Whatever mistakes you make in this life, DO NOT book your tickets through the link provided by Google Maps, a service belonging to Viator, a TripAdvisor Company. In fact, you’ll probably be better off avoiding the Houston Space Center and TripAdvisor altogether.
When I attempted to complete my online purchase of 2 adult tickets, a clock spun for 30 seconds or so before finally returning a “transaction not completed” message. Silly me, I tried again. Again, the operation apparently timed out returning only a “transaction not completed” message. Finally, we changed our plans to visit earlier and just purchase our tickets at the gate.
What we saw did not appear to compensate for the cost of our tickets and parking. However, before we had even exited the facility, to my surprise I received two email messages informing me that I had purchased two additional sets of adult tickets. Imagine my surprise when I visited the Customer Service counter inside the main entrance of the Space Center and was told she could not help me, because the Viator company was the one making money off the tickets, not the Space Center.
Later, when I wrote Viator, they told me that “our local tour operator does not allow us to refund or adjust any confirmed booking…” So neither side accepts responsibility for their misleading online purchasing procedure.
So, in addition to the pricey $59.90 for two adult tickets (plus $5.00 for parking) I was out another $99.80 because of the website error. The ethics of TripAdvisor seem highly questionable, as do those of the Space Center itself, if it continues to allow itself to be associated with this kind of business behavior.
UPDATE: A few days after I disputed the ticket charges through my bank, I received unexpected refunds from TripAdvisor. I have no idea if this was going to happen anyway or was a direct result of my bank's intervention. While I am pleased not to be out of the extra $100, I'd still urge you to be cautious ordering online.