Mardi Gras 2023. Laissez les bon temps rouler (let the good times roll). Parades, King Cake, Cursed Club, Voodoo Dolls, Food, Rocket Ships and more

[Robo56]

Saturday, February 11th

After a good nights sleep it was time to get up and moving. I got up early and took a nice bubble bath. I had already packed by back before I went to bed. So I dressed grabbed by suitcase and out the door I went.

I stopped at the desk to check out and Hope who had checked me in few days before was there and she checked me out. She is a wonderful young lady with a fantastic happy personality.

Checking out is not hard as I know I will be back to Universal again. I will be back this summer and again in September for HHN. I do enjoy coming to my HAPPY place and it is always nice to look forward to.

As I have grown older I have found a nice balance of relaxation at the pool, a little retail therapy and park time and enjoying good food on my vacations to Universal.

I had a wonderful time celebrating Mardi Gras at Universal this trip. Universal has done a wonderful job of hosting events during the year and concerts. They have grown so much in the many years I have been coming to visit. It has been wonderful to see the progress and I look forward to Epic Universe.

This morning I was excited about my trip to Kennedy Space Center. No matter how many times I go during the year I always find something I have not explored the time before.

A little back story. I‘am a Star Gazer….LOL….always have been. I do enjoy taking my telescope out and looking at the moon, planets and stars.

I remember the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20th 1969. I was 10 years old. Neil Armstrong’s words when he stepped off the Lunar Module (The Eagle) and said “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind“ was something to see and left an impression on me I would never forget. I like everyone else around the World was glued to the TV in awe.

Of the 3 astronauts on Apollo 11 Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the moon that day. Collins stayed back on ship and the next day the lunar module ascended back to the ship and docked after Armstrong and Aldrin had spent the night on the moons surface in the module.

They left a plaque on the moon which read “Here men from the planet Earth- first set foot on the moon-July 1969 A.D.-We came in peace for all mankind”

I first went to Kennedy Space Center when we took our son when he was 12 years old. That was 33 years ago. Many years later we then took our son, daughter in law, granddaughter and grandson which was about 15 years ago. There was another gap of about another 13 years until I would return again and boy had Kennedy Space center changed. I‘am getting ahead of myself here…..LOL

The trip up to Kennedy Space Center is easy. From the resort I take the I4 to the 528 East. Just follow the signs. It is about 54 miles from the Resorts at Universal.

The 528 is a toll road so you can pay for your tolls (if you do this keep to the right once you are approaching the toll area) or you can be preemptive with your travels in Florida and buy a SunPass toll pass transponder and put some money on your account and use it to cover all your travels in Florida that have tolls. It is easy to set up. You can purchase them at the welcome centers in Florida and the Travel centers on the Turnpike. Florida has done away with lot of their toll booths and if you don’t have SunPass or EZ Pass they will take a picture of your license plate and bill you and that will end up costing you more.



If you have a rental car they give you and option for an upcharge of using their SunPass card on the windshield of your rental car. If you do not use it and you go through a toll without paying or having use of SunPass they will take a picture of your license as you go through and the rental company will charge you an up charge for the toll.

Also if you rent a car you can just take your portable transponder off your front windshield put it on the windshield of your rental car and go into your account and add your rental car license plate for the amount of time you will have it and your good to go. JUST DON’T FORGET TO REMOVE YOUR TRANSPONDER WHEN YOU TURN IN YOUR RENTAL CAR.



I wanted to get to the KSC when it opened at 9am as I knew it would be busy today. It was Saturday and KSC is busy on the weekends. Best time to go if you can is during the week. The weather is nice during the winter months up until May. It is hot in the summer and then becomes pleasant again at the end of September on through the winter months.

It was time to renew my AP so I planned to do that first thing when I arrived. With your AP you get free parking and 10% off your food and merchandise.

If you know you will be visiting more then once it pays to get an AP.

Also there is a family AP that could come out to be a big savings for a family of 6.

Tickets, AP’s and add on experiences are easily bought online on Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Website.

I arrived at about 9:15 am and there was a line to get in already. There are some nice photo ops outside of the gate.





