PrincessNikki
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2007
Today was the day that DBF had been looking foward to the most, so he was really excited. We had booked our KSC tour with Gator Tours, as we had decided not to rent a car. Our pick up was at 8.10am from the Swan.
We set a wake up call for 6.30am & got dressed and we decided we would have breakfast at the Swan so at about 7.00am we got a taxi to the swan, once we arrived at the Swan we decided to have Breakfast at The Garden Grove Cafe. This was good, but they were a bit slow & we had to rush our food as the bus was picking us up at 8.10am.
The Bus ending up being about 20mins late & got to the Swan about 8.30am, we then picked some more people up from the Nickelodeon Hotel & then we were taken to a Walmart carpark that Gator tours used as a meeting point & some people who were going on other tours got off our bus & few more got on. At about 9.00am we were on our way.
Our tour guide (I can't remember his name) was excellent & kept us entertained on the drive. After about an hour we dropped some people off that were going on an Airboat ride. After we dropped them off we actually saw an Alligator on the grass on the side of the road, which was really good as our tour guide kept talking to us about Alligators. We then had to stop at a gas station to fill up. We finally got to KSC about 10.30. We were given our entry tickets and told to meet back at the bus at 4.30pm
Entrance:
We then had to go through security & get our bags checked and go through a metal Detector, it was just like the airports and it took about 15mins. We finally entered the center and we grabbed a drink and some chips and took a few pics.
Rocket Garden:
We decided to do the bus tour first. There was a bus waiting when we got in line and it took about 10mins to get to the 1st stop & on the way we saw the Vehicle Assembly building which is where they assemble the Shuttles, the bus driver told us that this is the 5th largest building in the world in Volume.
We then arrived at the 1st stop which was the LC-39 Observation Gantry. From here we could see the launch pads. We were very lucky as the Space Shuttle Atlantis was going to be launched on thurs 6th Dec so we got to see it on the launch pad.
Empty Launch Pad:
Launch pad with the Atlantis:
You could take as long as you wanted at each stop as there was a bus every 10mins. We spent about 15mins here and then we lined up to get the next bus. It took about 10mins to get to the next stop which was the Apollo/Saturn V Center. When we got here we watched a movie about the Apollo 11 moon landing. This was really interesting and you moved through 3 different theatres to watch the differnt parts. It took about half an hour for the movie & then we went through to the main building to see a 365ft moon rocket. This was absolutley huge, it was such a great thing to see.
They also had a few other exhibits around the building from all the different Apollo missions, they had a moon rock & an actual space suit, this stop was really interesting & was my favorite stop on the tour.
Moon Rock:
They had a shop & a counter Service place (Moon Rock Cafe) here so we decided to grab some lunch as it was about 1pm. The lunch was disgusting, nowhere near as good as counter service at Disney.
After we ate we lined up for the bus to go to the third and Final stop which was the International Space Station Center. It took about 15mins to get here. We watched a movie about the international space station, and then we got to see them working on the Canadian section of the space station.
We then got to walk through the sections of the rockets to see what they look like on the inside.
Toilet: They have to strap themselves in.
It was now 2.30pm so we decided to take the bus back to the Main Visitors complex. It took about 10mins to get back & then we decided to do the Shuttle Launch Experience, which was similar to Mission Space. I thought the Shuttle Launch Experience was more realistic than Mission space & it was more intense.
It was now about 3.30pm & DBF wanted to get some souviners before we left so we spent 45mins in the gift shop because there was so many things he wanted to buy. I bought a Solar Powered Keyring that flashes & Says "Princess". It was now 4.15pm so we had to make our way back to the bus.
We really wanted more time here as we only got to do the bus tour and other than the shuttle launch experience we didn't get to do anything at the main visitors complex.
At 4.30pm we were all on the bus & we were waiting for 2 more people after about 5 mins the driver said." We've waited 5 mins, their not here & left without them.
The bus left and took us to the Astronaut Hall of Fame. We arrived here at 4.45pm and we had 45mins to look around. This was a museum and was all about the Astronauts. It had lots of hands on exhibits and games. I would definatly recommend a quick stop here.
At 5.30 we left the Hall of fame and headed back to Orlando. At about 6.30pm we arrived back at the I-4 and started to drop people off at their Hotels. The Swan was one of the Last stops and we finally got back there at about 7.30pm. We then had to catch a taxi back to Pop, by the time we got back we were sooo Hungry & tired as it had been a really long day. We Quickly grabbed some food from Everything Pop and headed up to our room to relax.
I would definatly recommend a visit too KSC. DBF absolutley loved it & I thought it was really good to see. If I were to do it again. I would not go with Gator tours, it took too long to get there and back & not enough time at KSC.
Next Up: Sea World & a lot of Mini Golf
We set a wake up call for 6.30am & got dressed and we decided we would have breakfast at the Swan so at about 7.00am we got a taxi to the swan, once we arrived at the Swan we decided to have Breakfast at The Garden Grove Cafe. This was good, but they were a bit slow & we had to rush our food as the bus was picking us up at 8.10am.
