Traveling Disers are lost and adrift somewhere?

[castlegazer]

OK - its your pick - we can either stay at WDW or we can go back and hang at the beach and visit Kennedy Space Center today.

ED, you are Good!

 

[edcrbnsoul]

I go on vacation and the TD's slack off lets visit the space center today

 

[deadheadbelle]

Yipee!! Space Center it is. I've been there once, when I was 10, and the only thing I remember was eating the ice cream that the astronauts eat in space.

Who is our tour guide. Can we walk slow? I think I pulled something during my surfing lesson yesterday.

 

[ohanafamily]

Hey, I just saw on the Travel Channel that US/IOA got their award for best Thrill Park in the world!!! They loved Spiderman...

I'll see you at Kennedy, after Breakfast

 

[castlegazer]

Oh, so my tag is actually cool, huh? Yippeee!

OK, everyone who will be catching up with us later, here is that map to Kennedy Space Center:

We are going to head out to have some astronaut ice cream prior to the tour. I love that stuff!

 

[castlegazer]

Hey look, the Wonder is in port today!

YUMMMM:

 

[castlegazer]

While we're eating our ice cream and waiting for the rest we need to stop over at the Astronaut Memorial for a minute.

Vistors to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex pause for a moment at the Astronauts Memorial Foundation's Space Mirror Memorial. Two granite panels bearing the names of the shuttle Columbia crew were added to the wall and were unveiled during a ceremony in late October

 

[castlegazer]

 

[castlegazer]

 

[castlegazer]

Don't forget to hit the Rocket Garden and my favorite, the Space Shuttle Plaza where you can board an actual space shuttle and look around and sit in the pilot seat - KEWL!

In the Space Shuttle Plaza, guests are met with a jaw-dropping, full-sized NASA Space Shuttle replica - Explorer.

Here you can experience how Astronauts live and work aboard real spacecraft. Sharing the plaza with Explorer are the other components needed to launch the orbiter: a huge external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters.

 

[castlegazer]

Our bus tour starts in about an hour or so, so why don't you feel free to explore and check out the IMAX theaters or the "Mad Mission to Mars". I need to get some work done IRL. So I will be back in a little bit.

I will be in the IMAX movie - Space Station 3D

 

[goofy4tink]

Phew....finally caught up with you guys!!!! Had a real tough time yesterday accessing the boards. Anyway....IRL, castlegazer, I have a question for you. Next summer Katie and I are going to do 5 nights at WDW, then have George fly down, meet us and rent a car to drive to Vero Beach for 4-5 days. Question...how doable would it be to visit Kennedy Space Center and then drive down to VB?

 

[castlegazer]

Hi I had a totally difficult time with the boards yesterday, therefore not much posting.

I think its totally doable. Kennedy Space Center is about an hour from WDW. You can either just visit the Visitor's Center or take the bus tours, someone told me you now have to pay to just visit the Vistors Center so its worth it to pay for the tours too now. You used to be able to walk around all the exhibits for free, but you would miss going out to the launch pads and some other sites. Its a full day if you do the whole tour, maybe something like six hours or so depending on your tollerance for the tour. Its a go at your own pace tour - they have the buses coming around all the time so you just get on the next one to come to the site you're at and then take it to the next stop.

You get to Vero Beach then by just taking A1A down the coast which leads you right to the resort. Or to be speedier, but less picturesque, you can go back out 528 and go down on I95. I would choose A1A as you get to drive right through Patrick's Air Force Base and see the ocean during most of the drive. I drove up from Vero one time but I can't remember how long it took as I was actually driving up from Ft. Lauderdale from a cruise. It can't be over an hour and half down there. Its only two hours from Orlando which is a much less direct route than coming from KSC.

Katie is the perfect age to go and do KSC. It would be a great experience for her. I love going out there. Its very awe insiring. Last time I went, they had the pieces of the ISS in the laboratories so you could see them being built - yup it was a while ago. You could also walk through a mock up of the ISS - which was extremely cool They may still have this now.

I would love to go and see their exhibits on the Mars mission also Cassini is going to make the punch through of the Saturn Rings really shortly which is a big big deal and will be very cool to see what they have for that. I also get teary seeing the astronaut memorial every time. It is beautiful and completely fitting.

Here's the link:
http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/html/exhibits.html

 

[goofy4tink]

Perfect....just wonderful. I know Katie will love it. Well, another trip to start planning. Thanks for the tips/info.

 

[castlegazer]

Looming over the landscape like a sleeping giant, the Vehicle Assembly Building towers 525 feet above the terrain at Kennedy Space Center. Built for the Apollo program in the 1960s, it is now the final assembly point for the Space Shuttle.

 

[edcrbnsoul]

I was there last in the mid 80's the day after one of the shuttles went up, very cool trip

 

[castlegazer]

Launch Pad 39-A

 

[deadheadbelle]

OOOOOOOOOOOH........................AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!1

 

[castlegazer]

I got to see a shuttle launch from the roof of our condos at least one time that I can remember. My husband and I had just gotten in very very late by plane and had to wake up at 3 am to go up to roof and see it launch - he was not happy with me, but it was very cool to see that stream of light going up into the air. Where did you watch the launch from, Ed? I have always wanted to get closer and watch from the causeway or some other place but at 3 in the morning, I was fine with the roof in my PJs.

Hey DHB and ED, thanks for at least letting me know someone's looking at my pics that I am finding for your enjoyment.

 

[castlegazer]

Photos of the Saturn V, but pictures do nothing to convey just how BIG this thing is. It is incredible.