Once inside I went to the office to renew my AP. You get your picture taken for your hard plastic AP and a nice lanyard comes with it. There are nice pins and keychains to hang on your lanyard to purchase within the different stores.

I noticed that the new AP photo was of the new Gateway Building that opened last Spring.



It can take a couple of days to really appreciate all there is to be seen at the Visitors Complex. If you only have one day make sure to be there as soon as the complex opens to take advantage of all there is to see and do.

Once you enter the complex to the left is the Heroes and Legends building.


To the right of that building and straight ahead is the Rocket Garden. A new addition to the rocket garden a couple of years ago was the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta II rocket with the shark face on the payload fairing. It stands a 132 feet tall and really stands out from the other rockets in the garden.










To be continued

 

[Robo56]

Saturday, February 11th continued

The Heroes and Legends building is full of wonderful information and displays. On the side of the building is the chiseled likeness of the original Mercury Seven Astronauts.

Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glen, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton. These seven Astronauts were chosen to to fly spacecraft for Project Mercury.






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The wives of the Astronauts.


One of Gus Grissom‘s space suits.

Gus Grissom was from Mitchell Indiana. He is a Hoosier Hero and well loved and remembered for his contribution to the Science of space travel.



Different flight helmets.






There is a lot to see and enjoy in the Heroes and Legends building.

If you have a child who is interested in the history of Space travel, Rockets ships etc… this is a place that is a must see. There is fantastic historical information, ships, rocket boosters, spacesuits and more.

Kennedy Space Center is a treasure trove of information. I have often thought as I walk through the exhibits what an awesome place to gather information and photos for a report for a school project that would be a guaranteed A-plus.

 

[Robo56]

I wanted to take a little aside from the trip report to talk about the SpaceX Starship lift off yesterday. Wow…..that was something to see. Of course the ship did not separate from the booster and it exploded, but to get a monster ship like that off the ground and that far was an achievement.

I read that the booster and rocket stand 390 feet tall. Starship is the most powerful rocket to ever fly.

The Starship launch vehicle has two stages the first stage Super Heavy Rocket Booster and the second stage Starship Space Craft. It will be interesting to see the continued successes with this ship in the future.




The Starship reminds me of Flash Gordons ship



One of my favorite movies is “The Day the Earth Stood Still”.
The original movie was made in 1951 and starred Patricia Neal, Micheal Rennie and Sam Jaffe.










The alien Klaatu played by Micheal Rennie told Patrica Neal character Helen Benson that if something should happened to him to go and tell Gort the giant Alien Humanoid Robot protector these words “Klaatu Barada Nikto”.

Funny the things you remember from movies.

OOPS…..Need to get back to the trip report.




To be continued

 

[keishashadow]

“Flash…ah, ah! He’ll save every one of us” disney is doing a live action remake.

 

[Robo56]

Flash…ah, ah! He’ll save every one of us” disney is doing a live action remake.

That would be interesting to see. I will have to look that up.

 

[Robo56]

Saturday, February 11th continued

After leaving the Heroes and Legends building I walked offer to the office where you purchase the AP’s and renewed my AP. This office is a sharp right once you get in the entrance follow the fence line.

There are very nice visitor guides with maps and inserts with the times of all the events that will be occurring during your visits. The maps are located right in front of you when you scan in and enter the park.








Also I wanted to share that on the days when there is going to be a lift off of a ship primarily from 39A or 39B the Apollo/Saturn V Center bus trips for the general ticket holders stop a few hours before lift off. This is so the people who have paid for the extra ticket that allows them to view the lift off from the bleachers of the Apollo/Saturn V Center can enjoy that extra perk. Those viewing areas are a closer to view lift offs from LC 39A and 39B. The LC stands for launch complex.

I brought this up so that say if a lift off is occurring for instance at 3 pm. I would make the bus trip over to the Apollo/Saturn V Center first thing in the morning to enjoy your visit there then head back to the main complex and do everything else.

Elon Musk has rented 39A for at least 20 years. So you will see the majority of his ships being sent up from this LC. He also uses LC 40.

ARTEMIS lifted off of 39B.




You have to take a bus from KSC main complex to the Apollo/Saturn V Center which is included in you gate ticket price.

