mickeysaver
<font color=blue>WINNER of the world's worst limer
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2002
- Messages
- 6,207
I am sooooooo tired, but we had a wonderful day. We were there at 8am and were processed quickly, got the quicky tour, got a DC vest, got a locker, and we were set for a day of fun.
Our dolphin swim time was 9:55am. We started with a dip in the ray lagoon and then took a quick dip in the warm water at the resort pool. Time moves quickly there and there are very few clocks, but we managed to be at the Sand Dollar Cabana in plenty of time to check in and chat with a former Disney Dream Squad member who now works at DC. Her name was Jennifer and she was a lot of fun to chat with. We watched the brief dolphin video and then were taken by our guides Stephanie and April out to the cove. Our dolphin was Akai. He was a big boy and the dominant male of the pod. We had so much fun! It was everything that I had hoped it would be. After we finished, we grabbed a snack and then headed off again for the other attractions. I absolutely loved the coral reef area. It was so cool to see the beautiful fish and rays. We took our first of several trips through the Tropical River and then got out and had lunch. I had the Salmon Pesto with mixed veggies and roasted potatoes. I got a caesar salad and lemon cake too. Gabby had the bacon cheese burger with fries. She got a salad with italian dressing and chocolate cake. All of the food was very tasty. We also took the opportunity to try some of the flavored beers that were available. We didn't care for any of them, but neither of us is really into beer, so that's no wonder. After lunch, it was back to the Tropical River and we got out at the Aviary. The Aviary was great! The birds were very willing to come sit on my shoulders and rest on Gabby's hands. It was a nice break from the water too. Not to say that we didn't enjoy the water, but we probably spent 7 hours out of our 10 hour day in the water.....can you say water wrinkles? lol From the aviary, it was back to the Tropical River. We got out at the ray lagoon again. This time Gabby was way into trying to pet them. I swear, she dropped 30 of her 34 years today in that pool. I love it when she lets her inner toddler out to play.
We were just about to leave the ray lagoon, but decided to stay for a few more minutes because we had wanted to check in on our photos before the day was done and Todd had taken several of Gabby there that I wanted to make sure that we got. Well, waiting paid off because we were there for the ray feeding! It was just too cool! Gabby was having the best time feeding the rays. I did too, of course, it's neat how they kinda hoover up the little fishes. It was also a great chance to pet them. They do not advertise the ray feeding times, so it's luck of the draw. I am so glad that we were there though, I will never forget the joy on Gabby's face feeding those rays. We did several more laps around the Tropical River and then it was nearly closing time, so we spent the remaining time in the resort pool area. Gabby went back to our locker and turned in the masks and I went to brave the lines to get our photos. We had to have about 25 photos added to the cd that were not already burned to it. For those of you that are interested, the dvd, photo cd, 5 big prints, two keychains, several wallets, and a 4x6 print all together came to right at $200 with tax. I can't wait to get them uploaded, but I won't do that until after we get home. This is vacation afterall. lol
For those of you that have ever thought that you would like to do this, please, spend the money, it's so worth every penny. Just plan on being tired when the day is done. We were going to go out to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner, but we are just too pooped. We ordered take out and are planning to go to bed here shortly. Tomorrow is our day at SeaWorld and I have a penguin to pet....yet another dream come true in the making! Maggie
Our dolphin swim time was 9:55am. We started with a dip in the ray lagoon and then took a quick dip in the warm water at the resort pool. Time moves quickly there and there are very few clocks, but we managed to be at the Sand Dollar Cabana in plenty of time to check in and chat with a former Disney Dream Squad member who now works at DC. Her name was Jennifer and she was a lot of fun to chat with. We watched the brief dolphin video and then were taken by our guides Stephanie and April out to the cove. Our dolphin was Akai. He was a big boy and the dominant male of the pod. We had so much fun! It was everything that I had hoped it would be. After we finished, we grabbed a snack and then headed off again for the other attractions. I absolutely loved the coral reef area. It was so cool to see the beautiful fish and rays. We took our first of several trips through the Tropical River and then got out and had lunch. I had the Salmon Pesto with mixed veggies and roasted potatoes. I got a caesar salad and lemon cake too. Gabby had the bacon cheese burger with fries. She got a salad with italian dressing and chocolate cake. All of the food was very tasty. We also took the opportunity to try some of the flavored beers that were available. We didn't care for any of them, but neither of us is really into beer, so that's no wonder. After lunch, it was back to the Tropical River and we got out at the Aviary. The Aviary was great! The birds were very willing to come sit on my shoulders and rest on Gabby's hands. It was a nice break from the water too. Not to say that we didn't enjoy the water, but we probably spent 7 hours out of our 10 hour day in the water.....can you say water wrinkles? lol From the aviary, it was back to the Tropical River. We got out at the ray lagoon again. This time Gabby was way into trying to pet them. I swear, she dropped 30 of her 34 years today in that pool. I love it when she lets her inner toddler out to play.
We were just about to leave the ray lagoon, but decided to stay for a few more minutes because we had wanted to check in on our photos before the day was done and Todd had taken several of Gabby there that I wanted to make sure that we got. Well, waiting paid off because we were there for the ray feeding! It was just too cool! Gabby was having the best time feeding the rays. I did too, of course, it's neat how they kinda hoover up the little fishes. It was also a great chance to pet them. They do not advertise the ray feeding times, so it's luck of the draw. I am so glad that we were there though, I will never forget the joy on Gabby's face feeding those rays. We did several more laps around the Tropical River and then it was nearly closing time, so we spent the remaining time in the resort pool area. Gabby went back to our locker and turned in the masks and I went to brave the lines to get our photos. We had to have about 25 photos added to the cd that were not already burned to it. For those of you that are interested, the dvd, photo cd, 5 big prints, two keychains, several wallets, and a 4x6 print all together came to right at $200 with tax. I can't wait to get them uploaded, but I won't do that until after we get home. This is vacation afterall. lolFor those of you that have ever thought that you would like to do this, please, spend the money, it's so worth every penny. Just plan on being tired when the day is done. We were going to go out to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner, but we are just too pooped. We ordered take out and are planning to go to bed here shortly. Tomorrow is our day at SeaWorld and I have a penguin to pet....yet another dream come true in the making! Maggie
