Kennedy Space Center tour

[trypnotic]

We're coming to central Florida on May 7th and leaving on May 14th so we're obviously going to miss the Discovery launch but would like to take part in the KSC tour.

We're likely just going to take the standard Kennedy Space Center tour that you get with admission but were wondering how the view is of the Space Shuttle at the LC 39 Observation Gantry? Also, if anyone has any feelings about the tour I'd also be interested to know!

I'm compromising with bmleroy and only planning on spending a half-day there since space stuff isn't her thing

 

[leebee]

You will have a terrific view of the shuttle on the launch pad, and if you don't feel you are close enough you can pop a quarter into the binocular viewer- you should be able to see the eye color on the technicians! What a wonderful time to be at KSC...just days before return to flight! We adore KSC, definitely the best part is the bus tour that is included with your admission. We were there for the last shuttle launch (the ones who didn't make it back...sigh...) and I'd give my eyeteeth to be there for this one. DO NOT COMPROMISE on the bus tour- it is the BEST, especially when you get to the Saturn V exhibits!

 

[trypnotic]

You provide much confidence Thank-you! I'm really looking forward to going - I hope my wife gets something out of it as well. I love my photos and was hoping for a good view of the shuttle on the pad. I have 7x optical so that should suffice per your description!

I'd absolutely love to see a launch! I hope I get to before the current space program is phased out But alas, this time... the airline and hotel is already booked. Maybe next trip!

 

[ttfn3]

We visited the KSC for the first time the end of March. It was so much fun. We got to see into the Vehicle Assembly Building (from the bus tour) and saw the booster rockets for the shuttle launch. It was so cool just to see that. I would love to see the shuttle on the launch pad. I'm sure you will have a great view.

 

[leebee]

trypnotic. we really love going to KSC. I can't imagine anyone NOT getting something out of it. Don't get the admission with ksc and astronaut hall of fame...there isn't enough time to do both on one day. the most important thing to do is the bus tour, as i mentioned above. from the observation gantry you'll not only see the shuttle launch pads, but you'll also have a bird's eye view of the areas referred to as "historic" launch pads...where the mercury and gemini rockets were launched. once upon a time, before 9/11, we had a friend who worked at ksc and could take us behind the scenes- i've been out to the historic pads and in the bunker whree the ground crew watched these early flights. talk about touching a piece of history! can't go there anymore without taking a tour...this world we live in...anyhow, take the bus tour, you'll go by the vehicle assembly bldg, to the observation gantry, out to the shuttle landing area, but best of all is the saturn v exhibits. there is an actual saturn v rocket, originally scheduled to go to the moon (apollo 17?20?) before the program was scrapped, hanging from the ceiling. the 2 movies out here are great, there's an apollo capsule and lunar module, and a moon rock you can touch. back at the visitor's center you can walk thru a shuttle, visit the memorial garden, go to the rocket garden (worth walking thru, not just admiring from afar), and if you have time, the IMAX movies are pretty cool. while on the bus tour, keep your eyes peeled for gators and armadillos- also pretty cool. get your travel partner (DW?) to agree to plan to stay all day...you'll be glad you did!

ps- sorry about lower case typing- shift button sends typing into the ethers, it's annoying to lose messages!

 

[trypnotic]

I'm really excited to go - everything you described sounds like lots of fun! Maybe i'll get lucky and they will have wheeled Atlantis into the VAB by the time we go?

My wife and I don't have much else planned for that day except she wanted to drive around Cocoa Beach and around Celebration so maybe I can get her to stay longer and see the IMAX movies. We're going to be in the area for seven days and five of those are planned at WDW.

 

[flclarkkent]

oops! sorry

 

[leebee]

Cocoa Beach is about another 20-30 mins east of KSC. We stayed there last summer while DD was at Space Camp at KSC (dad and grampa are both physicists, they are psyched to have another budding scientist in the family!). Didn't find Cocoa Beach much to write home about, food-wise...wouldn't be my choice of place to go for dinner, although we did have a very good time staying there, having a beach vacation for 5 days while DD was at day camp at KSC. Celebration has some good restaurants; I'd definitely head back here for dinner. Try Columbia for great Cuban food, also there's a fairly large diner type place that has good "american" food.

 

[trypnotic]

Ahh Space Camp. I wish my parents would have let me gone while I was growing up. I don't know how many hours I spent watching that movie!

I think we're just going to limit our time in Cocoa Beach to just walking along the shore (provided we have time after our full day at KSC!

 

[darlene9947]

My husband works at Lockheed Martin, the company that builds the external tank. We are heading to Disney on May 21 and plan to spend a day at KSC. My husband got to see a launch in 1994. His team at LM won Team of the Year and they all went to KSC. Of course, his team had so many members, the company would not let spouses/significant others attend. I was sooo bummed. Now I'm hoping that I will finally see an actual launch!
Also, my 2 grandsons are coming with us and they both loved Johnson Space Center in Houston. We went there last year when we evacuated for Ivan the Terrible!! The boys still talk about the space shuttle. They will flip if the launch goes off the day we are there!! Wish us luck!

 

[DMRick]

We paid for the "extra" tour (maximum)..the bus ride, and the astronaut hall of fame only to find out when we got there, that the "regular" ticket now gives that to you. They wouldn't refund

 

[gjw007]

We're coming to central Florida on May 7th and leaving on May 14th so we're obviously going to miss the Discovery launch but would like to take part in the KSC tour.

