we tried to catch a launch in fall 2006, but that launch got scrubbed. we finally did catch a launch this past august. some info that might be helpful:
- jetty park is kind of hard to find, the a nice place and the closest you can get to a launch without acually paying to get on NASA property. (from what have been told by several locals) you have to pay, per car to get onto the jetty park propery, but it is not much at all and well worth it.
- it takes about 45 min with trafic to get to jetty park from WDW if you leave orlando at least 4 hours before the launch time. do what we did, leave very early and make it your day.
- jetty park is acually at the very top tip of coco beach. from the parking lot at jetty park you can easily walk to the beach. (park up against the waters edge if you can - we saw manatees and turtles in the wild swiming in the jetty while waiting for the launch.)
- pack a cooler with food and drinks. there isn't much of anyplace for food or beach items or anything else there at the park. you will love having this cooler with you later (see next point)
- even though this trip only takes 45 min on the way to the launch, after the launch trafic will be backed up for hours and hours afterwards. even if you avoid the rush right after the launch, it is still going to take you a very long time to get back to orlando. (our launch took off at i think 6 or 7 pm. we hung out at the beach a while longer, packed up, found a dinner to eat, made a stop at a wal-mart and then 2-3 hours after the launch headed for orlando....it was still backed up. it took us a few hours to get back. make sure you have a full tank of gas, wipes in the car incase you need to go potty along the side of the road -saw lots of people doing so-and drinks and snacks if your kids will need them.
- note that the very little town where jetty park is located practically everything shuts down in that town during the launch. get what you need well before the launch.
- once you pay to get onto jetty park, you can leave, but they can't guarante you will be able to get back in. they may fill up before you return. if you can get in when you return, i believe you may have to pay again to get back on the property.
- one of the radio stations (sorry can't remember what one) plays the NASA count down and you can hear "ground control" giving info and other very cool info. be sure to find that out when you get there from someone and tune in. very cool. you will see the burn about 4 seconds after they get to 0. they will continue to give you cool info (like how many miles up they are by now and stuff like that). the entire thing only takes like a min and a half until you can't see or hear the shuttle anymore, but it is very very cool.
with all of that negative stuff you may be thinking it is a bad idea. not so. it was fantastic. i am so glad we did it. even my 2yo daughter was excited for it. it was a once in a lifetime thing for us and we don't regret it.
