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#520 by Andrewwski on 03 May, 2010 18:22
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I didn't think Gator let you get new tickets either though. Do they in fact let you do that?
Person that I spoke to at Dolphin said they would possibly stop at the VC after launch or scrub, in which case it would be perfect for buying new LTT's. Not sure if they actually will do that, but I will be asking the bus driver regardless. -
#521 by Furner on 03 May, 2010 18:30
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I didn't think Gator let you get new tickets either though. Do they in fact let you do that?
Person that I spoke to at Dolphin said they would possibly stop at the VC after launch or scrub, in which case it would be perfect for buying new LTT's. Not sure if they actually will do that, but I will be asking the bus driver regardless.
Pleading, begging, bribing!!! -
#522 by Yegor on 03 May, 2010 18:32
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I didn't think Gator let you get new tickets either though. Do they in fact let you do that?
I read in this thread that people who took bus tours in the past (I think it was Gator tours) were offered new LTT tour bus tickets in case of a last minutes scrub. -
#523 by dougmichel on 03 May, 2010 18:51
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I didn't think Gator let you get new tickets either though. Do they in fact let you do that?
Person that I spoke to at Dolphin said they would possibly stop at the VC after launch or scrub, in which case it would be perfect for buying new LTT's. Not sure if they actually will do that, but I will be asking the bus driver regardless.
I will be doing the same if it comes to that. I don't really want to sit on the bus driving back to Orlando only to turn around and try to get back to the VC before they sell out of LTT, although others mentioned that in the past they hold LTT for voucher people until the following day when they go on sale to anyone. If that is the case again I have until the VC closes for the day, which should not be an issue for a 2:20 launch. That is about 5 hours to get out of KSC and back again. Of course we all hope the launch goes off as planned and all of this is rendered meaningless
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#524 by Frostywinter on 04 May, 2010 12:00
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Shurley someone here who has experience in Launch's knows the procedure for what happens if a scrub happens?
Seems there is 2 cases
1. People who bought their own Causeway tickets online..
2. People who have their Cuaseway ticket as part of a tour..
Can someone who has experienced it all before comment ?
Do we loose out tickets (which seems the case)?
Do we automatically get an offer to pay for next attempt?
How do we get new tickets if scrubbed?
Many Tks -
#525 by cian on 04 May, 2010 12:30
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2. People who have their Cuaseway ticket as part of a tour..
Probably best to ask the company that you bought it off directly. They'll be able to give you the most accurate answer -
#526 by Furner on 04 May, 2010 14:40
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This was on Florida Dolphin Tour's website, not sure if it was always there or if it was updated:Quote
In the event of a scrub/cancellation/reschedule once onboard our vehicle but before reaching KSCVC:
* No Refunds will be issued.
* Guests will be transported to KSCVC as a normal day, unless the scheduled time of launch caused collection times to be outside of regular KSCVC operating hours, in which case clients will be returned to their original pickup locations and given the following options:
* Reschedule to the next launch date ($25 per person).
* Reschedule to visit KSCVC on a regularly scheduled Florida Dolphin Tours excursion.QuoteIn the event of a scrub/cancellation/reschedule at KSCVC:
* No Refunds will be issued.
* Guests will enjoy KSCVC as a regular day, unless the scheduled time of launch results in being at KSCVC outside of regular operating hours, in which case announcements will be made as to when to return to vehicle and guests will then have the following options:
* VIP guests have the option to cash in their green LTT ticket for merchandise or concessions up to $20 value, whilst still at KSCVC, or retain to use on subsequent launch date, unless green LTT “VIP” have already been collected by a member of KSCVC staff, then LTT ticket will be considered used and will not be valid for further use in any capacity.
* Reschedule to the next launch date ($25 per person)
* Reschedule to visit KSCVC on a regularly scheduled Florida Dolphin Tours excursion ($25 per person). In the event of ANY rescheduling scenario, clients must retain any and all tickets (blue&green) given to them for use on subsequent launch/KSCVC visit. Lost or stolen tickets will not be replaced and will have to be repurchased at face value.
* Please note that in some instances, in the event of a scrub - LTT viewing may not be available for the subsequent rescheduled dates, in which case you will have the option to return to KSCVC and watch the launch from the main visitors complex for the $25.00 reschedule fee.
So it sounds like in the event of a scrub either on the bus or once reaching the viewing site, the Dolphin bus will take you to the VC where you should be able to acquire a "scrub LTT". -
#527 by Yegor on 04 May, 2010 14:46
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Shurley someone here who has experience in Launch's knows the procedure for what happens if a scrub happens?
Seems there is 2 cases
1. People who bought their own Causeway tickets online..
2. People who have their Cuaseway ticket as part of a tour..
Can someone who has experienced it all before comment ?
Do we loose out tickets (which seems the case)?
Do we automatically get an offer to pay for next attempt?
How do we get new tickets if scrubbed?
Many Tks
You can find your answers by reading this entire thread.
I do not have experience but I read this entire thread and there seems to be the consensus from the people with experience in the following:
1.
a) if a scrub is before you boarded the bus to Causeway you do not loose your ticket.
b) if a scrub is while you are already on Causeway you loose your ticket but are able to buy a new Causeway (LTT) ticket for $25 the same day when you return to Visitor center.