We're likely just going to take the standard Kennedy Space Center tour that you get with admission but were wondering how the view is of the Space Shuttle at the LC 39 Observation Gantry? Also, if anyone has any feelings about the tour I'd also be interested to know!

I'm compromising with bmleroy and only planning on spending a half-day there since space stuff isn't her thing

You should get a good view of it. You will get a lot closer than I will. I didn't expect the launch during my week in Orlando (May 20 to 27), so I didn't order tickets for the bus ride (from KSC's visitor center) to watch the launch. Well, since they changed the launch date to the 22nd, I check to see if there were any tickets available for the bus. Nope! But they did have tickets available for the visitor's area. Not as close as I would like but still fairly close. I suspect any trips to the Saturn V will not occur until after the launch. My understanding is that you can actually see the launch from almost anywhere around KSC without great difficulty.

 

[bmleroy]

Thanks again all for your input everyone! I'm really looking forward to our day out at KSC.

Another quick question. Is it recommended to buy the tickets for admission/bus tour in advance from the web site? Or should we just wait until we get there?

This is trypnotic. I just realized my wife was logged in on my laptop after I made the post

 

[DMRick]

we bought ours here:
http://www.floridaorlandotickets.net/kennedy_space_center.html

 

[gjw007]

Thanks again all for your input everyone! I'm really looking forward to our day out at KSC.

Another quick question. Is it recommended to buy the tickets for admission/bus tour in advance from the web site? Or should we just wait until we get there?

This is trypnotic. I just realized my wife was logged in on my laptop after I made the post

Unless the site is restricted due to events such as the space shuttle launch, there is no advantage to purchasing in advance. I purchased mine this way so that I could be onsite for the launch but consider that is cost me $37.00 + tax + $10 shipping or around $50. You can purchase the same ticket at various locations in Orlando for around $33 or less.

There is a bus tour that is included in the basic ticket. It takes you to the Saturn V location and to some of the observation sights. You don't need to purchase anything for this.

For launchs, there is another bus ticket ($10) that takes you to a clear view of the launch. This is what I had hoped to purchase off the web but none were available. If you really want to get as close to a launch as possible, it would appear that it might be advantageous to make the purchases off the web since there is limited quantities of these available. I suspect for night launches they would be easier to get.

NASA URL: http://www.ksctickets.com/kennedyspacecenter/ltt.html

 

[leebee]

From what I know, the launch day tickets that get you as close as possible to the site basically don't get you much closer than the KSC visitor comples, which is closed to the public on launch day (from what I remember from last shuttle launch). For good viewing, head to Titusville. We stayed at the Holiday Inn the night before the launch so that we'd have a good viewing spot, but this is not necessary. Hundreds of people will park in the hotel parking lots and watch the launch. This area is directly across the river from the launch pads. You can see and feel an hear the launch quite well. It is very cool- you see the shock waves coming across the water, even. I would not pay extra to do the KSC launch day pkg, and as you can tell from me posts above, we are pretty space program obsessed around here! I'm thinking of coming down now that they moved the launch date. It would be like coming full circle, after the excitement or the last launch and hollow emptiness of its ending. (Of course, DH and I both work on grant money which ends in July- with no current hope of new money and no jobs lined up- not a good time to spend $$$$ on airfare for 3!)

 

[gjw007]

From what I know, the launch day tickets that get you as close as possible to the site basically don't get you much closer than the KSC visitor comples, which is closed to the public on launch day (from what I remember from last shuttle launch). For good viewing, head to Titusville.

I think I mentioned that the launch could be viewed along the coast. It is good to have this confirmed. I'm been told that night launches can be seen from Tampa but who knows. Still, if I'm going to drive there, I'm going to want to do something besides drive there and then drive back. There was a message with the tickets that I purchased from the NASA site that they will send you a access card to put on the front window to let you onto the visitor's center on launch day. I would assume that the visitor's center would open as well if they're going to let the public onsite. I don't think that you can purchase tickets the day of the launch to get to the visitor's center but I could be wrong.

 

[trypnotic]

It'd really be neat to see a night launch. According to an article on CNN, for at least the next two launches, they'll take place during the day so that high res shots can be taken to detect any foam or other debris falling off the external tank.

We'll obviously miss this launch so we'll likely just buy our tickets at the front gate.

 

[FishNette]

Just got back from our trip and thought I would let everyone know that you should plan to eat somewhere OTHER than at KSC. Not only is the food expensive (even by Disney standards), but it is awful. We paid $2.99 for a NON-refillable soda!!!! And, to make matters even worse, we waited in line for a good 15-20 minutes to get our food & pay for it.

And, there isn't a place to eat within 10 miles of the KSC. Either pack your own lunch (and return to the car to eat it), or arrange your schedule so you don't have to eat there. YUCK (or did I say that already???)!!!!

Other than this..... we had a GREAT time and enjoyed our tour. I also agree that the Astronaut Hall of Fame isn't worth the extra $7.

 

[leebee]

We liked the Astronaut Hall of Fame, just didn't find enough time to do both KSC and AHF on the same day. AHF took us about 2 hrs and was interesting; we did it on a separate day from KSC (with a separate ticket). We always have lunch at the Saturn V exhibit hall. I think the food is on a par, for variety, quality, and price, with the counter service at MK. Not good, not bad, costs more than it should, but I can't see taking the time to go back out to the car to eat. As DBIL says, different opinions is what keeps us from becoming boring!