hughesfamilyadventures
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2025
- Messages
- 34
Video version if you prefer
This morning began with a 5:30am alarm. Today was Discovery Cove day, so we were up, dressed, and questioning our life choices by 6:30am, arriving in good time for 6:45am. The first small hurdle of the day appeared almost immediately: we hadn’t realised that wheelchairs need to be pre-booked. Luckily, Discovery Cove saved the day and sorted an ECV for Val.
We were given a dolphin swim time of 12:40pm, with our groups split. We paired Val and Stephen with Catherine’s family so they could all go together, which worked perfectly. Doors opened at 7:15am and we made a beeline straight for breakfast.
We’d booked a cabana, but it wasn’t quite ready yet, so after breakfast we went to get wetsuit-ed up. By the time we were done, the cabana was ready, bags unpacked, and we headed over to Serenity Bay and the lazy river - but not before I managed to get Chris to photo my favourite snack in Discovery Cove
Once everyone was life-jacketed up — and by “everyone” I mean everyone except Noah — we had a gentle float around. Yes, little Noah is now officially a better swimmer than the rest of us. Since starting secondary school, he’s been attending swimming club weekly and now casually jumps off 3-metre diving boards, while the rest of us cling to flotation devices like Victorian children near open water.
After one lap, I returned to the cabana while Chris took Val, Stephen, Catherine, Mia and Olivia to the aviary, which they absolutely loved.
I, meanwhile, did something extremely out of character…
I had a nap.
An epic nap.
Chris woke me just in time to head over for the dolphin swim, and I regret nothing.
Our dolphin swim was with Rose, who was incredible. We’d arranged for the buoy to be delivered to the others with the personalised message. The Discovery Cove team went one step further and kindly arranged for all 11 of us to get a group photo with the buoy — which was such a lovely touch.
This morning began with a 5:30am alarm. Today was Discovery Cove day, so we were up, dressed, and questioning our life choices by 6:30am, arriving in good time for 6:45am. The first small hurdle of the day appeared almost immediately: we hadn’t realised that wheelchairs need to be pre-booked. Luckily, Discovery Cove saved the day and sorted an ECV for Val.
We were given a dolphin swim time of 12:40pm, with our groups split. We paired Val and Stephen with Catherine’s family so they could all go together, which worked perfectly. Doors opened at 7:15am and we made a beeline straight for breakfast.
We’d booked a cabana, but it wasn’t quite ready yet, so after breakfast we went to get wetsuit-ed up. By the time we were done, the cabana was ready, bags unpacked, and we headed over to Serenity Bay and the lazy river - but not before I managed to get Chris to photo my favourite snack in Discovery Cove
Once everyone was life-jacketed up — and by “everyone” I mean everyone except Noah — we had a gentle float around. Yes, little Noah is now officially a better swimmer than the rest of us. Since starting secondary school, he’s been attending swimming club weekly and now casually jumps off 3-metre diving boards, while the rest of us cling to flotation devices like Victorian children near open water.
After one lap, I returned to the cabana while Chris took Val, Stephen, Catherine, Mia and Olivia to the aviary, which they absolutely loved.
I, meanwhile, did something extremely out of character…
I had a nap.
An epic nap.
Chris woke me just in time to head over for the dolphin swim, and I regret nothing.
Our dolphin swim was with Rose, who was incredible. We’d arranged for the buoy to be delivered to the others with the personalised message. The Discovery Cove team went one step further and kindly arranged for all 11 of us to get a group photo with the buoy — which was such a lovely touch.