2.
a) if a scrub is before you boarded the bus to Causeway you do not loose your ticket.
b) if a scrub is while you are already on Causeway you loose your ticket but those who took Gator tours say that they were offered a new LTT bus tour ticket for $50-60. Dolphin tour say that there will be no new LTT tickets but you will be able to see the next launch attempt from the Visitor center. Dolphin seems to repeat the info from the NASA Kennedy Space Center website:
http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/LTT.aspx
I think that Dolphin tours have less experience than Gator tours because their tickets are a little bit more expensive than Gator and probably not many people took Dolphin tours before. I think that Dolphin tours have the same chance to take new LTT tickets as Gator tours they just do not know about it.
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#528 by dougmichel on 04 May, 2010 15:03
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This was on Florida Dolphin Tour's website, not sure if it was always there or if it was updated:
QuoteIn the event of a scrub/cancellation/reschedule once onboard our vehicle but before reaching KSCVC:
* No Refunds will be issued.
* Guests will be transported to KSCVC as a normal day, unless the scheduled time of launch caused collection times to be outside of regular KSCVC operating hours, in which case clients will be returned to their original pickup locations and given the following options:
* Reschedule to the next launch date ($25 per person).
* Reschedule to visit KSCVC on a regularly scheduled Florida Dolphin Tours excursion.QuoteIn the event of a scrub/cancellation/reschedule at KSCVC:
* No Refunds will be issued.
* Guests will enjoy KSCVC as a regular day, unless the scheduled time of launch results in being at KSCVC outside of regular operating hours, in which case announcements will be made as to when to return to vehicle and guests will then have the following options:
* VIP guests have the option to cash in their green LTT ticket for merchandise or concessions up to $20 value, whilst still at KSCVC, or retain to use on subsequent launch date, unless green LTT “VIP” have already been collected by a member of KSCVC staff, then LTT ticket will be considered used and will not be valid for further use in any capacity.
* Reschedule to the next launch date ($25 per person)
* Reschedule to visit KSCVC on a regularly scheduled Florida Dolphin Tours excursion ($25 per person). In the event of ANY rescheduling scenario, clients must retain any and all tickets (blue&green) given to them for use on subsequent launch/KSCVC visit. Lost or stolen tickets will not be replaced and will have to be repurchased at face value.
* Please note that in some instances, in the event of a scrub - LTT viewing may not be available for the subsequent rescheduled dates, in which case you will have the option to return to KSCVC and watch the launch from the main visitors complex for the $25.00 reschedule fee.
So it sounds like in the event of a scrub either on the bus or once reaching the viewing site, the Dolphin bus will take you to the VC where you should be able to acquire a "scrub LTT".
Hopefully this is the case, a guy I spoke with who took Dolphin before said that they had a weather scrub once already at the causeway and the bus did not return to the VC to allow him to get a new LTT. I guess I never asked him what time of day the launch was, I assumed afternoon since it was a weather issue. They may have changed their policy since then and return to the VC now. -
#529 by nono_in_space on 04 May, 2010 16:27
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So for those of us who are travelling with gator or another company from Orlando by bus there is the question of how to come back to Orlando in the case that we only can leave the bus at VC but the bus will not waiting.
Will there be an NSF meeting point in front of VC e.g. to share taxis back to Orlando? -
#530 by Furner on 04 May, 2010 17:44
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Causeway tickets are becoming more reasonable on ebay.
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#531 by spacedog71 on 04 May, 2010 17:54
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there is no reason to think the tour buses will return from the causeway to the visitor center after a scrub. they're almost certainly going to leave the causeway and go straight back to orlando or cocoa beach or wherever you were picked up.
here's what the KSCVC parking lot is like for hours after either a launch or a scrub: a completely bottlenecked single lane of KSCVC buses entering the main bus loop from the causeway, to drop off those who bought tickets online and drove onto the premises with a parking placard, and a completely bottlenecked single lane of cars with parking placards trying to leave the main parking area. traffic in gets waved through by police, and then they come to a stop while traffic out gets waved through by police.
here's the way tour buses operate:
1. you're picked up at a designated parking lot somewhere in florida at a designated time by a tour bus and transported to the KSCVC.
2. you exit the bus with all your gear and feed your blue KSCVC ticket through a turnstile, which is returned to you when you walk through.
3. you go through metal detectors and bag screening, and spend a few hours in the visitor center while your bus is being screened by security.
4. a few hours before the scheduled launch, you and your already-screened gear are picked up inside the KSCVC grounds by your already-screened bus. you hand your LTT to an employee while in line to board the bus. from this moment on, you have nothing but a blue ticket good for one more day at the visitor center. as clearly stated in section 7.A.1 on the kennedy space center web site at http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/LTT.aspx, that's it. whatever happens after you board the bus to the causeway and surrender your LTT, your ticket has been used and KSCVC's obligation to you has been fulfilled.
5. your bus takes you to the causeway. the launch happens, or it does not.
