CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Imagine whizzing through the darkness at Disney World's Space Mountain, or plunging off a virtual skyscraper at Universal Studios' The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman.
Now combine those sensations with the rumble of blast-off, the pressure of rising G-forces as you soar into space, the excitement of crashing through a terrifying meteor shower, or launching a satellite, and the thrill of roaring safely back to Earth.
That's the kind of virtual-reality experience many people want from the next big attraction at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, according to a recent informal readers poll by FLORIDA TODAY, the local daily newspaper for Florida's Space Coast.
Delaware North Park Services of Spaceport, Inc., which operates the visitor complex for NASA, announced last month that the company would spend $20 million to $30 million on its next attraction, but had not decided what it would be. So FLORIDA TODAY asked readers to send in their suggestions.
Most of the ideas were submitted by Brevard County residents, although some came via e-mail from as far away as California and the Netherlands.
Ideas ranged from roller coaster rides on a space theme to various space-related exhibits focusing on space program history, a request to re-instate space center auto tours, and a few suggestions that the Visitor Complex should just lower ticket prices. But the most popular idea was a virtual-reality space ride. "Ride a rocket! Even better, ride the shuttle!" Antonio Maldonado of Melbourne said about his idea for a simulation ride.
"Blast into space with a surround screen, open bay doors, deploy a satellite, return to Earth safely, view Earth from space," he added. "Feel the thunder, feel the roar! The lines will never end!"
Maldonado and others who want a virtual-reality ride at the Space Center could get their wish.
Delaware North plans to open the park's next major attraction sometime in 2004. Some kind of a space- ride simulator is "fairly likely," said Delaware North spokesman Dan LeBlanc.
Much like the response to FLORIDA TODAY's mini-poll, Buffalo, N.Y.,-based Delaware North's market research showed that some type of virtual-reality ride is "the next logical thing for us to do" at the Visitor Complex, LeBlanc said last week.
A big-ticket virtual-reality ride could be just the thing the Visitor Complex needs to reach the next level as a tourist attraction.
Normally, the park and the accompanying bus tour of the Space Center draw more than2 million visitors a year, making it Brevard's most popular tourist attraction.
But attendance slumped as the recession took a bite out of tourism, and the problem got worse at the park and other Florida attractions since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
A new space ride would help the Visitor Complex compete with Orlando-area theme parks, where virtual-reality rides are among the most popular draws.
It also could encourage more visitors to stay overnight at local hotels, said Brevard County Tourist Development Council Chairman Tom Wasdin.
"Our area doesn't have a theme park, and people like to do that when they're on vacation," he said.
Readers have plenty of ideas for ways to develop the theme. "Included should be a shuttle takeoff, docking into the International Space Station, an encounter with a large asteroid, and maybe some trips to the moon and Mars," said Danny Benitez of Melbourne in an e-mailed response to the poll.
Aaron Algiere of Palm Bay suggested going beyond a ride through space: Build a "ride through time" at the Visitor Complex, he said.
"What better way to tell the NASA story than ... an educational 'time machine' that brings its passengers back in time through an animated museum of the history of space exploration to date," Algiere said.
Visitors would need stomachs as strong as astronauts' if some of the readers have their way. Ed Thompson of Titusville wants to ride "an inverted roller coaster" through the Visitor Complex's Rocket Garden, where historic NASA launch vehicles are on display.
Orlando Torres of Melbourne took that idea a step further.
The Visitor Complex "would need roller coaster rides based on space travel, water rides, and a three-axis simulator ride, similar to the Spider Man (ride) at Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure -- but on a (simulated) Mars surface riding a rover," Torres said.
Or how about a ride similar to the Tower of Terror at Disney's MGM Studios, suggested Roger and Marissa MacLeod, also of Melbourne.
In that ride, patrons are seated in a car that plunges down an elevator shaft.
"My idea is a Tower of Terror in reverse," Roger MacLeod said. "I wanted to know what it feels like to sit in the space shuttle at liftoff."
Others favored building an exhibit to emphasize the Space Center's historical side. That has precedent: The visitor complex now features the Apollo/Saturn 5 Center, which features a 363-foot-long Saturn 5 moon rocket on its side and separated in stages, along with a dramatic theater show recreating the first manned Apollo launch. Delaware North spent $38 million to build the attraction, which opened in 1997.
Bob Glass of Weehawken, N.J. likes that idea. Give us "more history like the Saturn 5 Center. We do not need kiddy rides," he said. Bob Runge of Colrain, Mass., also wants more NASA hardware on display. His idea: "A building that houses in-depth artifacts and details from the Mercury, Gemini, Skylab, Apollo/Soyuz manned flights.
"Please, no kiddy rides," he added. "This is a place where education, and the marvels of manned and unmanned space flight, exploration, and technology hold one of its last spots on Earth as fun in itself."
Lawrence Farr of Greenville, S.C., offered a different idea. "Mothball the entire space complex in Florida and move all launch operations (including shuttle launches) to Vandenberg (Air Force Base in California). Use the money saved to build a memorial to the mechanics, electricians, and electronic technicians who made the launches from Florida possible."
Some called for scrapping plans for any expensive attractions.
Cape Canaveral resdient Roger Lundell said ticket prices at the Visitor Complex should be reduced, suggesting that more expensive attractions will lead to even higher admission prices.
"Cut the price in half," he said. "We don't go there any more and don't take any visitors there, either. All the locals we knew feel the same way. Another few years they will be charging the same price as Disney."
As stated in the mini-poll solicitation published in the Money section Feb. 23, all reader suggestions will be forwarded to Delaware North.
Published under license from FLORIDA TODAY. Copyright © 2002 FLORIDA TODAY. No portion of this material may be reproduced in any way without the written consent of FLORIDA TODAY.
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