Space & Mood

It was a nice way to end our visit to the Seattle Center. I took family visiting from out of town on a Wednesday in January, and the Center was not crowded. MoPop was closed, but we still found adventures to entertain us. The Space Needle is the focal point from every place at the Center and it feels like you can get an iconic photo wherever you stand. I found the website gave a lot of info, but didn't make it easy for me to understand I needed specific time to go up the Space Needle. I decided to purchase tickets in person, and when we arrived around 4 we were told that we couldn't go up until 5:15, but that we could get in line 30 minutes prior. Had I known, I would have gotten tickets earlier. The elevator operator is entertaining, and the long ride up was fun, though cramped. You are close to a lot of people. The view is spectacular, but we barely got a chance to see the Puget Sound before the sun went down. I do love seeing all the city lights. I miss the dining level. I wanted to treat family to dinner, but there is only a bar on the lower observation level (which if I was able, would love to spend an evening at) and we had minors. There was Space to walk around and it was fun to marvel at the gears that spin the glass observation room around. The food in the upper observation deck was a mix of pub grub and a coffee shop. But it was fun to have a sip of sparkling wine and toast the city at night.

100% worth a visit on a sunny day in Seattle. The views of the downtown, coast, and Mount Rainier in the distance are all equally incredible. The benches both inside and outside give a great place to rest and soak up the views, although the outside ones face inwards so the best views are behind you in a normal seated position. The ticket machines didn't work and just took payment for us, so either book online or join the queue at the staffed kiosk. Also the queue to get in is fairly long, even close to opening.