Viewing May 12 Shuttle Launch From WDW?

[bearlyanne]

The new date does not work for me!!!! who do I need to talk to to have it changed?

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Anyone know a good site in the Epcot area to view it?

 

[roselark]

Awesome! And we have ressies at Kona Cafe for lunch on that day. How perfect is that??!!

 

[DisneyDayTripper]

Awesome! And we have ressies at Kona Cafe for lunch on that day. How perfect is that??!!

It's perfect, until NASA moves back the launch because there's a cloud in the sky. Like the previous post said it gets delayed most of the time, but hopefully it doesn't for you and you guys get an amazing view.

 

[Disnsyncey]

4 to 5 hours to get off the coast after a launch is probably pretty accurate after a launch. It is bumper to bumper traffic and it takes us 2 hours just to get back to our house from the beach on launch days and we live on the coast.

For an afternoon launch you could make it a beach day. head to the Cocoa Beach pier and just hangout on the beach after the launch, get dinner on the pier , shop, and then head back to Orlando in the evening. That way even if the shuttle is delayed you don't waste a day and you have a blast at the beach. Well worth the trip over to the beach.

I'm not knocking anybody's experience, I know we can all have different ones.....but if you do the SR 50, to the end at the intracoastal, it has never taken me that long to get to east Orlando (knowing full well that WDW is farther)......maybe some traffic for the lights, an hour back to my house.....the only other place I have seen it is from the closest the family and friends can get on KSC where you have to take buses from the complex and such.....that definitely took a while, but that's a whole different story.....

Just keep in mind that the 15th floor observation deck is only accessible if you're dining at the California Grill that day. You actually have to check in on the 2nd floor with your ADR and need a CM to escort you up in the special elevator. Since the CG doesn't open until dinner, not sure if there's any way to get up there earlier in the day.

There is another observation deck on the 4th floor that's open to the public.

the one on the 4th floor is the one I was talking about....but the one at the Cali Grill is great as well! I saw Columbia go up from there one night

but seriously, ANYWHERE where you can look to the east......is great.....higher will help, but its just cool to see no matter what....

 

[Sandy51]

We watched last month's launch from the International Gateway Bridge in Epcot. It was awesome! Look towards the China Pavilion. Here is a link from a thread with pictures from that launch.


http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2120087



Sandy

 

[dznymom1]

Watched John Glenn go up from the Big River Grill outside on the Boardwalk while drinking a Red Rocket Ale. I love Disney World

Also, a number of years ago, we went out on a rickety old fishing boat from Port Canaveral for what was, I believe, the first night launch. That was truly unforgettable for so many reasons!

 

[teach22180]

I watched a shuttle after it's launch a couple of years ago from the pool area of All Star Movies. I was the only person looking, so the bartender saw me and gave me some hints. It was clear that it was something unusual, so you should know it if you can see it!

 

[Lv4Disney]

This was the Shuttle Atlantis in February of 2001 from our balcony at GL.

 

[Sheribo]

We drove to Titusville a year ago (Mar 2008) and enjoyed it but the drive back to our resort took 4 hours. The launch was at about 2:30am and I was miserable all the next day for lack of sleep.

This past March we watched from the beach at the Poly. Of course, you don't hear it, feel it or smell it from that far away but we were able to get back to our own resort very quickly.

We are heading to WDW with friends again this November and there is another scheduled launch. They desperately want to drive to the coast to see it but I think I'll watch from Orlando!

 

[Sunshine1987]

So what are the chances of seeing the shuttle from Disney Studios? Any suggestions on where to be at the time of the launch???

 

[HelenParr]

From HS, I think you would see it best from the boat dock -- looking toward Epcot. (I base this only on having watching from YC, and it appeared in sky toward Epcot, if standing on the bridge between YC and Swan/Dolphin/Boardwalk).

 

[OhMari]

We spent the day over at the coast last Nov. 16 nite launch.
It truly was something to see.
It took us 2 hours to get back.
If they would open the toll booths, it wouldn't take so long to get back.
This is the hold up.
We did the Nascar Race in Homestead 2 days later and when the race was over,
they opened all the toll booths up on the Turnpike and we made it back to Orlando in 3 hours.

 

[suejai]

We are going to see the launch from Kennedy. I never even thought about the traffic coming back! I think we will take the advice of a pp and hang out at the beach and go for dinner. Any suggestions on where to eat?

Once again the DIS boards prove invaluable


I just checked the NASA website for more info and they said they are holding a news conference at 6pm on April 30 to discuss the status of the mission and to announce the official launch date.

Sue

 

[Poohbear123]

I have seen a few of the Launches in my lifetime, the last was in Nov. of 2008. I was attending Super Soap Weekend, it was raining a little, and I was watching out for Soap Stars, when someone in the crowd yelled: OOoooo! I looked where they were looking, thinking it WAS a Soap star, and they were looking into the sky over towards China (I was over by the American Adventure area). I looked...and there WAS an Orange Flash....it was awesome for the 3 seconds I saw it, as it went behind the Clouds. I than knew that was more exciting than seeing a Soap Star.

 

[Sunshine1987]

From HS, I think you would see it best from the boat dock -- looking toward Epcot. (I base this only on having watching from YC, and it appeared in sky toward Epcot, if standing on the bridge between YC and Swan/Dolphin/Boardwalk).

Thanks! We will be finishing our lunch at Prime Time Cafe at that time so it shouldn't be too far to check it out! I hope we get to see it. I checked the launch schedule when we first booked our trip and didn't notice any, so they must have changed it over the course of the past few months. On our last trip to Disney we went to Cocoa beach but we didn't see a launch. This time we don't have the leisure of taking an extra day due to work. It will still be really neat if we can see the launch, even from a distance!

 

[Conan the Librarian]

I plan on being on or near the boat launch area. It just depends on our 50's prime time also.

They changed the time sometimes Friday or Saturday. Works better for us.

 

[sightcrr]

As of April 30 the latest word is that shuttle launch is a go for May 11, 2009.
There are some tickets on eBay but we decided just to view it from MK if we can and not use up a whole day viewing the launch from close by. We may change our minds and we may also regret not getting closer as this will likely be the only chance we have to see a lift off in person.

 

[RabFlmom]

As of April 30 the latest word is that shuttle launch is a go for May 11, 2009.
There are some tickets on eBay but we decided just to view it from MK if we can and not use up a whole day viewing the launch from close by. We may change our minds and we may also regret not getting closer as this will likely be the only chance we have to see a lift off in person.

For vacationers it is a Once in a Lifetime thing that will be running out in a short time so if you have any inkling at all to see it closer and feel the excitement of the crowd on the coast , now is the time. It is a different experience altogether when you are actually there and relatively close to the launch. You can't hear the rumble or feel the earth move when you are 50 miles away. <g>