DC: Sunscreen and jewelry Qs

[Wee Annie]

We are going to DC in April. It will be our very first day in Florida, and we are a very, very fair-skinned family (I'm redhead with some freckles). I'm obsessive about sunscreen, as I've been told I should only wear prescription strength sunscreen. I don't, but do wear over SPF 50 and reapply frequently (along with my daughters). Can anyone fair speak to the quality of the sunscreen given at DC? I'm nervous that we are going to fry. I gather we are not allowed to wear our own.

Also, I thought I read on the website somewhere that no jewelry was allowed. This doesn't mean engagement/wedding rings, does it? I can't believe everyone takes those off. Can anyone fill me in on their experience with this? I gather we should leave our earrings/necklaces off.

Many thanks!

 

[Wee Annie]

Ok, so a quick search told me that wedding bands are okay.

Follow-up question to anyone who has gone: do you think it's safe to leave earrings/necklaces in the locker at DC?

 

[greenclan67]

Hey there, we were just there on Weds. Great day!! We have been before! I wore my wedding rings, but took off my chain and earrings, along with my girls earrings! Especially if you are doing the dolphin swim! You can leave them in the locker, I put mine in a ziploc baggie and put them in my purse in the safe at the resort!
As far as sunscreen, you get one little package with your snorkel and mask, it doesn't last long, and it actually suggests reapplying every hour. You can also buy sunscreen there, the same kind they give you. I just went back and got another snorkel bag. We made sure we reapplied often, I also burn easily, but made sure this time I brought a hat and wore it in the lazy river, but not the grand reef. The only time it came off was when we were in the reef. I also applied sunscreen in my hair, (or scalp) as I have very fine hair! My youngest daughter is very fair as well, and she wore a wide brimmed hat and even with that and sunscreen often, she still got pink on the face! I am not sure the strength is there for sunscreen. I would suggest taking a cover up for when you are out of the water!

 

[Wee Annie]

Thanks so much for all the info! I must admit I'm nervous about the sunburn potential at DC for us. Just ask my kids -- they are usually white with sunscreen before they're allowed anywhere in the sun, I slather it on so heavily! I think I may have to buy the extra.

I have splurged and reserved a cabana, because we are so fair, and it will be our very first day in the Orlando sun. We will definitely have to have a comfortable place to get out of the sun.

 

[bas71873]

Hey there, we were just there on Weds. Great day!! We have been before! I wore my wedding rings, but took off my chain and earrings, along with my girls earrings! Especially if you are doing the dolphin swim! You can leave them in the locker, I put mine in a ziploc baggie and put them in my purse in the safe at the resort!
As far as sunscreen, you get one little package with your snorkel and mask, it doesn't last long, and it actually suggests reapplying every hour. You can also buy sunscreen there, the same kind they give you. I just went back and got another snorkel bag. We made sure we reapplied often, I also burn easily, but made sure this time I brought a hat and wore it in the lazy river, but not the grand reef. The only time it came off was when we were in the reef. I also applied sunscreen in my hair, (or scalp) as I have very fine hair! My youngest daughter is very fair as well, and she wore a wide brimmed hat and even with that and sunscreen often, she still got pink on the face! I am not sure the strength is there for sunscreen. I would suggest taking a cover up for when you are out of the water!

So do you HAVE to use the DC sunscreen or can you bring your own?

 

[chiamarie]

So do you HAVE to use the DC sunscreen or can you bring your own?

For the safety of the animals, you have to use theirs. It's a special sunscreen that doesn't come off in the salt water and change the water chemistry. It's also VERY thick. If you are worried about getting sun burned, I'm pretty sure that if you tell someone handing the snorkel packages out, that you need more to re apply; I seriously doubt they'll deny you more. But the stuff is super thick, and does the trick, as long as you rub it in evenly, and will work very well for your skin. From what I've gathered, it's actually BETTER than most normal sunscreen.

 

[bas71873]

For the safety of the animals, you have to use theirs. It's a special sunscreen that doesn't come off in the salt water and change the water chemistry. It's also VERY thick. If you are worried about getting sun burned, I'm pretty sure that if you tell someone handing the snorkel packages out, that you need more to re apply; I seriously doubt they'll deny you more. But the stuff is super thick, and does the trick, as long as you rub it in evenly, and will work very well for your skin. From what I've gathered, it's actually BETTER than most normal sunscreen.

Thanks. I would have applied it before we even got there, so good to know.

