Yes you can see the launches from The Villages, but all you will see is the contrail in the sky for a daylight launch or a red light for a night launch. And that is if the sky is quite clear. Look to the east and you should see it. But if you want to see more than just a thin smoke trail in the sky, you will need to get closer to the cape. We've found 2 great viewing spots that are easy to get to.
One is the rest area on I-95 (of all places). It is on the southbound side, south of exit 231(Scottsmoor - Brevard CR 5A). There is plenty of parking and best of all, restroom facilities while you wait for the launch. We've watched a shuttle launch from there and it was spectacular. You can take 44 east to get onto southbound I-95.
Another site, is in New Smyrna Beach. You can take 44 east all the way to where it turns south along the coast (S. Atlantic Ave.) There are many little streets that go to the beach, where you can view the launch quite close up. We usually park at the Ocean Village strip mall and walk across S Atlantic Ave to Matthews Ave. beach access. We watched the SpaceX launch with the Tesla from there and could even spot the boosters coming back down to land at the cape.
The only problem with any launch is you never know if/when it will go up. So having access to a TV station or a SpaceX web page is recommended.
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