free tickets to Kennedy Space Center

[baleeve]

I wanted to share my recent experience in emailing my local representitives for free tickets.

I'm in the 10th District of Massachusetts. My local representative is Congressman Keating, who is up for re-election. My 2 Senators are Scott Brown and John Kerry. Scott Brown is in the middle of a tough re-election.

We were asking for tickets in April and I emailed all of them. Here's what happened.

Scott Brown's person emailed back right away stating that his office does not deal with requests of this nature in any way. Prompt but disappointing! I can see maybe his disapproval of expending tax dollars in this manner. Oh well! He's still one of the most handsome Senators in DC!

Kerry's office has not responded yet at all. He's the only one not running too. Although, he was supposedly helping Obama practice for the debates. Why, I don't know. Never thought of Kerry as a great debater.

Keating's office responded last by stating they signed me up for the tour....the DC Tour!!!! Emailed them back saying we weren't going to be in Washington and explaining that we were asking for Kennedy Space Center. I just received a response, they apologized and said they'd put in a request with NASA and will email me when they hear back. Whew!

I was wondering if the Space Center had switched from public to private hands and that's why people were having issues lately getting tickets. Now, I think it's just sporadic like another poster said. Some reps will do it, others won't. But whoever said start with your Congressman and not the Senators might be accurate. If you think about it; They are after every single vote in your small district as opposed to the Senators and maybe more willing to put out the effort.

I'll post back what happens next.

I will be paying close attention to your response as I too live in Massachusetts. I will be visiting Orlando next August and would love to get tickets for my 3 boys and I. Thanks.

 

[love280mickey]

update: well, amazingly, my email was sent out at 11:30 pm and by 9:30 am Patrick McHenry's office was calling me! Said he'd be happy to try and fulfil my request, but that he had to put it on hold and would be submitting it for me in September (6 months out).

So, I guess the good news is the program IS still in effect.

Yay! I rec'd an email yesterday that my tickets have been confirmed for Saturday April 6, the day we return to port and my dd's 13th birthday. It'll be another great surprise for her. Awesome response and follow up from Patrick McHenry's office.

 

[disneywwjrb]

I live in SC and contacted Joe Wilson's office. I have received confirmation for 4 tickets; that's all that is allowed per family. The kind lady in his office told me that she requested adult tickets so that I could pay the discounted rate for the child's ticket - how thoughtful. Thanks for the info here. I did not know this opportunity existed.

 

[Wendy Darling CA]

I am in California and recently e-mailed my Congressman with a polite request and the contact information for KSC provided in a previous post. One week later, I received a phone call to let me know they had contacted that person and were waiting to hear back. Two days later I received an e-mail that we got the 4 tickets for our May visit!! Thanks for the great info!!!!

 

[M&M-Mommy]

Hello Everyone!

I have a special request for anyone going to the Space Center.
We were fortunate enough to get tickets for free from our Congressman last year for a special visit to the Space Center. We had a wonderful time and my daughter (4 years old) picked out a special souvenir from our trip..a Hello Kitty Plush doll with a cool clear plastic helmet (so it looks like an astronaut). Really cute!
Anyway, we then went on our cruise for 7 days on the Magic. While we were on the ship..one night..the kitty doll fell somehow when our room steward was making up her bed for the night and the couch/bed busted the "helmet" part of the doll making it unsafe for her to have with the sharp plastic splinters.
We were going to try to go again this year..but its not going to work out this trip
Was wondering if anyone going..could you be so kind as to check to see if they still have the Hello Kitty Space doll Plush and if so purchase one for me.
I will pay for the doll and shipping. It would make my daughter very happy.
Please PM if you are interested in helping me out.
Thank you in advance!

 

[candmfox]

For those of you who are interested in the NASA experience, but aren't fortunate enough to latch on to free tix, here is a link for discounted tickets. There are probably restrictions, but it may help someone:

[aaarrrghhhh - link will not work....]

OK, instead, go to www.travelzoo.com and then search in the Find Deal box and select the tab "by Keyword" and search for the term NASA....

Good luck.

