Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina
Life is short. Live it well.
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2008
There have been a couple of different threads over the last several months that referenced Discovery Cove's Flamingo Mingle (specifically about what time you should arrive at the park to check in), and since we took part in this activity last week I thought I would pop back and share our experience.
We arrived at the park just before 7:15 am, and once our bags had been checked we were taken right to an Ambassador to check in (no wait, though it seemed like most other Ambassadors were indeed serving other guests as well). Our ID cards were printed (first time ever our pictures were not on them, and they did not ask to see our drivers licenses for proof we were over 21......we must be looking old! LOL) and the cards were placed on orange lanyards instead of the customary blue ones (to distinguish us as Flamingo Mingle participants). While our reservations indicated a time of 8 am for the Flamingo Mingle, the Ambassador made a phone call and proceeded to tell us that we would be in the 8:30 am group, so we would have plenty of time to enjoy breakfast before changing into wetsuits and meeting at the locker area closest to the Grand Reef.
So, that's what we did.
We were told to be at the designated meeting spot 5-10 minutes ahead of the 8:30 start time, and when we arrived we could see that there was another group just finishing up their Flamingo Mingle on the bridge at the far end of the reef. They dispersed on time and our guide greeted us promptly at 8:30 am. There were a total of 6 people in our small group (3 parties of 2). A park photographer accompanied us from this point through the entire interaction.
We began with a smaller group of 6 flamingos that we walked down the pathway, through the sand and behind the cabanas and Sea Venture area over to the beach of the Grand Reef where we were each given a bowl of food to feed them. Their kibble is served in water so they can get quite splashy when they eat, with their necks bent over and their heads upside down. The flamingos are allowed to go where they please, so they would walk from person to person eating a bit and then moving on to whomever else they wanted to visit.
Once we had finished feeding them (which was very unrushed and longer than I expected......lots of time was allowed for this and EVERY part of the encounter), each group of 2 got to spend individual time in the water with the flamingos. It was VERY hot on our day so we humans enjoyed the opportunity to cool off in the reef as much as the birds did!! This was my favourite part of the entire experience, as the flamingos are naturally curious animals and don't have a whole lot of boundaries LOL. One of them in particular very much enjoyed trying to pluck my sunglasses from my face, pulled on my earrings, and picked through my hair .... she was hyperfocused on me the entire time. Ironically enough, her name was Georgina (though they call her Georgie) .... which was quite ironic as I, too, am a Georgina
. She must have known we were kindred spirits!
After we had each had time in the water, we moved over to the bridge where they introduced us to the rest of the flamboyance and we had more pictures taken as they all moved and chattered about. We got to meet their largest member, Cecil, who is something like 6 feet tall. He's huge!
We wrapped up with a stroll around the reef and back to the locker area where our guides left us to enjoy the balance of our day. The aviary staff took the birds for a stroll all the way down the beach to the delight of the other guests who just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and they all disappeared into the sunshine.
The whole session took between 45 minutes to an hour and was both a good value AND a ton of fun. I'd absolutely recommend it.....it was hands-on, informative, and such a unique opportunity. Pics to come in the next post.
We arrived at the park just before 7:15 am, and once our bags had been checked we were taken right to an Ambassador to check in (no wait, though it seemed like most other Ambassadors were indeed serving other guests as well). Our ID cards were printed (first time ever our pictures were not on them, and they did not ask to see our drivers licenses for proof we were over 21......we must be looking old! LOL) and the cards were placed on orange lanyards instead of the customary blue ones (to distinguish us as Flamingo Mingle participants). While our reservations indicated a time of 8 am for the Flamingo Mingle, the Ambassador made a phone call and proceeded to tell us that we would be in the 8:30 am group, so we would have plenty of time to enjoy breakfast before changing into wetsuits and meeting at the locker area closest to the Grand Reef.
So, that's what we did.
We were told to be at the designated meeting spot 5-10 minutes ahead of the 8:30 start time, and when we arrived we could see that there was another group just finishing up their Flamingo Mingle on the bridge at the far end of the reef. They dispersed on time and our guide greeted us promptly at 8:30 am. There were a total of 6 people in our small group (3 parties of 2). A park photographer accompanied us from this point through the entire interaction.
We began with a smaller group of 6 flamingos that we walked down the pathway, through the sand and behind the cabanas and Sea Venture area over to the beach of the Grand Reef where we were each given a bowl of food to feed them. Their kibble is served in water so they can get quite splashy when they eat, with their necks bent over and their heads upside down. The flamingos are allowed to go where they please, so they would walk from person to person eating a bit and then moving on to whomever else they wanted to visit.
Once we had finished feeding them (which was very unrushed and longer than I expected......lots of time was allowed for this and EVERY part of the encounter), each group of 2 got to spend individual time in the water with the flamingos. It was VERY hot on our day so we humans enjoyed the opportunity to cool off in the reef as much as the birds did!! This was my favourite part of the entire experience, as the flamingos are naturally curious animals and don't have a whole lot of boundaries LOL. One of them in particular very much enjoyed trying to pluck my sunglasses from my face, pulled on my earrings, and picked through my hair .... she was hyperfocused on me the entire time. Ironically enough, her name was Georgina (though they call her Georgie) .... which was quite ironic as I, too, am a Georgina
. She must have known we were kindred spirits!After we had each had time in the water, we moved over to the bridge where they introduced us to the rest of the flamboyance and we had more pictures taken as they all moved and chattered about. We got to meet their largest member, Cecil, who is something like 6 feet tall. He's huge!
We wrapped up with a stroll around the reef and back to the locker area where our guides left us to enjoy the balance of our day. The aviary staff took the birds for a stroll all the way down the beach to the delight of the other guests who just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and they all disappeared into the sunshine.
The whole session took between 45 minutes to an hour and was both a good value AND a ton of fun. I'd absolutely recommend it.....it was hands-on, informative, and such a unique opportunity. Pics to come in the next post.
