The head trainer and the photography manager were
really great people. Very sincere, very genuine, and very intent on making up for the dolphin buoy ooops, despite our assurances that nothing beyond a buoy for Sweetie to take home was necessary. I honestly think they were just so happy that we weren’t pitching a fit.
The head trainer said that to help convey their apologies, they would be bringing our family back into the water for a
second, extended, private meet and greet with another one of their dolphins
. It would be just us and the training staff, no other family, photographed and videoed so our second bonus interaction would be added to our souvenir CD and DVD. Obviously the delivery of a buoy would no longer be a surprise, but it would be done at this second session so Sweetie could have the experience (and have the buoy to take home with her as a souvenir of our day). We were soooo excited!
They asked if we had a preference of time for the second dolphin session, and I told them that as long as we could get an opportunity to grab some lunch first (my trio was getting hungry) then we were happy to go with whatever time worked best for them. They decided on 1:45, and asked us to meet them on the beach in front of the dolphin pool at the specified time.
We set off from there and headed directly to the Laguna Grill. Despite it being prime meal time, there were lots of available seats and the buffet lines were minimal. Between the 4 of us, we sampled many of the entree selections, and weren’t disappointed by any of them. Once again, the chicken tenders and chocolate cake were family favourites, but the Asian stir-fry chicken, macaroni and cheese, and grilled hamburgers also received a thumbs up from my crew. All in all, we definitely enjoyed lunch far more than the breakfast offerings
.
While we were enjoying our noon meal, I had the opportunity to fill Sweetie and Jake in on the details of my chat with the head trainer and photography manager, and bring them all up to speed. Steve had been there for at least part of the discussions, so he was much more “in the know” than they were. After finishing off our dessert, we still had a little bit of time before we had to report to our established meeting place on the beach, so we opted to head over to the Wind Away River and go for a tour (or two!) while we waited.
Hands down, the river is one of my favourite places in the whole park
. It’s so lush and peaceful and pretty.....I could come to Discovery Cove and spend the whole day just going around and around and around the long loop, and never be bored. I was so grateful that our cabana was so close to one of the river entrances!
We also hopped over to visit the Asian otters in the FreshWater Oasis. All five of them were busy ripping the vegetation in their little enclosure to smithereens, working tirelessly and frolicking about as only siblings do
. They are adorable little creatures, and always make me smile as I watch them play. We tried getting a glimpse of the marmosets that make their home on the little island in that area of the park, but most had decided on an afternoon siesta and could only be found huddled in their little houses.
With time ticking away, we met up with the kiddos at the cabana, grabbed some drinks from the fridge and some warm cinnamon pretzels from the snack stand, and headed back to the beach for our next dolphin date.
Within a couple of minutes of our arrival at our meeting place, the head trainer came around the corner, all smiles and full of excitement about our bonus dolphin meet-and-greet. She wasted no time in getting us back in the water, and we were joined in short order by two other DC trainers along with a photographer and videographer. All of the staff were excited about us meeting “their most famous dolphin” (he was one of the stars of the movie Jaws 3), their largest dolphin, and one of their oldest residents: Capricorn.
Rushing over to Sweetie with her buoy firmly clenched in his mouth (I won’t say teeth….this poor fella only has 6 teeth left!) he was quite a sight. In comparison to the much smaller females we met that morning, Marea and Stella, Capricorn was HUGE, both in length and weight. Moving at super-speed across the dolphin pond, I think poor Sweetie thought that he’d run her over
... the look on her face was priceless as he made a beeline in her direction. But she need not have worried, those dolphins can stop on a dime….even the big guys like Capricorn! And he very gently and tenderly handed over her long-awaited souvenir:
Following the buoy hand-off, we had the opportunity to spend a wonderful, extended time just lovin’ him up. The trainers (all three of them) were so awesome, enthusiastically filling us in on all sorts of interesting little facts about Capricorn (he is their dominant male, King of the Discovery Cove castle, so to speak) as well as about life with the dolphins in general. Let’s just say that I think those folks have the absolute best job on the planet
. Capricorn himself was a hoot, soaking up every second of our rapt attention and showing us all the things he enjoys most……in particular, a tummy rub
. That big guy would flip himself right over and just run himself, upside down in the water, back and forth and back and forth for our hands to rub and tickle his belly. He "sang" to us, waved to us, and happily showed us his big, toothless smile. The trainers clearly had a special fondness for this charming fellow, and were as excited to have him show us his unique abilities as we were to witness it. It was so unrushed and spontaneous and relaxing, and such a wonderful opportunity to have
all to ourselves. We felt like VIP’s, with all the one-on-one attention and focus from both the dolphin and the staff
.
We were encouraged to take as much time as we wanted with Capricorn, which was an offer we couldn’t refuse. While trying to not take advantage of the staff’s good graces, we sure didn’t rush things at all, and must have spent about a half hour in Capricorn’s company before wrapping it up. The photographers captured a few more family shots, then we were on our way to enjoy the rest of the amenities of the park.
Heading back to the cabana, we stopped for a few moments to browse at the gift shop:
….and then enjoyed a few more vittles from the Laguna Grill. Stopping back to the cabana, we opted for a short break before donning our masks and snorkels. It was time to do some swimming in the Grand Reef!
We had worried about the typical August afternoon thunderstorms raining on our parade, but the skies were still sparkling with sunshine, the breezes were still blowing, and we marvelled for the millionth time how the weather couldn’t have been any more perfect! Fingers crossed it would hold out for the rest of the afternoon
. 
. The DC staff are awesome folks!
Now if I could snag another cheapo villa rental that might do the trick. Right now I'm only thinking as far ahead as March. Next summer is too far off for me.
. I can only imagine what he eats in a day 
Ouch!