6. your bus leaves the causeway and returns you to your designated parking lot.
people sometimes get confused on this point because bus tour attendees take a bus to the KSCVC and then board that same bus to the causeway a few hours later. "If you board a bus to the NASA Causeway and launch is postponed," proclaims the kennedy space center web site, "all elements of this ticket are considered used in full." by "board a bus" they're referring to step 4, not step 1.
the policies on the dolphin web site are badly written, because there should be an additional category listed after "In the event of a scrub/cancellation/reschedule at KSCVC" titled "In the event of a scrub/cancellation/reschedule after giving up your LTT and leaving the KSCVC for the causeway," covering steps 4-6.
both dolphin policies quoted above describe steps 1-3, scenarios where you are either on your way to the KSCVC and have not yet surrendered your LTT, or after you have arrived at the KSCVC -- and have also not yet surrendered your LTT (step 4). in either scenario, enjoying KSCVC "as a regular day" is still an option because you're either approaching or have arrived at the KSCVC but have not left for the causeway yet.
i have never heard of tour buses returning from the causeway to the KSCVC after a scrub. my experience after STS-128's weather scrub was that the gator tour bus went straight back to orlando. friends who took gator tours to STS-130 reported the same result after its weather scrub.
as relayed elsewhere in this thread, KSCVC has, in the past, given out vouchers for people boarding their buses (orange tickets, purchased online) to purchase replacement LTTs upon return to the KSCVC. their buses do return to the KSCVC, because all of the people on them arrived at the KSCVC by car, using the parking placards that were sent to them with their tickets. the handing out of vouchers is not a stated policy on their web site and is not guaranteed to happen at all for this last scheduled launch of atlantis. if anything, handing out vouchers at all in the past has been going well above and beyond what they're obligated to do.
my experience has been that gator tours does not give out these vouchers, because they head straight back to orlando after a scrub. on the bus ride home, people are offered either an opportunity to purchase return roundtrip tickets to view the launch from the visitor center with the second half of their blue ticket, or an opportunity to purchase return roundtrip tickets AND replacement LTTs, which has not been offered every time.
i have never taken dolphin or central florida bus packages. but i can't imagine they work differently from gator in this respect. -
#532 by dougmichel on 04 May, 2010 17:59
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Thanks spacedog, that was very detailed and goes along with what I have heard from other tour members in the past. I just have to hope that either the launch happens ontime, scrubs before we board the bus for the causeway, or Dolphin sells replacement LTT if a scrub happens after we leave for the causeway.
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#533 by robertross on 04 May, 2010 17:59
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my experience has been that gator tours does not give out these vouchers, because they head straight back to orlando after a scrub. on the bus ride home, people are offered either an opportunity to purchase return roundtrip tickets to view the launch from the visitor center with the second half of their blue ticket, or an opportunity to purchase return roundtrip tickets AND replacement LTTs, which has not been offered every time.
Thank you for all that, especially the above. -
#534 by john_raiders on 04 May, 2010 18:15
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Yo
From past experience of Gator, you only get 2 chances.
We'll assume handed in LTT.
Friday get scrubbed, so we get offered chance on bus to come back tomorrow with LTT.
Saturday gets scrubbed, than thats it Gator wont return for sunday, KSC dont give them the option.
Of course maybe different with last few launches, but that happened with STS-127 and STS-129, Causeway was deserted for 129.
John
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#535 by Yegor on 04 May, 2010 18:30
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spacedog71, john_raiders,
Thank you very much for the very valuable info! -
#536 by HKS on 04 May, 2010 22:10
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spacedog71, john_raiders, thanks for sharing your experience.
Wow!
What a confusing system...
That's why I got (was lucky to be able to buy) Causeway tickets from KSC as an backup to the package from Gator. -
#537 by robertross on 04 May, 2010 23:13
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spacedog71, john_raiders, thanks for sharing your experience.
Wow!
What a confusing system...
That's why I got (was lucky to be able to buy) Causeway tickets from KSC as an backup to the package from Gator.
Wow, you're actually in a better position than most: you have 2 LTT tickets!
As an aside, I received my official VC ticket & parking placard today (to go with my Gator tour, though I may be able to part with them by the sounds of it: view it from Titusville in the event of a scrub without an LTT).
JOY!!
(Less that 1 week until I leave: I can almost taste it now) hehe -
#538 by STS134 on 04 May, 2010 23:16
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I'm pulling for all of you. What dedicated fans! Love it.....You all deserve a great show after what you have been through already. Can't even imagine what the STS 132 Crew is going through.
ATLANTIS we love you. Thanks for your stalwart service, drive and beauty. -
#539 by mksys on 05 May, 2010 01:30
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Hi everybody,
I am planning to go to STS-132 (my first launch), and so far I have visitor center tickets, and I am still hoping that I might find some Causeway tickets (if anyone has any ideas, let me know!).
Assuming I get them somehow, can any of the more experienced launch goers give me an idea of how much time you need to give yourself to get from the VC, on the buses and out to the causeway? In other words, at what time in the morning before the launch should you make sure you leave the VC?
Thanks in advance,
Mark