 

[SnyderD]

I was just there in December. And let me first tell you that you are going to love it. It was such a wonderful experience for my family and I. We choose a package that allowed us to interact with the dolphins, which the kids loved so much.

Reading through the comments, everyone has covered it. My wife wore here wedding ring, but had to take out any earrings. As far as sunscreen is concerned, we are very fair skinned as well. It was a beautiful sunny day, not a cloud in the sky and we didn't get burnt at all. Granted about every 30 mins or so we put a little more on...just to be safe. If you run out, just ask a staff member and they'll get you some more.

Have fun!! This will be on our list of things to do when we head back down to Orlando.

 

[SmallWorld71]

I am pretty fair skinned and DH and the kids are all light skinned with freckles. We went in the summer and there was not a cloud in the sky. Other than stopping to eat and visiting the aviary, my kids spent the entire day in the water so we were in the sun a lot. I was concerned because they always wear hats when theme park touring, but we did not have any problems with burning.
DH and all 3 kids all wore a rashguard shirt and I had a tankini which cut down considerably on the amount of sunblock we needed to use. Between the rashguards and the vests from DC, it was just faces, lower arms and legs that were exposed. The lotion was very good, but I was squeezing every drop out of it. I would def. had needed more if we'd had to do shoulders, backs etc...

Have a great time. We loved it and DD always tells everyone it was the best day of her life.

 

[Wee Annie]

Thanks all for all the info! We are VERY fair, and it will be our first day in the sun since last summer. I am bringing rash guards for me and my two youngest daughters because of it.

Now the trick is to get my 14-year-old daughter to wear a rash guard. Any suggestions on how to get a teenage girl concerned with what she looks like to wear one? She's turning up her nose at the idea.... Don't know if there's such a thing as a "cool" looking rash guard!

 

[SmallWorld71]

Thanks all for all the info! We are VERY fair, and it will be our first day in the sun since last summer. I am bringing rash guards for me and my two youngest daughters because of it.

Now the trick is to get my 14-year-old daughter to wear a rash guard. Any suggestions on how to get a teenage girl concerned with what she looks like to wear one? She's turning up her nose at the idea.... Don't know if there's such a thing as a "cool" looking rash guard!

Well, this may not help, but I ended up with some chafing on the underside of my arm from the vest that you have to wear in the water. DH and the kids did not have any such problem because they were wearing their rashguards. Also, they don't really show that much when you have the vest on. Maybe, once she sees how uncool she looks in the vest, she won't mind the shirt. LOL

Anyway, oldest DS was almost 15 when we went and didn't want to wear a shirt either, but DH and I put our foot down about it. Once we were there, he was having so much fun, he forgot all about it.

 

[brenda1966]

Wee Annie -- how was your DC visit? And what is your review of the sunscreen? I hope you had a blast!

 

[Wee Annie]

We did indeed have a blast! DC was amazing. And this, even though the day was a bit cool and even started out with light (very light) rain. Actually, my DH said he was thankful all in all for the heavy cloud cover for most the day, as we all probably would have gotten burned otherwise.

That being said, wow is that sunscreen thick!!!! I slathered it on and was fairly white-tinged all day (my DH said I looked just fine if I was shooting for the goth look). And one of the funniest moments of the day was later on in the afternoon when I passed a middle-aged man with a bright white face (BRIGHT) who looked like he was being ribbed by a daughter. He was protesting, "I just used the sunscreen they gave me -- it's like slathering cream cheese all over your body!"

Bottom line: one packet of that sunscreen is probably just fine for your "average" person. I was wearing a wetsuit, so there wasn't as much skin to cover. If I had been wearing a vest, I might have required a bit more. But I don't think it would have been a problem to get it. And I MAY have burned had it been sunnier (I burn so easily), but with the cloud cover, I was out from 8:30 - 5:30 and was just fine!

 

[RabFlmom]

Thanks all for all the info! We are VERY fair, and it will be our first day in the sun since last summer. I am bringing rash guards for me and my two youngest daughters because of it.

Now the trick is to get my 14-year-old daughter to wear a rash guard. Any suggestions on how to get a teenage girl concerned with what she looks like to wear one? She's turning up her nose at the idea.... Don't know if there's such a thing as a "cool" looking rash guard!

Tell her all the cool Florida girls wear them-especially if they surf. When Celine Dion was at Blizzard Beach and my son was the family's guide, she wore one the whole time. BTW no one recognized her. Her husband spent the day in lazy river and people were going up to him all day. LOL

Check out the ones on sale at http://www.roxy.com/home/index.jsp?clickid=topnav_home_img&camp=psdid They are cute.