The Bus ending up being about 20mins late & got to the Swan about 8.30am, we then picked some more people up from the Nickelodeon Hotel & then we were taken to a Walmart carpark that Gator tours used as a meeting point & some people who were going on other tours got off our bus & few more got on. At about 9.00am we were on our way.
Our tour guide (I can't remember his name) was excellent & kept us entertained on the drive. After about an hour we dropped some people off that were going on an Airboat ride. After we dropped them off we actually saw an Alligator on the grass on the side of the road, which was really good as our tour guide kept talking to us about Alligators. We then had to stop at a gas station to fill up. We finally got to KSC about 10.30. We were given our entry tickets and told to meet back at the bus at 4.30pm
Entrance:
We then had to go through security & get our bags checked and go through a metal Detector, it was just like the airports and it took about 15mins. We finally entered the center and we grabbed a drink and some chips and took a few pics.
Rocket Garden:
We decided to do the bus tour first. There was a bus waiting when we got in line and it took about 10mins to get to the 1st stop & on the way we saw the Vehicle Assembly building which is where they assemble the Shuttles, the bus driver told us that this is the 5th largest building in the world in Volume.
We then arrived at the 1st stop which was the LC-39 Observation Gantry. From here we could see the launch pads. We were very lucky as the Space Shuttle Atlantis was going to be launched on thurs 6th Dec so we got to see it on the launch pad.
Empty Launch Pad:
Launch pad with the Atlantis:
You could take as long as you wanted at each stop as there was a bus every 10mins. We spent about 15mins here and then we lined up to get the next bus. It took about 10mins to get to the next stop which was the Apollo/Saturn V Center. When we got here we watched a movie about the Apollo 11 moon landing. This was really interesting and you moved through 3 different theatres to watch the differnt parts. It took about half an hour for the movie & then we went through to the main building to see a 365ft moon rocket. This was absolutley huge, it was such a great thing to see.
They also had a few other exhibits around the building from all the different Apollo missions, they had a moon rock & an actual space suit, this stop was really interesting & was my favorite stop on the tour.
Moon Rock:
They had a shop & a counter Service place (Moon Rock Cafe) here so we decided to grab some lunch as it was about 1pm. The lunch was disgusting, nowhere near as good as counter service at Disney.
After we ate we lined up for the bus to go to the third and Final stop which was the International Space Station Center. It took about 15mins to get here. We watched a movie about the international space station, and then we got to see them working on the Canadian section of the space station.
We then got to walk through the sections of the rockets to see what they look like on the inside.
Toilet: They have to strap themselves in.
It was now 2.30pm so we decided to take the bus back to the Main Visitors complex. It took about 10mins to get back & then we decided to do the Shuttle Launch Experience, which was similar to Mission Space. I thought the Shuttle Launch Experience was more realistic than Mission space & it was more intense.
It was now about 3.30pm & DBF wanted to get some souviners before we left so we spent 45mins in the gift shop because there was so many things he wanted to buy. I bought a Solar Powered Keyring that flashes & Says "Princess". It was now 4.15pm so we had to make our way back to the bus.
We really wanted more time here as we only got to do the bus tour and other than the shuttle launch experience we didn't get to do anything at the main visitors complex.
At 4.30pm we were all on the bus & we were waiting for 2 more people after about 5 mins the driver said." We've waited 5 mins, their not here & left without them.
The bus left and took us to the Astronaut Hall of Fame. We arrived here at 4.45pm and we had 45mins to look around. This was a museum and was all about the Astronauts. It had lots of hands on exhibits and games. I would definatly recommend a quick stop here.
At 5.30 we left the Hall of fame and headed back to Orlando. At about 6.30pm we arrived back at the I-4 and started to drop people off at their Hotels. The Swan was one of the Last stops and we finally got back there at about 7.30pm. We then had to catch a taxi back to Pop, by the time we got back we were sooo Hungry & tired as it had been a really long day. We Quickly grabbed some food from Everything Pop and headed up to our room to relax.
I would definatly recommend a visit too KSC. DBF absolutley loved it & I thought it was really good to see. If I were to do it again. I would not go with Gator tours, it took too long to get there and back & not enough time at KSC.
Next Up: Sea World & a lot of Mini Golf
but I guess they would float away. Looking forward to your Sea World update.
. It's a pity about the transportation company, from another poster I think it might be a recurring theme. I really hope you enjoyed Sea World, I have been to the one in San Diego and it was really great.
I love POP, we've stayed there a few times. You're more adventurous than I though, taxis...golfing...wandering. Way to go. I guess that goes with age though
I agree with you too. When do you get to do what you want? Loving your TR and the pictures. Especially of the places I haven't seen. I've only been to Disney World. Keep it coming.
in your room at Pop Century. Being from Australia, I'm suprised you knew of her....I guess you read some posts here about her. So do you have a favorite phrase of hers, such as 'Pretzels und beer"?