 

[pershing]

I will be paying close attention to your response as I too live in Massachusetts. I will be visiting Orlando next August and would love to get tickets for my 3 boys and I. Thanks.

Great news!! I got a response today from Congressman Keating's Office:

Good news! Your request for 4 adults on 4-11-13 has been approved by NASA. Admission tickets include a second day free for use at the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame® (must be used within seven days).

I will email you about a month prior to the tour date with more information and a confirmation number. This confirmation number will be all you need to pick up your tickets at the Visitor Complex on the day of your tour.

I'm wondering what happens if he doesn't get re-elected on Nov. 6th? Do I have to start over?

 

[pershing]

Ok now I'm actually reading what she wrote and wondering if you can only go to the Hall of Astronauts the second day and not the first?

I admit to not reading any trip reports yet. So maybe I'll go and do that now.

 

[charliez]

Ok now I'm actually reading what she wrote and wondering if you can only go to the Hall of Astronauts the second day and not the first?

Pretty sure you can do both in same day if you wish... but think you have to pick up tickets at KSC. Hall of Astronauts is down the road a bit. Main thing is you have tickets for 2-days. We weren't able to spend two days there last year, so just spent one day at KSC.

You might call KSC if you have questions... and I 'm guessing election results will not affect you one way or the other.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Does anyone know if you can change the date? When I requested them several months ago I just guessed on the date we would be in Florida. Now I have booked a DCL cruise and want to go the day before our cruise, which is 6 days later than I requested. I called NASA and they seemed confused and asked me to call back a week before the ticket dates. But I need to make hotel reservations, etc, before then...

 

[jcarwash]

Does anyone know if you can change the date? When I requested them several months ago I just guessed on the date we would be in Florida. Now I have booked a DCL cruise and want to go the day before our cruise, which is 6 days later than I requested. I called NASA and they seemed confused and asked me to call back a week before the ticket dates. But I need to make hotel reservations, etc, before then...

Just a guess, but I would contact your congressional office again and ask to change the date / basically request a new date. I think the number of complimentary passes is limited, so the tickets for the date you want may go to someone else.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Okay, thanks

I had thought about that, but with the election season going on I didn't want to bother them. But now that all of that is over, I'll shoot out an email.

 

[Billinaz]

Took us a few tries to get out Senator to get us the tickets. They typically assign a staff member to obtain them, and they are not at all up to date on these tickets. I got told that there were no shuttle launches, etc and when I gave them the info on legislative affiars office they requested the tickets for us.

Here is the current info on that:

Lisa Gibson
NASA Headquarters
Office of Legislative Affairs
300 E Street, SW
Washington, DC 20546
office: 202-358-1067
fax: 202-358-4340
Lisa.Gibson@nasa.gov

 

[pershing]

I wanted to share my recent experience in emailing my local representitives for free tickets.

I'm in the 10th District of Massachusetts. My local representative is Congressman Keating, who is up for re-election. My 2 Senators are Scott Brown and John Kerry. Scott Brown is in the middle of a tough re-election.

We were asking for tickets in April and I emailed all of them. Here's what happened.

Scott Brown's person emailed back right away stating that his office does not deal with requests of this nature in any way. Prompt but disappointing! I can see maybe his disapproval of expending tax dollars in this manner. Oh well! He's still one of the most handsome Senators in DC!

Kerry's office has not responded yet at all. He's the only one not running too. Although, he was supposedly helping Obama practice for the debates. Why, I don't know. Never thought of Kerry as a great debater.

Keating's office responded last by stating they signed me up for the tour....the DC Tour!!!! Emailed them back saying we weren't going to be in Washington and explaining that we were asking for Kennedy Space Center. I just received a response, they apologized and said they'd put in a request with NASA and will email me when they hear back. Whew!

I was wondering if the Space Center had switched from public to private hands and that's why people were having issues lately getting tickets. Now, I think it's just sporadic like another poster said. Some reps will do it, others won't. But whoever said start with your Congressman and not the Senators might be accurate. If you think about it; They are after every single vote in your small district as opposed to the Senators and maybe more willing to put out the effort.

