Chapter 8
Kennedy Space Center!
Warning!!
The following chapter contains various disturbing scenes involving me, AussieAngel, being very grumpy. You know you just have those days where things dont go right from the start, and then you just cant get back on track? This was that day for me. I look back at this day and feel horrible and guilty, and I wish I could go back and change things, but I cant. Boooo! So anyway, consider yourself warned
Our day started at 4.40am. Whaaaaat?! Yes, thats right 4.40am!
Thats enough to make anybody grumpy!! Sometimes after a big night out, I go to bed at 4.40am. I certainly dont get up at 4.40am. But that morning, DF and I arose at 4.40am. Grrr. We stumbled around our little hotel room, showered, dressed, and headed to outside of the Pop lobby, where our tour bus was scheduled to pick us up at 5.10am to take us to Kennedy Space Center.
Did I mention it was still dark? Of course it was still dark. Did I also mention Im not a morning person. Sheesh! Nobody else was up yet. So we sat out the front of the lobby area and waited for our bus. And waited. And waited. And waited.
Heres DF waiting for the bus. In the dark.
While we were quietly waiting for the bus, I contemplated the situation. We were getting up before dawn, to drive two hours to visit the Kennedy Space Center, to see the space shuttle Atlantis launch. Okay, thats exciting. At least, it was for DF, because its his secret dream to be an astronaut, or at least, to see a launch. Things like this just dont happen in Australia! Imagine our luck that the day we had booked to go to KSC was actually launch day!! He was amazingly excited. I, on the other hand, wasnt so excited. I would have rathered play at Disney World for an extra day. But we were in this thing together, so grizzling just a little bit, I waited for the bus to take me far, far away from Disney World.
Hmm, the Gator Tours bus was quite late. At 5.45, it eventually arrived. 35 minutes late. No apology from the bus driver, just Quick, get in. Were late. Humph. Okay. We could have had 30 minutes more sleep! Grrr! But the bus was a cute little cosy mini-bus, and wed finally been picked up, so things were good. We were on our way to Kennedy Space Center!!
Except, we didnt go to Kennedy Space Center. We went to the Gator Tours headquarters, where we were ordered off that cosy little bus, and told to get on a huge, old, ugly-looking coach bus.
Ummm, okay. Apparently because it was a launch day, squillions of other people decided they wanted to go that day too.
That bus wasnt so good. I wont go into all the gory details, but basically, the air-conditioning didnt work, the windows were dripping with condensation, and it was HOT! Also, directly above me, I later discovered, was an oil leak of some sort. Yep. Oil. Oil dripped directly onto my hair, and my arms, and my white top. Oh, joy.
We moved seats, and I walked around all day with big black oil patches on my top. And also, our driver had a really, really strong Russian accent and nobody had any idea what she was saying. It wasnt a fun two hours.
Anyhoo, we eventually arrived at Kennedy Space Center. We all pretty much ran off the bus, screaming, AIR! Fresh air!! For the love of God, give me AIR!! Ha, okay, we didnt really, but Im sure we were all thinking it. I spoke to the bus driver about my top and the oil leak, and she said, Oh no. Ill call the headquarters and see what they can do. So she did. Headquarters, of course, said they could do nothing. Woohoo.
The day was off to a flying start so far!
After taking 6 hours to get through security (okay, maybe not 6 hours. Maybe more like 40 minutes.), we discovered the launch was scheduled for around 11.30am. It was then around 8am, and we all had to hang out in this arrival area until the launch.
For those who dont know, Kennedy Space Center is actually a massive area on Cape Canaveral, with lots of different sites. You arrive at this arrival centre, then take buses to the different areas of Kennedy Space Center (which are about 20 minutes apart) to see lots of different space-related stuff. You can tell Im not a space buff, sorry! But that day, because of the launch, the only part which was open to the public was the arrival area.
We went to see an IMAX movie which took 30 minutes, then wandered around the other mini-exhibits, like this astronaut outfit
And then, we twiddled our thumbs for 3 hours. Seriously, wed seen everything there was to see. It was already really, really hot, and the whole place was really, really packed. Im really, really bad at doing nothing. Especially after our action-packed Disney World days!! It was around this time that I had a cry. I couldnt help it! It was hot, it was crowded, I had oil all over me, and we were stranded with absolutely nothing to do for 3 hours.
DF snapped into action, and we went and grabbed some breakfast, and some drinks, and sat down with the trillions of other people in front of a huge big-screen TV to watch the launch.
So we sat. And sat. And sat. And got sunburnt. We just werent prepared, Im afraid! If we had have known this was what happened on launch days, we would have bought sunscreen, and books, and writing paper, and ipods, or anything to pass the time! Instead, we sat and listened to the NASA announcements which sounded a little something like this NASA to Houston, do you read? Houston to NASA, we read. Over and over and over.
At around 10.50, people started to get a bit excited. The launch was really going to happen! Only 40 minutes left! Yay! Even I was feeling a bit better, and was starting to think it might be fun after all, to see a rocket take off in the distance. The next 7 minutes went like this
NASA to Houston, do you confirm?
Houston to NASA, we confirm.
NASA begining countdown, 33 minutes to go.
Houston following countdown. 32 minutes to go.
Houston, this is NASA. Atlantis is cancelled. Do you read?
NASA, this is Houston. We read. Atlantis is cancelled.
WHaaaaaaaaaaat did they just say!?!! Did they seriously just say cancelled!? Whaaaaaaat!?
