Myself, the wife and two sons, saw a launch in May 1997. Michael Foale was the Brit on that particular flight. We didn't know anything about the Shuttle launch, until the first morning greeting at our hotel. Even though we had 14 day hopper passes for Disneyworld, it was just too good an opportunity to pass up. It was also a night launch that made it extra spectacular. We were bussed to Kennedy Space Centre for a couple of hours, before re-boarding to the other side of that river you mentioned for the launch. Like you say the noise and vibrations were incredible, and the night sky lit up bright orange, so much so, all the birds started chirping, as they thought it was morning. A truly amazing experience I will take to the grave. Afterwards, we were taken back to the Space Centre to watch a film about the shuttle at the Imax cinema. Didn't get back to the hotel till around 7 am the following morning. Spent the rest of the day by the hotel pool, absolutely shattered, and lost 2 days of the hopper passes, but well worth it.