Many years ago the bus would take you right along the route that the Space ship travels from the Vehicle Assembly Building to 39A and B. This would get you closer to the VAB building and the rock road that the ship is transported to the LC by the Crawler-Transporter. That no longer happens and is an extra. Occasionally the bus will make the loop around the VAB for a closer look

I’am getting a little ahead of myself here. I will share more on the VAB later.

Like Universal you can upgrade your ticket to an AP.



After getting AP renewed I walked over to the new Gateway Deep Space Launch Complex building. This new building had opened last Spring. I had already been inside before and just barely touched the surface as it was very busy on day I went.

For those who have been to Kennedy Space Center before some of the ship exhibits that had been in the IMAX building that you would see after exiting show were moved to this building along with a lot of other new things.


I was looking forward to seeing a SpaceX Booster B1023.

This is a view looking down on the exhibits from the second floor. You can see the SpaceX rocket booster to the right and a mockup of the Sierra Spaces Dream Chaser. This is a modern Spaceplane that will be used to transport cargo to and from the international Space Station. It will launch on top of ULA’s (United Launch Alliance) Vulcan Rocket then it will return to Earth like a plane reminiscent of the Space Shuttle.



This SpaceX Booster B1023 is a Falcon 9 Full Thrust Booster that is on exhibit has launched twice. Once as a Falcon 9 and then as a side core to the First Falcon 9 Heavy launch.

Where did the SpaceX Series of Falcon Rockets get their names? I read that Elon Musk named the Falcon Rockets after the Millennium Falcon which was a modified Corellian light freighter. We all know who captained that ship. None other then the love of Princess Leia Skywalker's life, her future husband Han Solo. The 9 comes from the fact that the regular Falcon 9 is powered by 9 Merlin Engines.

I have seen a number of Falcon 9 Lift offs and only been around to see one Falcon Heavy lift off.

The Falcon Heavy lift off is an awesome site to see.





To be continued

 

[Robo56]

Saturday, February 11th continued


Another photo of the Sierra Spaces Dream Chaser




One of the components of B1023 Falcon 9 Boosters I wanted to get a close view of was the Grid Fins and Landing Legs.


The Grid Fins are used during re-entry and landing of the rocket booster. It helps in guiding the booster for landing on land or on one of the SpaceX Drone barge ships at sea.










Getting to look at the landing legs up close was a special treat too.






The legs are used to help land the Booster back on land or on one of the Drone ships. The legs fold out to help the booster land.

I took our son and daughter in law to watch a lift off on the beach in Cocoa of a Falcone 9 that lifted off of SLC 40. It was a clear day with minimal clouds and we could see the rocket go up and the separation of the booster. The booster flew back and landed back on land in the distance. It was an awesome site to see.


The exhaust plume from the ships are a beautiful site to see.

 

[Robo56]

SpaceX has created ASDS ( Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ships ). This allows the boosters to land at sea also.

Last I read there is one on the West coast and two on the East coast.




I saw this picture online and it is fitting for the man (Elon Musk) who is the Father of Modern Space age. Those who are Star Wars fans will remember who said this to Luke SkyWalker.



I think it is absolutely wonderful that Elon has been so open about sharing the designs of his ships and his love of the future of Space Travel.. He is sharing his genius with the upcoming brightest minds in the world of engineering.

His interest in sharing his passion of the future of space travel and his continued excellence in rocket technology is awe inspiring. This grandma is a fan.

He is reminding all of us to look to the stars again and dream of what the possibilities can be for the future of space exploration again.


The New Gateway Deep Space Launch Building also has a new ride called Spaceport. You get to choose a Flight plan from four options. It is located on the second floor. I chose to do the ”Red Planet” about Mars and look forward to doing the other options on future visits. This is a nice experience and is very popular.




To be continued

 

[Robo56]

Saturday, February 11th continued


Also located in the Gateway building is a dining option call the Space Bistro.




I have not eaten there, but it had some interesting things on the menu.


After I was left the Gateway building I did a little walking around.

I have done the IMAX show before so I decided to skip this.

Planet Play is a fun area for children to have fun and learn about Space. There is a lounge for parents to enjoy some coffee, beer or a wine while the littles play.