I'll post back what happens next.

I wanted to add to my experience for the sake of accuracy.

On November 27, I did end up receiving a response from Senator Kerry's Office. I didn't notice it until today:

I wanted to let you know that we have received and processed your request for 4 tickets to the Kennedy Space Center on April 11th, 2013. I will let you know when I hear back from the Kennedy Space Center! Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions.



Best,

Stephani



The Office of Senator John Kerry

202-224-2742

I wish I had seen it so that I could have emailed her that we were all set 'cause she emailed me back yesterday 12/4:

I wanted to let you know that I heard back from the Kennedy Space Center, and they said they have already granted your request through Congressman Keating’s office. I hope you enjoy your time!



Best,

Stephani

So, Senator's do also respond for requests. Just at a slower pace in my case.

Good Luck to everyone!

 

[Mrsantolini]

I got my confirmation today for the free tickets to Kennedy space center in Orlando by contacting my congressman.

 

[Bekah21]

I emailed my congressman's office yesterday (1/1/13). They replied already this morning. They requested more information from me and stated that once I replied they will send out my letter! WOOHOO!! Glad to save some money on our trip!

 

[ctalley]

I spoke with a representative in our Senator's office this morning. She stated that she would be happy to submit my request and it might be 2-3 days before it was confirmed.

I had emailed the Senator's office on Friday evening. His office left a message Monday requesting additional information. They needed the breakdown between child (11 & under) and adult tickets. I am very hopeful that I will receive confirmation within the next few days that my request has been granted.

Thank you to everyone for sharing this information!

 

[love280mickey]

If you ever wondered what all the free tickets included, here's the reply I got today confirming my tickets from our Congressman in NC:

When you arrive at the KSC Visitor Complex parking lot you will see booths at the entrance to the parking lot. Tell the parking lot attendant you are a guest of NASA (it would be helpful if you would print out this correspondence). As a comp'd guest of NASA the parking fee will be waived. After parking, proceed to the “Will Call” window where you will tell them your confirmation number and you will be provided your complimentary admission tickets.



Tickets may be picked up any time after 9:00 a.m. on the day of the tour. The Center opens at 9:00 a.m. The bus tours begin running at 9:45 a.m., and run every 15 minutes. Tour passes will be held at the Visitor Center and should be picked up as soon as possible, but no later than 2:00 p.m., to ensure that you do not miss the tour. These tickets include:



• Admission to the Main Complex, including all exhibits and shows

• Bus tour, which includes the LC-39 Observation Gantry, International Space Station Center and the Apollo Saturn V Center

• Opportunity to see both IMAX Movies

• Visit to the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, which includes the museum of personal artifacts and interactive activity floor simulators

• A second day free for use at the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame® - must be used within seven days



An interactive map of the KSC Visitor Center Complex can be found at the following Internet site: http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/html/ksc_vc.htm.



We hope you enjoy your visit to the Kennedy Space Center.

 

[noriega]

Below is the response I received



Hi Paul,

Thank you for contacting the office of Congresswoman Kay Granger regarding tickets to see the NASA Space Center in Houston. Although we are unable to help with tickets because they have to be purchased, I have included the links to two websites which contain further information regarding the tickets.

The first is http://www.spacecenter.org/, and the second is http://www.citypass.com/houston?mv_source=spacecenterhouston.

Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

Donald Davidson

Rep. Kay Granger (TX-12)

202.225.5071

 

[dpuck1998]

Below is the response I received



Hi Paul,

Thank you for contacting the office of Congresswoman Kay Granger regarding tickets to see the NASA Space Center in Houston. Although we are unable to help with tickets because they have to be purchased, I have included the links to two websites which contain further information regarding the tickets.

The first is http://www.spacecenter.org/, and the second is http://www.citypass.com/houston?mv_source=spacecenterhouston.

Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

Donald Davidson

Rep. Kay Granger (TX-12)

202.225.5071

Keep asking and keep pushing. Feel free to have them contact an office you know has given out the tickets. I had to direct my rep to another rep in Texas to check into it.