do, however, that will be affected.

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex remains OPEN, however, because NASA is shut down, visitors cannot enter certain areas – Kennedy Space Center proper. The bus tours that take you through various areas, such as the launch pad and Vehicle Assembly Building, are not running. The bus tours will resume after the shutdown is over. The following tours are affected:

  • General Bus Tour
  • KSC Up-Close Mega Tour
  • KSC Up-Close Launch Pad Tour
  • KSC Up-Close Launch Control Center Tour
  • KSC Up-Close Vehicle Assembly Building Tour
  • KSC Up-Close Cape Canaveral: Then and Now Tour

Space Shuttle Atlantis

There are still plenty of fun things to do at KSC, and I would encourage you to keep your plans and go to this Central Florida attraction despite the lack of the bus tour. The space shuttle Atlantis has only been on display since June 29, 2013 and it is spectacular to see. The 150,000-pound spaceship is raised 30 feet into the air and tilted at a 43 degree angle as if it were in flight.  Other fun things to that are included with your admission that are not affected include:

  • Angry Birds™ Space Encounter
  • Rocket Garden with actual rockets
  • Twin 3-D IMAX® Theaters (featuring Space Station 3-D narrated by Tom Cruise and Hubble 3-D narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio)
  • Exploration Space
  • Astronaut Memorial
  • U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame (six miles west of the Visitors Complex)

If you have pre-purchased tickets for a KSC bus tour at Kennedy Space Center, many ticket outlets and discount attraction ticket resellers will not refund your purchase. Resellers purchase in bulk making these cheap attraction tickets for them and cannot be refunded themselves. Hopefully the government shutdown will not last long, and tourists will be able to use these discounted tickets during their vacation. Even KSC continues to sell bus tours online hoping the shutdown will not last long. Buyer beware. Tickets purchased through KSC will most likely be refunded if there are no dates when you can use them, but nothing has been made official to this fact.

Another Orlando-area attraction that will be affected by the government shutdown includes Canaveral National Seashore. All federal parks are closed, which includes 11 parks in Florida. The closest being Canaveral National Seashore on the east coast, and De Soto National Memorial in Bradenton (south of Tampa on the west coast). The Canaveral Seashore Plein Air Paint Out  scheduled for October 7th – 12th will take place despite the shutdown. If the park is not open, the daily and evening events will be moved entirely to the New Smyrna Beach Waterfront Loop area.

In general, the effect is expected to be minimal if the shutdown lasts only a few days. Tourists will not see much difference. The more than 7,000 workers in Central Florida that will be staying home, are not so lucky. It might be a good time for them to play “tourist” and enjoy our Orlando attractions and take advantage of the many Florida resident specials that are offered during this time.

Last Updated on December 12, 2014