The Orbit Cafe is one of my favorite places to eat at KSC. The food is very good there and there are lots of options to choose from. They have one of the best burgers hands down at a park. If you are really hungry try the double cheese burger it will knock your socks off. There is a condiment bar to add your onion, pickles and tomatoes to your burger. There are healthy salad options too. The portion sizes are big.

You order at the kiosks and when your food is ready your number is called. It is pretty efficient. This cafe can be very busy at times when the park is humming.








I decided to head over for the bus ride to the Apollo/Saturn V Center.

The Bus Tour ride over to the Apollo/Saturn V is included in the price of your ticket. The buses are very efficiently run and the bus drivers are very nice. There is a video that plays on the bus that talks about KSC and the land it sits on.

You pass the Vehicle Assembly Building on your way there.



Typically if you sit on the right hand side of the bus you get the best photos of the VAB building then on the way back the left side is better. I have been stumped a couple of times and the bus has taken the loop around the VAB building so you never know.

Keep a look outside the window as you can usually catch a glimpse of a gator on your way.

Some interesting facts about KSC and the VAB building.

1) The VAB sits on 8 acres of land.

2) There are 4 large doors that stand 450 feet tall. There are 2 on the west side of the building and 2 on the east side and 7 smaller doors. The larger doors take 45 minutes to open.

3) It took 65,000 cubit feet of concrete to build.

4) Three and half Empire State buildings could fit inside its structure.

5) The American Flag stripes on the side of the building are large enough for a bus to drive down them.

6) KSC sits on 144, 000 acres of land Total.




Top be continued

 

[disneyseniors]

I love following along, and love even more your reporting of the KSC. I have never been there, and thought it was a one day trip to see it all! That clearly is not the case. It is massive with so much to see and do. How many days do you suggest for a first timer to see most of it?? Thanks so much

 

[Robo56]

I love following along, and love even more your reporting of the KSC. I have never been there, and thought it was a one day trip to see it all! That clearly is not the case. It is massive with so much to see and do. How many days do you suggest for a first timer to see most of it?? Thanks so much

So glad to hear you are enjoying the report and following along.

I think if you only have a day it would be jammed packed trying to get everything in and you would still not be able to appreciate it to The fullest.

You could spend almost half a day in the Atlantis building alone.

If you have the time I would recommend at least two days.

KSC has changed so much over the years and it is a wonderful addition to any vacation in the Orlando area or if you are enjoying a beach vacation.

 

[disneyseniors]

So glad to hear you are enjoying the report and following along.

I think if you only have a day it would be jammed packed trying to get everything in and you would still not be able to appreciate it to The fullest.

You could spend almost half a day in the Atlantis building alone.

If you have the time I would recommend at least two days.

KSC has changed so much over the years and it is a wonderful addition to any vacation in the Orlando area or if you are enjoying a beach vacation.

Thanks so much
It looks like a fantastic place to visit - the kind of place I like!
Maybe one day my hubby and I can go for at least 2 or 3 days.

 

[Robo56]

Thanks so much
It looks like a fantastic place to visit - the kind of place I like!
Maybe one day my hubby and I can go for at least 2 or 3 days.

Your welcome.

It is a wonderful place to visit. I think you and your husband would really enjoy a visit there.

 

[Robo56]

Saturday, February 11th continued

The Vehicle Assembly Building on the way to the Apollo/Saturn V Center.




When the bus arrives you get off the bus and wait for the doors to open for the
pre-presentation short movie. Then afterword you enter the APOLLO 8 FIRING ROOM room presentation. After this presentation you enter the large area that contains the Saturn V Rocket.





There is an awesome Saturn V Rocket hanging from the ceiling. It is retired American super heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by NASA under the Apollo program for human exploration of the Moon. It was flown from 1967 to 1973.




There is a movie presentation of the Apollo 11 moon landing in the Lunar Theatre. The entrance to the Lunar Theatre is on left side of building. If you don’t see it asked someone so you don‘t miss it. As it would be easily missed if you don’t really look for it.

After exiting the Lunar Theatre there are wonderful displays of the history of the development of space suits and ships and other interesting artifacts.

