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#1140
by
Astro_yyz
on 04 Jul, 2011 21:41
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I used Lynx to get from my hotel in Cocoa Beach to Orlando airport - they were great and very friendly and professional.
They service a wide area. Sorry, unsure about public transit there, although there are local transit buses in Cocoa Beach (not helpful to you though)
Katrina
Anyone able to help me work out the best and cheapest way to get from Orlando international airport to my hotel? The hotel is Fairfield Inn & Suites Orlando Lake Buena Vista in the Marriott Village 8615 Vineland Avenue · Orlando, FL 32821. I've checked their website, there's no hotel shuttle and the quoted price for a taxi is about $50 or so.
I see some sort of bus service called Lynx. Does anyone know if this runs to anywhere near the hotel and what the fare might be? I'd rather not have to spend money on a taxi when there's a cheaper public transport option in place.
Can't believe it's only 4 days to go. Everyone excited yet!!!???
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#1141
by
Boltsfan
on 04 Jul, 2011 21:55
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I'm booking my hotel tonight. should I stay in Daytona or Orlando. I know Daytona is further, but would there be less traffic. We're watching from the KSCVC. We'd like to get there before 6am. After the launch we may hang out for a bit , then get something to eat before returning to the hotel, and may be going to the KSC the next day since it's included in the ticket.
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#1142
by
hopes2
on 04 Jul, 2011 22:52
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I stayed in Daytona for the first last flight of Atlantis and was shocked at the lack of traffic both in and out. For the last flight of Discovery I came through Orlando, going in traffic was moderate, heading back towards Orlando the traffic was brutal.
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#1143
by
Walter S
on 04 Jul, 2011 22:53
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I'm booking my hotel tonight. should I stay in Daytona or Orlando. I know Daytona is further, but would there be less traffic. We're watching from the KSCVC. We'd like to get there before 6am. After the launch we may hang out for a bit , then get something to eat before returning to the hotel, and may be going to the KSC the next day since it's included in the ticket.
I'd definitely stay in Daytona, you will experience much less traffic. Well worth the few extra miles.
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#1144
by
dslsdog400
on 04 Jul, 2011 23:32
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I've been able to arrange my travel to Olando on July 7, and am getting a Gator Tours KSC viewing ticket.
I would be interested in buying a Causeway tour ticket if a spare one is available. I will be in Orlando with a rental car to get to the pickup location.
bwm.
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#1145
by
Swee
on 04 Jul, 2011 23:37
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Starting our drive down to Florida tomorrow, wishing all who are attending the launch safe travels, see some of you on the causeway later this week!
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#1146
by
JDA
on 04 Jul, 2011 23:45
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Surely someone can let me have a pair of Discover KSC tour tickets/slots for a pair of Causeway tour tickets? If not I'll have to resort to harrassing the lines waiting to board the tour buses on Thursday
About airport transport - we were going to use Mears and worked it out at approx £22 each way to our (Kissimmee) hotel, but then noticed we could get a rental car for a day from holidayautos for the same price, and not have the hassle of trying to get to a 2AM rendezvouz on public transport, or a tour bus out to KSC to see the pad the day before. 7% affiliate (not to benefit me! got it with my travel insurance) discount link for anyone it may help:
http://www.holidayautos.co.uk/cgi-bin/liveweb.sh/QSearch.w?ctryref=GBR&lang=EN&aff=xsolaceOtherwise I've got my trip all sorted now I think, just got to board the plane on Wednesday (technically tomorrow) and we're off. Good luck and best wishes to all!
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#1147
by
theglassengineer
on 05 Jul, 2011 01:48
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Priceline -- Car rental bid $15/day and accepted pick-up MCO... Same with hotel - priceline 3.5 star hotel in Orlando, $50.
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#1148
by
LendMeYourYears
on 05 Jul, 2011 02:14
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Tourist visa? UK is in the visa waiver program and we dont need them. Just the ESTA?
?
I'm Indian, studying in the UK. Need a visa for pretty much any western country.
Don't need a visa for the best place though: LEO and beyond. 
Going off topic here for a bit, but there's actually a funny story about that from the 1990's.
It was during one of the Shuttle-Mir missions in which they did some crew exchange - some of the crew was transferred to Mir and 2 Russians got aboard the shuttle. The thing is, no one had bothered to get visas for the Russians, so there was a whole hassle at Kennedy with immigration. Finally the state department created a waiver for aliens from outer space.
So you might not need a visa for LEO, but you sure as hell need one to get back!
There's some more detail on page 401 of the book (410 of the document): http://www.scribd.com/doc/32738008/R-zimmerman-Leaving-Earth-Space-Stations-Rival-Superpowers-and-the-Quest-for-Interplanetary-Travel?query=visa
LOL. That was Atlantis as well!
But yeah - I know about the immigration quirks. Heard about it when I read about NASA personnel having to carry Tracy Caldwell-Dyson's passports to Kazakhstan. (Don't know if these personnel had to get her passport stamped when they entered the country though? What do the immigration authorities do if you want to leave the country - but they have no record of you entering?
).
(But pedantically speaking: that Atlantis incident makes my point. You don't need a visa -or even a passport apparently- on you if you're going beyond the Karman Line
). \m/
Oh - also, THIS.
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#1149
by
LendMeYourYears
on 05 Jul, 2011 02:19
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Also - guys - really? No takers for the Causeway ticket? COME ON!
