Advice Re: June 13 Space Shuttle Launch NEEDED

[CLEO Z]

HELP! My husband (who works for NASA) just figured out that there is a space shuttle launch while we are in Orlando and wants to go.

I need advice from people who have gone to a launch before. Here are my questions:

Any recommendations for hotels near the launch?

If we decide to drive in from Orlando that morning (crazy I know), what time should we leave for a 7:19 am launch?

How long will it take us, given the traffic the launch will create, to get from Kennedy back to WDW?

We also have an option of meeting a bus near Kennedy in the Marriot hotel parking lot at 4 am THis bus is a free NASA thing, but we've been told that we will be lucky to leave the local Marriot by 11 am. This really messes with the WDW plans.

This is starting to sound like a HUGE pain, but since DH works for NASA and there won't be many more shuttle launches I feel like a bad mom and wife I turn down history with a family connection for the mouse!

Opinions and advice welcome! Thanks!

 

[friskykitten]

I can't help you out with most of your questions but I can tell you that we are able to see the space shuttle launch even from where we are, even in the daytime. We live on the opposite coast near Sarasota. So even if you are unable to actually get to Kennedy Space Center you still have a great chance of seeing it UNLESS there is a lot of cloud cover that will block your visibility. There is no way to know that until the day of and in the summer it will usually cloud up in the afternoons for our summer rain storms.

Of course your best viewing and excitement is going to be right there at Kennedy. Good luck and enjoy it!

 

[mrsklamc]

We stayed at the Radisson Resort at the port the night before our Disney cruise and had no complaints. They offer a free shuttle to Kennedy but I don't know if you can go onsite during a launch. You can watch it from the beach though.

 

[Tank]

I don't want to hijack this post but maybe someone reading this will know. We will be on our way to Orlando on the 13th. Planning a 10am arrival, is there a radio station that will be announcing the launch that we could listen to? We should be able to see it from the highway on our way and would love to pull over to watch. Just need to know exactly when. It would be nice if we could listen to the coverage. Probably need a station out of Jacksonville at 7am.