For those interested in the details of using the Mate-Demate Device, and how the operation will be carried out without them, long nerd post incoming:
In the photo posted above, you can see that the aft External Tank connection hatches on the orbiter's belly are open. Those hatches, when open, are where the ET both physically attaches to the orbiter at the aft end, and also where the cryogenic fuel plumbing between the ET and orbiter connect. Now, why are they open with the orbiter in the MDD? Because they use the ET attachment points to connect it to the SCA. No point in engineering separate mounts into the vehicle when you already have perfectly good attach points.
So the loading procedure at KSC for Discovery and Endeavour will be the same procedure they used at Edwards or White Sands to return an orbiter to KSC. It goes like this:
1. Tow orbiter under MDD.
2. Attach MDD lifting mechanism to the built-in attach points on the fuselage, which were also used for lifting, moving, and stacking the vehicle in the VAB.
3. Retract orbiter landing gear and close the hatches.
4. Open aft ET connection hatches.
5. Raise orbiter to top of MDD.
6. Tow SCA into the MDD under the orbiter and carefully check positioning.
7. Lower orbiter onto SCA and lock the struts to the ET attachment points.
8. Disengage MDD lifting mechanism from orbiter and raise it up out of the way.
9. Roll the combined SCA/Orbiter back out of the MDD so it can be turned around and prepared for takeoff.
Standard unloading was the same, just in reverse.
Now, for the final flights... Discovery and Endeavour will be loaded using that standard method, while Atlantis is remaining at KSC and will simply be towed to the Visitor's Complex. After arrival, here's how it will go:
Discovery: Cranes attach to the orbiter and raise it off the SCA. SCA rolls back, and the cranes lower the orbiter close to the ground. The aft ET hatches are closed and the landing gear is deployed, and then the cranes set the orbiter down onto the tarmac to be towed into the Udvar-Hazy Center, which is conveniently right off the end of the runway.
Enterprise Step 1: After Discovery is removed, the aerodynamic tail cone will be transferred from Discovery to Enterprise. Cranes will attach to Enterprise and raise it up a little, allowing the gear to be retracted and the aft ET doors opened. It will then be raised fully, the SCA will pull in underneath, and the cranes will then lower it onto the SCA to be locked down. The cranes will then disengage and move away, and the SCA will depart for New York.
Enterprise Step 2: After arrival at JFK, cranes will remove Enterprise from the SCA in the same way Discovery was removed at Dulles. The tailcone will be removed and shipped back to KSC for use on Endeavour. It will then be towed to a barge dock and craned onto the barge for transport to Intrepid. Once there, it will once again be lifted by cranes, from the barge up to it's temporary parking spot on the Intrepid carrier deck, and then covered by a strong temporary tent-like structure while the permanent display enclosure is constructed.
Endeavour: Loaded onto SCA at KSC using standard procedure. After arrival in California, it will be unloaded in the same way Discovery and Enterprise were, except that the landing gear will remain stowed. It will be set on the special trailer originally used to transport the orbiters from the manufacturing plant to Edwards AFB, and trucked to the California Science Center. Once there, it will be lifted off the trailer by cranes, the landing gear deployed, and then set down and towed into the building.
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