Big Mack Goes Back : Part 6
Sunday 18th September
Due to our late night last night we had a bit of a long lie this morning and as a result we were on the road a lot later than we had planned. We managed to get to the Space Centre without getting lost, as it is very well signposted. It took us 1 hour and 20 minutes and we were pulling into the car park at around 11:30.
It was not that busy and we decided to pay the extra and go on the Close Up Tour which takes you as close to the shuttle launch pads and vehicle assembly building as you can get. We had a little time before the tour started and so we had a quick look around and spent some time in the Rocket garden which as the name suggests has loads of old rockets set up for you to explore. There is actually quite a lot to see and do at the visitor centre and I wished we had got there a bit earlier so we could have seen more of it, however it was time to get ourselves over to the bus for the start of our tour.
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We had left my FIL’s scooter at the reception and swapped it for one of the space centres wheelchairs. The bus we were going on had a special lift which came out of the side of it and lifted my FIL wheelchair and all up into the cabin. Our tour guide was an ex pilot and space program expert he knew absolutely everything there is to know and made our tour very enjoyable. We toured some of the buildings in the industrial area before heading down to the vehicle assembly building. This is where they assemble and disassemble the shuttles and is probably the most recognisable part of the complex. I am sure everyone has seen it on the TV at some stage, it has a massive USA flag on the side along with the NASA emblem and it still shows some scars from last year’s hurricanes. We then made our way down to the observation area next to the two shuttle launch pads where we stopped for around 15 minutes and got the chance to take photos etc. This was a great experience to get so close to these structures, which you see on TV all the time, was amazing.
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After that we got a look at the runway facility where the shuttle lands after a mission and then we finally stopped at the Apollo/Saturn V centre. This is a purpose built visitor centre, which has a full size Apollo/Saturn rocket (the one that went to the moon) running the length of it. After a look around we got something to eat and then did a bit of shopping.
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By the time we got the bus back to the main visitor complex it was time to head home. We all enjoyed KSC and agreed that we should have got up a bit earlier so we could have seen more of it.
Once back at the villa nobody could be bothered going back out for something to eat so we decided to get some takeaways. I phoned the local Chinese while the girls headed out to Dominos for some pizzas. One large pizza and some Chinese noodles later it was time for a couple of beers and a semi early night. Tomorrow was to be a full day at the Magic Kingdom and we would need all the sleep we could get.
Monday 19th September
We were up with the larks this morning and we found ourselves getting off of the monorail outside MK at around 08:50. We were a bit disappointed to see that we had missed most of the opening ceremony, I was sure it did not start this early last year. Anyway we were not going to let a little detail like that spoil our day.
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As we made our way through the gates we noticed Minnie and Mickey coming out to sign some autographs and take some pictures. My wife went instantly into stealth mode, grabbed our two kids and was at the front of the line before I knew it. After getting there pictures and autographs we donnered up Main Street towards Tomorrow land. We had a go on the Indy Speedway and Space Mountain bef