 

[Robo56]

To be continued

 

[Robo56]

Saturday, February 11th continued

Sorry the trip report has been stalled on a number of occasions. Life does get in the way at times.



There is a wonderful tribute to the men who lost their lives preparing for the Apollo 1 mission inside the Apollo/Saturn V Center. Gone, but not forgotten



Gus Grissom, Roger Chaffee and Ed White




There are some fun things to look at.


I think this Snoopy Space Dog statue is cute.




Looking into the seating arrangements of the space ships of the past and even some of the future shows how close and confined the space is inside the crew module.

 

[Robo56]

Outside of the Apollo/Saturn V Center is The Moon Tree Garden. The garden has 12 trees planted from seeds that orbited the moon.

The trees were germinated from those seeds and donated by Rosemary Roosa daughter of veteran Apollo 14 Astronaut Stuart Roosa. Rosemary is the President of the Moon Tree Foundation which was created in honor Of her father. Her father took seeds from the Loblolly Pine, Sweet Gum, Redwood, Sycamore and Douglas Fir Trees on his mission to the moon as part of a joint U.S. Forest Service/NASA project. The seeds were later geminated and planted all around the World to share the story of the mission.



There are nice plaques to read on the Apollo Missions in the Moon Garden.




















To be continued

 

[Robo56]

Saturday, February 11th continued


When you walk out the back glass doors of the Apollo/Saturn V building there is some nice green space and tables to set and have your lunch.

You will notice the bleachers that are facing the water. Those bleachers are used to help seat the folks who have purchased tickets to watch the lift offs of rockets.

There are additional bleachers that are on the other side of the fence near the Moon Tree Garden.

The bleachers give great views of rocket launches from 39 A and B.







The tickets to view a lift off last I checked were $250.00. If you are interested in seeing a nice view of a lift off it would be an awesome opportunity. That being said It can be a major hit to your wallet if you have a family of 4 you’re talking $1000.00. Transportation to the viewing area is included as well as a meal and gift.

Read the scrub policy if you have an interest in thIs event. The lift offs of the ships can be canceled do to weather and equipment issues.

I have witnessed cancelled lift offs at T-10 seconds or less.

If you are at KSC on the day of a lift off you can view the lift off from the park for only cost of your admission ticket. The view will not be as good, but it is will be a nice addition to your visit.

I typically drive up from my home and view the lift offs from the other side of Banana River. There are some nice areas to pull off of the 528 on Banana River.


My favorite spot is across the river from the VAB Building.


The photo enthusiasts like this spot too.


You can see people pulled over to the side of the 528 awaiting for the lift off.





Speaking of lift offs being canceled. Last February a SpaceX ship was getting ready for lift off from LC-40 and a cruise ship came out of Port Canaveral and the lift off had to be scrubbed as there is a no cruising zone within 3 miles of the lift area.

I ran into a retired cruise ship captain at this particular lift off I viewed. He is one of photo enthusiasts above and I asked him why a cruise ship would come out of the port prior to a scheduled lift off knowing there is a no sail zone within 3 miles during lift offs. He said there is not a lot of communication between everyone involved.

The mission had to be cancelled until the next day. Guess what? The next day a ship came out again, but it just made it over the 3 mile no cruise zone and the ship was able to lift off.

There is a narrow window of time that ships can lift off as far as the wind and weather is concerned.

I had my son and daughter in law on the beach waiting for the lift off when the cruise ship came out.

 

[Robo56]

Saturday, February 11th continued

There is a place to eat at the Apollo/Saturn V called the Moon Rock Cafe. If you want a quick meal the food is good.






They have a nice gift shop called The Right Stuff at the center.

I always seem to find something interesting to buy. I found these cuff links and always find some interesting pins.








To be continued

 

[Robo56]

Saturday, February 11th continued

This is a photo of the van that was used to take the Astronauts out to the ship.






After I had finished wondering around the gift shop it was time It was time to catch the bus and head back over to the main park.


My next place to visit was the Atlantis building.

It is just awe inspiring to stand back and look up at how gigantic this replica of the Rocket boosters that took the Shuttles into space are.
















To be continued.