As I sat in utter disbelief, people around us stood up straight away without blinking an eyelid, packed up their chairs, gathered all their belongings, and left. Are they seriously saying that after getting up at 4.40am, driving in a hot, sticky, oil-dripping bus, then sitting here in the scorching sun for 3 hours, they cancelled the shuttle?! Yep, they surely did!!
Apparently this happens all the time. Heee. Apparently, Im a fool, because I didnt know this. Atlantis had already been cancelled and postponed 3 times before this. Hence the reason nobody around us was shocked. Not even DF was shocked. Instead of being mad, I got the giggles. I couldnt stop laughing at our amazing bad luck that wed had all day. I think I was a bit delirious, or sun-stroke, or both!
Since the launch had been cancelled though, this meant the rest of Kennedy Space Center was open to explore. So we jumped on a bus (after waiting about 45 minutes in a gigantic line), and visited the Apollo / Saturn center, where we saw
some big rockets. DF LOVED it, and I was just happy to be moving and seeing new things, but I really have no idea what I saw. Sorry!
We also got to see the Atlantis shuttle on the launch pad, from a long long way away. DF was so excited he got to see it! Here it is
It was then around 1.30, and we had to be back at our tour bus by 2.30, so we sadly headed back to the arrival section of KSC, and grudgingly hopped on our steamy, hot bus. Avoiding the oil leak at all costs, of course.
It really was a huge disappointment at Kennedy Space Center. Not only did we miss out on seeing the launch, but we missed out on exploring the majority of Kennedy Space Center! I felt really sad for DF, because Id been such a grump in the morning, and also because he was so looking forward to this day, and he really didnt get to see much at all. Poor DF. When we decided we were going to the United States, one of the first things he said he wanted to do was go to Kennedy Space Center. And it was such a dud day! I still feel really sad for him when I think about it.
If we went on a normal, non-launch day, Im sure we would have enjoyed our trip much more. It would have been cool to see some of the other exhibits and have some more time to explore different areas. Well definitely go back there next time we head to Disney World, and do it again properly! Wed hire a car and drive there ourselves, and spend as long as we wanted there for the day. I definitely wouldnt recommend Gator Tour Company, thats for sure!
That being said, we did buy some cool things in the gift shop. DF bought lots of gifts for his family, and we each bought some freeze-dried astronaut ice-cream. Hee. To make up for my bad behaviour that morning, I bought DF an astronaut pen which writes upside down you know, like on Seinfeld! He loved it so much so that for the rest of our trip, he carried it in his hand luggage on the plane, just in case our luggage got lost. Except every time we went through security, they pulled him to the side and searched through his hand luggage. We finally realised why
Because the astronaut pen is pressurized, just like a bomb is pressurized! Yowza!!
Anywayyyy, after a long, exhausting day, we finally arrived back at Pop, and went straight to bed. Even though it was only 4.30. Heee. We slept for a good two hours, then awoke, ready for our ADR at Ohana! Truth be told, we were both still very tired and feeling a bit cranky, and we were very, very close to calling and canceling our ADR.
But we didnt! We soldiered on, and caught a bus to Magic Kingdom, then jumped on another bus to the Polynesian. The Polynesian was beauuuuutiful! We just fell in love with it straight away. We had a little bit of time to explore before our ADR time, and we couldnt stop walking around saying, This is sooo pretty! I wish we were staying here! Its all so tropical and relaxing and inviting! It was just what we needed after a crazy, stressful day!
Our ADR at Ohana was for 8.45 Id made it late on purpose, since we originally werent meant to be getting back from KSC until much later. So eventually it was time to check in, and we were seated straight away! Just like the rest of the Polynesian, we adored Ohana! Our server was so friendly and relaxed, and made us feel right at home! There was limbo dancing happening for the kids, we had a beautiful view of the Magic Kingdom castle, and the whole place had such a fun, relaxed vibe to it. Immediately our worries from the day seem to wash away!
Dinner was fabulous we felt like a king and queen being waited on, and being served a huge feast. We got the giggles when all the food was laid out in front of us surely we cant be expected to eat all of that!? Heee! Here we are, with our feast fit for 26 hungry men
We thoroughly enjoyed all the food my favourites were the wontons with the peanut sauce, the chicken wings, and the turkey. And I dont normally like turkey!! DF loved the shrimp, the steak and the potatoes. And dont even get me started on that banana pudding for dessert! YUM!! It turned out to be one of our favourite meals of our whole trip so glad we didnt cancel it!
After filling up our bellies and feeling much, much more happy and relaxed, we headed back to Pop. We decided to splurge and catch a taxi instead of the buses, because it was already around 10pm, and we were sleepy! It only took about 15 minutes in the taxi, and once we arrived back at Pop, we fell straight into (our separate) beds and fell fast asleep!
I think that night at the Poly was really the first time we felt Disney magic! Everything had gone so wrong that day, and everything that night at the Poly just went so right! Great food, great people, great service, great view, great vibe
everything was great!
It had totally turned our moods around, and we were happy and ready to face our next day, at EPCOT! Yay!
And dont worry, there are no more cranky tears from me!!
Up next... Our big day at EPCOT!!
DF is happier with the arrangements I've made, or so I think
Hey he's getting married at Disney, what more could he want??
I have a day there planned in the middle of our holiday but it's NOT a launch day. Gator Tours was the company I've been referred to the most but their website has been down for almost 2 months 
Help! 
