seashell724
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2007
I was looking for info. on this experience before I left and had such a hard time finding anything! Thus, my report for others. Enjoy!
Marine Mammal Keeper Part 1
We were staying outside of Orlando so I woke up at 5 am to give myself and my husband enough time to get ready and get there in time. I had some major bags under my eyes but was so pumped to get going. We left at exactly 5:30 am to give us plenty of time to get to Sea World for our 6:30 meeting time. Now, we got to the park at about 6:15 and the only problems of the day began. No specific instructions on where to meet were in our itinerary so we First we drove to a large parking lot. We saw two lone guys using a golf cart to clean the area and they told us we were supposed to go to another meeting place. We drove around looking for what they were talking about and were getting worried about time. We found the second lot they told us to go to but couldnt get in because all the gates were down and spots roped off. I saw one worker on his way somewhere and jumped out of the car to go talk to him. He said he didnt know where we were supposed to meet but that the gates never open this early. I asked if I could move a cone and drive our car to preferred parking for the day. He said it was fine and helped us in. Well, we got out and walked up to the black park (main entrance.) We waited for a bit and I was getting really frustrated because it was already 6:30 by this time. There were two really nice workers who barely spoke English who I was asking if we were supposed to be here. They had no idea and went about their business. 5 minutes later I asked if they could please radio someone and find out where we should go. Well, they were just so great. One guy had already been on the phone finding this out without us asking! He told us where to go and explained it very well. We started about a 5 minute walk to where we should meet. They drove by again and pointed us in the right direction. Their kindness was amazing. So, we got there at 6:40 to the security booth. We had to wait a few minutes for our guide who was named Devi. Of course we apologized for being late profusely. Then we went with her to a trailer near some holding tanks for the animals. By the time we got in there and out again it was about 10 to 7. We had missed bottle feeding a baby manatee. There was one other woman in our group that day. The first thing we did was meet the otters. They were in cages and kinda smelt funny. They were loud and kinda cute but not the highlight of my day. We helped feed them and asked lots of questions. Then we went over to the two different dolphin tanks. One had the misfit dolphins who get along really well together (probably about 5 or 6) but not with all the other dolphins. Then we saw a separate pool with a mom and about 5 month old baby. They were not in the nursery because they had a lot of health trouble since right after the birth. We found out that later on that day we would be moving the dolphin named Starky over to the pool to keep the mom and baby company. We made one more stop to see a sea turtle that had some of his shell missing due to a boat accident. I did not know this but Sea World takes in a lot of animals that need to be rehabilitated.
We then moved on to another area. The manitees! We opened about 7 boxes of iceberg lettece and spinach to feed them. We threw pound and pound of it in and watched them come to eat. After that we went below to view them where the tourists all come each day. We spent time going over their body structure and habits for quite a while.
After this we were taken to a trailer to get on our bathing suits and wet suits. I chose to wear my top down for the most part. You can also wear a tee shirt if you like. We went back over to the dolphin misfit tank to wait to move Starky. We waited as they had problems draining the pool. Finally we met Nick who was so nice. Him and a lot of other employees went down into the tank to try and get Starky in a sling to move. They had a few problems because the pool didnt drain enough and there was enough water for him to keep jumping over the net. He was so powerful and fast! But, these dolphins are all used to being moved so there were not scared.
I have to say at this point that all the employees were SO nice to us all day. Everyone treated us like one of them. Walter (?) a really great guy came up to talk to us while they tried to drain the pool some more. He answered any questions we had and gave us so much information.
Finally they were ready. Starky was lifted up in the air and we ran over to watch him being lowered. Him and his new mini-pod got along great. It was amazing to see them being so graceful together.
The park had just opened and we went to a dolphin food prep room. They showed us how vitamins are put in fish, expained how they keep track of all the dolphins and how much they are eating as well as what vitamins they are getting each day. After this we went out to help feed and do a demonstration with the dolphins. Being breeding time they were not the most cooperative! We were split into two groups. All people who had been petting/feeding them were asked to step back so that we could do this. We made them do commands and then rewarded them with fish. A photographer came out and took pictures of us during this time. We did this for about 15 minutes or so. Then we went in and washed up while records were taken of what dolphin was present and how much they ate.
Next on our agenda was to go to the Dolphin Nursery. We got to go to behind the ropes, interact and have all questions answered by Devi.
Up Next: Part 2 (Wild Arctic, Sea Lions, Seals and Much more fun!)
