I intended to write a longer post on viewing from Kennedy Space Center‘s main visitor complex (not the causeway. Unfortunately, it was an unexpectedly busy day, so I simply ran out of time. However, I’d still like to provide some information for my fellow launch viewers.
In short: viewing from Kennedy Space Centers’s main visitor complex is not as bad as you may think. Granted, the view is obstructed, and you won’t see the (exciting) first seconds of the launch. However, there are lots of activities scheduled at the center on launch days. There are kid’s activities, special astronaut encounters and much more (at least this is promised by KSC, but I am confident they live up to the promise). Compare that to waiting hours on a parking lot – especially when traveling with your family. So viewing from KSC’s main complex is probably worth considering – especially if you have other opportunities to view launches (e.g. if you live relatively close to Titusville). For the greatest view, you should try to obtain launch transportation tickets at a later launch. If you just have one time and did not get launch transportation tickets, you may consider purchasing those NASA causeway tickets via official tour operators.
To get you an impression of what a launch looks like form the main complex, you may want to have a look at this youtube video:
And this Google video may be even better:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2505328158758910223&q=shuttle&pr=goog-sl&hl=en
Finally, I have a few select impressions from KSC’s launch day setup from one of my failed attempts ;)