[wendymom]

Couple things:

What route are you using to come down? KSC is approx 45 min to an hour from Orlando (more from Universal depending on traffic)

You don't need 8 hours at KSC, even if you take the bus tour. There are some cool things to see there. IF you come down I95 you could stop at KSC before you get to Orlando. There are group rates for KSC. Since you are coming as a school you might want to check out one of their educational packages and then you might even get to ride on some of the simulators. There are several FIRST alumni who work as education counselors at KSC.

You can call Universal and get group rates for the parks. Do you want to stay on property at Universal or just in a hotel near by? There are TONS of hotels near by that are most likely cheaper than the ones on property.

IF you have park hopper passes, you can bounce between parks on both days so you don't have to limit it to one park per day. (more roller coaster riding that way)

Thats all I can think of for now