Marine Mammal Keeper Part 1
We were staying outside of Orlando so I woke up at 5 am to give myself and my husband enough time to get ready and get there in time. I had some major bags under my eyes but was so pumped to get going. We left at exactly 5:30 am to give us plenty of time to get to Sea World for our 6:30 meeting time. Now, we got to the park at about 6:15 and the only problems of the day began. No specific instructions on where to meet were in our itinerary so we First we drove to a large parking lot. We saw two lone guys using a golf cart to clean the area and they told us we were supposed to go to another meeting place. We drove around looking for what they were talking about and were getting worried about time. We found the second lot they told us to go to but couldnt get in because all the gates were down and spots roped off. I saw one worker on his way somewhere and jumped out of the car to go talk to him. He said he didnt know where we were supposed to meet but that the gates never open this early. I asked if I could move a cone and drive our car to preferred parking for the day. He said it was fine and helped us in. Well, we got out and walked up to the black park (main entrance.) We waited for a bit and I was getting really frustrated because it was already 6:30 by this time. There were two really nice workers who barely spoke English who I was asking if we were supposed to be here. They had no idea and went about their business. 5 minutes later I asked if they could please radio someone and find out where we should go. Well, they were just so great. One guy had already been on the phone finding this out without us asking! He told us where to go and explained it very well. We started about a 5 minute walk to where we should meet. They drove by again and pointed us in the right direction. Their kindness was amazing. So, we got there at 6:40 to the security booth. We had to wait a few minutes for our guide who was named Devi. Of course we apologized for being late profusely. Then we went with her to a trailer near some holding tanks for the animals. By the time we got in there and out again it was about 10 to 7. We had missed bottle feeding a baby manatee. There was one other woman in our group that day. The first thing we did was meet the otters. They were in cages and kinda smelt funny. They were loud and kinda cute but not the highlight of my day. We helped feed them and asked lots of questions. Then we went over to the two different dolphin tanks. One had the misfit dolphins who get along really well together (probably about 5 or 6) but not with all the other dolphins. Then we saw a separate pool with a mom and about 5 month old baby. They were not in the nursery because they had a lot of health trouble since right after the birth. We found out that later on that day we would be moving the dolphin named Starky over to the pool to keep the mom and baby company. We made one more stop to see a sea turtle that had some of his shell missing due to a boat accident. I did not know this but Sea World takes in a lot of animals that need to be rehabilitated.
We then moved on to another area. The manitees! We opened about 7 boxes of iceberg lettece and spinach to feed them. We threw pound and pound of it in and watched them come to eat. After that we went below to view them where the tourists all come each day. We spent time going over their body structure and habits for quite a while.
After this we were taken to a trailer to get on our bathing suits and wet suits. I chose to wear my top down for the most part. You can also wear a tee shirt if you like. We went back over to the dolphin misfit tank to wait to move Starky. We waited as they had problems draining the pool. Finally we met Nick who was so nice. Him and a lot of other employees went down into the tank to try and get Starky in a sling to move. They had a few problems because the pool didnt drain enough and there was enough water for him to keep jumping over the net. He was so powerful and fast! But, these dolphins are all used to being moved so there were not scared.
I have to say at this point that all the employees were SO nice to us all day. Everyone treated us like one of them. Walter (?) a really great guy came up to talk to us while they tried to drain the pool some more. He answered any questions we had and gave us so much information.
Finally they were ready. Starky was lifted up in the air and we ran over to watch him being lowered. Him and his new mini-pod got along great. It was amazing to see them being so graceful together.
The park had just opened and we went to a dolphin food prep room. They showed us how vitamins are put in fish, expained how they keep track of all the dolphins and how much they are eating as well as what vitamins they are getting each day. After this we went out to help feed and do a demonstration with the dolphins. Being breeding time they were not the most cooperative! We were split into two groups. All people who had been petting/feeding them were asked to step back so that we could do this. We made them do commands and then rewarded them with fish. A photographer came out and took pictures of us during this time. We did this for about 15 minutes or so. Then we went in and washed up while records were taken of what dolphin was present and how much they ate.
Next on our agenda was to go to the Dolphin Nursery. We got to go to behind the ropes, interact and have all questions answered by Devi.
Up Next: Part 2 (Wild Arctic, Sea Lions, Seals and Much more fun!)
DGD turns 13 this year and the only gift she requested is to "finally" be able to do the MMKE at Sea World (she's been waiting 3 years to reach the minimum age). Now she'll know what to expect for her day. And I feel a little better about the price - sounds like you really got your $$$ worth.
