Falcon 9 Launch From Epcot

[WEDWDW]

Where would be the best spot in Epcot to watch the Launch tonight?

TIA!

 

[White Cat]

Won’t matter much. Look towards Norway and Mexico.

 

[_19disnA]

How about the upper floor of a hotel facing East? Seems in the dark and so far from the coast, you really won't be able to see very much.

 

[JimMIA]

If the weather is clear, which it should be, you definitely will be able to see the launch. Or to be more precise, you will be able to see the rocket rising from Cape Canaveral. Cape Canaveral is roughly 75 miles east of Epcot.

Here's a long-exposure pic of a SpaceX launch seen from the UCF "Bounce House" football stadium NE of Orlando. UCF is only about 35 miles from Launch Pad 39A.

The stadium is not actually named SpaceX Stadium, but fans are pushing Elon Musk to sponsor it because UCF was originally founded in partnership with NASA.

 

[Figment of Speech]

Here's a rocket launch video a vlogger (Super Enthused, if anyone else is a fan) took from Epcot in December. The video of the rocket itself probably doesn't do it justice — it's pretty much just a bright light — but I'm sharing it because you can see where she was standing and what her view was like. I queued the video up to shortly before the launch, starting at the 21:00 timestamp. If you want to hear all her commentary, roll it back to around 19:30.

She was pretty psyched to watch it over Mission: Space, right after eating at Space 220. It was a Space 220 cast member who suggested this viewing location. She has the camera trained over the Mission: Space pavilion until the rocket comes into view, and then she moves it to the left. So if you try to replicate her viewing spot, expect the launch to be a bit left of the building and not directly above it.

 

[JimMIA]

Ideally, you would want to be away from a lot of nearby lights, preferably with open space to the east -- like maybe along the west side of the lake between the England and France areas.



The suggestion of a hotel top floor or rooftop is also an excellent one.

 

[fla4fun]

I recommend somewhere along the water on the Canada/UK side, with no trees in front of you. The launch will appear on the opposite side, above China/Norway/Mexico, usually just north of true east. Having the water between you and any trees/buildings on the horizon will make it easier to see and maximize the time it is visible. It does take a few seconds to appear above the horizon, so be patient. I do recommend that you have live launch coverage on your phone as sometimes they get scrubbed with seconds to spare, and it will save you waiting around for nothing.

 

[White Cat]

I’ll be watching from my crib.

 

[Nayan]

It has been postponed until tomorrow night due to weather.

 

[WEDWDW]

It has been postponed until tomorrow night due to weather.

Yes,as were riding Disney Skyliner and getting blown sideways(not really but it felt like it!lol) earlier Today,I knew it wasn't going to happen.

Will try again Tomorrow.

 

[JimMIA]

Tomorrow should be fine. Weather will be cold (40's to 50's), but the wind will be less than 10 MPH.

 

[JimMIA]

I think the launch is now scheduled for 7:04 PM Tuesday. Folks interested in watching it should closely monitor the countdown progress because it is subject to change.

The launch was delayed, not because of conditions at KSC, but conditions where the recovery ship was waiting for the first stage rocket to return for re-use. That's in the Atlantic north of the Bahamas.

The winds there are around 20 KT now, which would make the seas too rough for the drone ship to safely handle the landing of the rocket. Tomorrow at launch time, winds are expected to be about 5 KT, so that should be ideal.

 

[WEDWDW]

Launch was moved to 9:02 PM.

During the fireworks!

With a full Moon!

We are planning to watch from the Bridge between UK and France.

 

[JimMIA]

Launch was moved to 9:02 PM.

During the fireworks!

With a full Moon!

We are planning to watch from the Bridge between UK and France.

The fireworks will certainly complicate matters. I would be in place well before time because the fireworks crowds gather early.

 

[fla4fun]

Just watched it through my bedroom window. I love night launches!

 

[WEDWDW]

It was spectacular!

Looked like part of the fireworks show!

 

[MamaMermaid]

My 4yo was so bummed he missed it last night. We were going to go out for the 7pm launch but he couldn't hang until 9.

 

[JimMIA]

The US Space Command is launching an Atlas V rocket with two satellites from Cape Canaveral at 2 PM today. This won't be as impressive as a night launch, but something to look for if you're in the area. Should be visible from WDW.

https://www.local10.com/news/florida/2022/01/21/atlas-v-rocket-ready-to-launch-from-cape/