Looking for some advice on how best to experience a rocket launch from Kennedy Space Center on July 31st with my 9yr old son. Option #1 is to purchase VIP launch viewing tickets in advance ($20-$40 each, depending on location, plus $50 for Visitor Center admission), head to KSC early on launch day, tour the visitor center complex in the morning, take the bus to the viewing area in the afternoon and watch the launch. The disadvantages to this approach I am told are:
• The Visitor Center will be
packed and lines will be long on launch day
• The bus to and from the viewing area can take several hours, especially post launch and then have to deal with the congestion leaving the visiting center parking area
• If the launch is scrubbed after being bused to the viewing area you do not get a refund
• If the launch is scrubbed before being bused to the viewing area the tickets are good for another launch for up to 120 days. Realistically however, I've already booked my flights and can't make it back again to Florida later in the year so this is most likely a sunk cost.
The advantage however is you get to see the actual liftoff from the launch pad, not just when the rocket emerges from the horizon/tree line like you would if you watch outside KSC or from the Visitor Center parking lot.
Option #2 is to visit KSC a day or two before the launch. Lines will be shorter and if you take the bus tour you can see the rocket on the launch pad from about 1.5mi away (is this true?). On the day of the launch I've been told it's almost as good watching for free from a spot along the coast a few miles from KSC while listening to the launch commentary on the radio. And you won't be as disappointed if they scrub the launch.
Option #3 is a combination of the two: visit the KSC Visitor Center on launch day but leave by early afternoon to find a spot in Port Canaveral to watch the actual launch. This theoretically avoids most of the eastbound traffic getting from Orlando to Cape Canaveral (not a single person I spoke to who tried going over CH"M Pesach actually made it due to very heavy traffic both from Orlando and Miami) and avoids having to make the trip from Orlando twice in 2 days.
Can anyone who has experienced a launch at KSC comment on which you would recommend? I found just one launch TR:
http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=56415If you recommend #2 or #3, where is the best place to view a launch from Complex 37 (Google maps coordinates would be great). And how early should I show up? Any other tips? Thanks.
