Seattle: Space Needle

I liked the Space Needle more than I thought I would.

I suppose I was expecting it to be this kind of boring tourist attraction that doesn't live up to the hype; I have heard similar things about the Spanish Steps in Rome and Stonehenge (both of which I would still totally visit).

Plus, having been up on two other high up observation decks, I wasn't too impressed with either of them, though both are taller than the Space Needle.

Skydeck at Willis (Sears) Tower, Chicago: https://sporktogo.blogspot.com/2013/12/chicago-skydeck.html

CN Tower, Toronto: https://sporktogo.blogspot.com/2014/06/toronto-cn-tower.html 

I think what really helped here is that they don't take themselves too seriously. 

Various features remind you that this is "space age" and you can have fun with it.

Where else are you going to find a robot barista?

Built for the Century 21 Exposition World's Fair in 1962, looking toward the future involved a design that incorporated elements of a hot air balloon and a UFO. 

It would be easy to miss the balloon and only see the UFO (more effective than the ones in Flushing Meadows, despite the Men In Black plot point), and space ended up being more of a theme.

Some of my preference may be local bias. This may be my first time in the structure, but it is very familiar.

One of the first things I noticed going up was that from the one elevator I could see the interior stairs used for the Firefighters' Climb.

It wasn't as useful as I'd hoped for getting oriented to Seattle Center, but it did provide me my best view the Post-Intelligencer globe. (Though that was from the return elevator, not the observation deck.)

Yes, by going up there you are being a "tourist."

That doesn't have to be a bad thing.

COVID: I was masked the entire time. There's just no other reasonable option.

Accessibility: This is pretty good. There are stairs in some areas, but there are always ramps and elevators as well. 

We saw many mobility devices in use and there did not seem to be any problems.

It might not be great if you have acrophobia. 

https://www.spaceneedle.com/

Seattle Center and Armory

Seattle Center is a lot.

Of course Seattle is a bigger city than Portland, and it has some bigger attractions. There is a level where that should be expected.

I'm just saying, if you were to try and find the Portland equivalent, it would involve combining the Rose Quarter, Waterfront, and Saturday Market.

Then, even though there are street performers, you don't really have the convenience of being on the transit mall.

That's part of the problem; there are a lot of different things mashed together and it can create flow issues.

We were there for the Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum, plus we were going to eat at the Armory and ride the Monorail. 

There was a Duwamish Village set up with displays and vendors on one side; that was the part most like Saturday Market. (It was a Saturday, but I think that was set up specifically for the Memorial Day holiday.)

There was also the Northwest FolkLife Festival, with an outdoor concert, but also other vendors. They may have been related to the musical performances and clothing stalls inside the Armory, but I am not sure.

I am also not sure if they had anything to do with the marching band out back.

Regardless, I am sure that the FolkLife Festival made getting back and forth between the places we were going more crowded and difficult and we kept passing by booths recommending a donation of $20.

When events like this happen in Portland Waterfront Park, they are cordoned off, so not interrupting the flow of other activity. I have a greater appreciation for that now.

There are cool things to do, and for the most part we liked the things we did. (The next three posts will get into that.)

Overall, it felt big and messy, which I did not love.

In addition to the Space Needle and Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle Center is also home to the Museum of Pop Culture, the Pacific Science Center, the Seattle Children's Musuem, and the Gates Discovery Center, as well multiple performance venues and art galleries and installations. 

It has reasons for feeling big and messy; I don't deny that.

The Armory is like the food court of it all.

 There are other food options, but I thought this would be convenient because there is a variety close together.

That is true, but the prices were high and I did not feel like the value was there.

Of course, this is a very touristy place, so that should be expected.

I could very happily never go back, but I am glad for the things we did. 

COVID: The holiday weekend may have made it more crowded, but there may always be lots of people. I still generally only masked indoors, but that was a lot of the time.

Accessibility: Any stairs that I saw had ramp or elevator alternatives, so good in that respect. It could be a nightmare for sensory issues. 

 https://www.seattlecenter.com/

Seattle Deals

My blog posts are mainly going in chronological order. We visited attractions on the waterfront first, then visited attractions at Seattle Center. (Plus there were some other places that I will get to.)

I mentioned that we had not initially planned on going to the aquarium, though we were glad we did. 

The reason we did was the Seattle CityPass.

https://www.citypass.com/seattle 

It automatically gives you the Space Needle and the Seattle Aquarium, then you choose three out of the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum, Argosy Cruises, MOPOP, Woodland Park Zoo, and Pacific Science Center.

I knew I wanted to go to the Space Needle and the Chihuly museum, as well as Woodland Park Zoo. I wanted to go on a cruise, but I was looking at Salish Sea Boat Tours. That left from Miner's Landing and I knew we would be there for Wings Over Washington.

I was not interested in MOPOP, at least based on the current exhibits, and not particularly interested in the science center.

My sisters had been to MOPOP, the Space Needle and the Chihuly Museum (though it had been a while) and we had all gone to the aquarium in 2004. 

(We had looked at the Museum of History and Industry, but their neon signs are in storage, so forget that.) 

CityPass ended up being too good a deal to pass up. 

Currently the pass is on sale for $139, with tickets bought separately estimated at $264. Prices can fluctuate, especially with other bundling options or which days you go, but we felt strongly that we were better off this way.

Also, one of our drivers was really impressed, and I think will get it for his family. (I can't remember if it's the same one who said our schedule would kill him, but they're local, they can spread it out.)

There were two other deals that we decided against. 

One was the hop-on/hop-off bus tour. The way our stops were scheduled and with our hotel location, it did not seem like a good fit for us.

I often like the tour aspects and getting the lay of the land, but we got great tour information from the underground tour and the cruise we took. 

As our areas were kind of clustered together, navigation was not quite as important. 

https://www.hop-on-hop-off-tickets.com/seattle-bus-tours 

I don't regret passing on it.

We also considered the Miners Landing Pier Pass, for $99. Adult prices for the individual attractions would be $116.

https://tickets.minerslanding.com/webstore/shop/viewItems.aspx?cg=consumer&c=Sas 

We were not sold on the wheel or the Sasquatch ride. We did think we would go on the carousel, but it wasn't attended and it seems designed more for children, based on the weight limit. 

As much as we loved Wings, it was all we did at Miners Landing and that was fine.

Your preferences may vary. If you want to do all of the Minders Landing attractions, including the Salish Sea tour, you can always choose one of the other museums for the CityPass attractions. 

It may work for you to want all three; that's just not how it worked out for us. 

For anyone wondering about our full itinerary....

    Day 1: Take Amtrak from Portland to Seattle, check in, head to Miners Landing, lunch at Alaska Sourdough Bakery, Wings Over Washington, Argosy Cruise of Elliott Bay, dinner at Great State Burger, and back to hotel, with lots of looking around along the way.

    Day 2: Start at Seattle Aquarium, brief visit to Pac-Man Park, Seattle Center with lunch at Armory, Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum, took Monorail to Westlake Mall, Underground tour, then back to hotel where we ordered in.

    Day 3: Checked out and stowed our bags, quick visit to Fremont Troll, then Woodland Park Zoo before grabbing bags and catching the train back home.