I took some out-of-town company to the Space Center a few weeks ago to spend the day; a single mom with 3 children, ages 8, 15 and 17. I was so impressed because although they only had 2 days in Orlando, they chose to go there instead of Disney! It was the first time I actually took the entire tour, even though I've lived in Orlando for 20 years. We were able to watch them preparing the "payload" for this flight. It was a wonderful day and we all learned so much.
I did the "exclusive" tour and it was a GREAT investment -- there were only 8 of us and we went all the way to the base of the launch pad.
I live in SoCal and I have been to both Disneyland and The Magic Kingdom and our original is better anyway.
I would recommend the exclusive tour to anyone and everyone. But if they can't afford it, the regular tour is great, too.