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#1150
by
lsullivan411
on 05 Jul, 2011 03:30
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If this is already mentioned someplace in this thread, apologies for any duplication -- but if you're looking to kill an hour or so this week while in town, you can visit
http://www.afspacemuseum.org/historycenter/index.htmMuseum is free, and for this week they are open 9-5 daily. The flown SpaceX Dragon is on display through at least the 10th as well. I was over there today, great people to talk to and a small, but very interesting little museum.
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#1151
by
CTdave
on 05 Jul, 2011 04:08
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Anyone have a spare parking pass to get into the visitor center? I'm buying!!!!!!!
We have tickets but don't want to be stuck on the bus. The wife isn't very happy..........
Thanks
David
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#1152
by
DrGuano
on 05 Jul, 2011 05:26
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Anyone have a spare parking pass to get into the visitor center? I'm buying!!!!!!!
We have tickets but don't want to be stuck on the bus. The wife isn't very happy..........
Thanks
David
If you have VC tickets from KSC, you can try going to the VC on the 6th or earlier and ask for a Parking Placard. They might give you one. If the VC ticket is through a tour bus company, they probably will not give you one. I tried this after STS-134 scrubbed. I went to Guest Services with a Gray Line ticket and was refused. Good luck!
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#1153
by
Furner
on 05 Jul, 2011 10:31
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Anyone have a spare parking pass to get into the visitor center? I'm buying!!!!!!!
We have tickets but don't want to be stuck on the bus. The wife isn't very happy..........
Thanks
David
It does not work that way. If you have FDT or Gator tickets, you need to ride their bus in.
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#1154
by
Nick
on 05 Jul, 2011 10:51
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Does anyone know how to find out when the SRBs/Recovery vessels will be coming back through Canaveral Lock?
I remember it being posted here when I was over for STS-129, I think as a report of a press conference question.
But I've never found an "official" way to get hold of this information.
Nick
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#1155
by
K8B
on 05 Jul, 2011 12:06
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Does anyone know how to find out when the SRBs/Recovery vessels will be coming back through Canaveral Lock?
I remember it being posted here when I was over for STS-129, I think as a report of a press conference question.
But I've never found an "official" way to get hold of this information.
Nick
It all depends on the weather/sea for recovery as to when they will pass through the locks. I think it's typically 3ish days after but if seas are choppy it can be more. Watch the post launch threads & it usually pops up there.
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#1156
by
stuart_wildcat
on 05 Jul, 2011 13:01
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Does anyone know how to find out when the SRBs/Recovery vessels will be coming back through Canaveral Lock?
I remember it being posted here when I was over for STS-129, I think as a report of a press conference question.
But I've never found an "official" way to get hold of this information.
Nick
It all depends on the weather/sea for recovery as to when they will pass through the locks. I think it's typically 3ish days after but if seas are choppy it can be more. Watch the post launch threads & it usually pops up there.
Actually the recovery ships can return even the day after the launch. For Endeavour and STS-134 that launched about 3 hours earlier than Atlantis will on the 8th (fingers crossed) the recovery ships came back in at sunset the day after launch.
I asked the same question a few pages ago wondering if anyone has more "official" information. Of particular importance to me is the question of if they can return into the port after dark.
I'm thinking that if the Atlantis launch is 3 hours later than Endeavour the possibilities for the booster ships returning are:
- Same time, sunset of day after launch
- After sunset and in the dark so not as much point to driving out
- First thing next day
Part of the things that go into deciding to launch is weather conditions for recovery. So I wouldn't think weather could delay the recovery ship return too much.
For those interested in seeing this spectacle look into info about getting to Jetty Park in port Canaveral. This is a better location to view than trying to view the ships going through the locks at the West end of the port.
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#1157
by
Nickolai
on 05 Jul, 2011 14:19
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Way earlier in the thread someone posted about the SRBs:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=23562.msg715795#msg715795L-1: Visit/tour KSC and the surrounding area (go early because tours stop sometime in the afternoon on this day)
L0: Watch launch (it will consume your entire day, guaranteed)
L+1: Recover from the launch experience
L+2: Go to Jetty Park and watch the SRBs come back (plan on waiting around for a while for them to show up)
L+3: Go to the Jetty Park locks and get within 25 feet of the SRBs (be there at 6am, as they go through early)
Also, is there any way to get up close to the shuttle the day before launch? Even if it's from a mile away I would be happy just to see it standing there.
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#1158
by
Barrister96
on 05 Jul, 2011 14:50
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So, my placard for STS-135 says arrive by 5:00 a.m., but I see on e-Bay that other placards are staggered anywhere from 4:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. What time do I realistically need to arrive? I have a couple of 70+ year old passengers, and we're driving down from Palm Coast. Don't want to cut it close, but also don't want to arrive way too early. Thanks.
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#1159
by
Andrewwski
on 05 Jul, 2011 15:04
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Anyone have a spare parking pass to get into the visitor center? I'm buying!!!!!!!
We have tickets but don't want to be stuck on the bus. The wife isn't very happy..........
Thanks
David
It does not work that way. If you have FDT or Gator tickets, you need to ride their bus in.
If you are just taking FDT or Gator for Visitors Complex viewing, you might be able to do this, as you go through the same gate at KSCVC as everyone else, if I recall correctly.
If you are taking FDT or Gator for Causeway viewing, you can't do that, as you ride the same bus to the Causeway.
?
).