Let me preface by saying we went to Orlando with our best friends- the cast is as follows:
Me- 33
DH- 34
DS-7
DS-6
Friends- 35,34, and their DD 7
Discovery Cove was my idea. I've always wanted to swim with dolphins, and figured it was now or never. So, I scrimped and saved, and scrimped some more to have the money for our family to go. I have to say, I was almost afraid that since it was so expensive I'd be dissapointed, or the people who went along with us would be. I'm glad to say, I was not , and we were not!
We got there early-before 8 am. They ushered us right in and set us up for a dolphin swim at 9:10 in the starfish cabana. The best part- we had it to ourselves!!! Our dolphin was Hutch, our trainers were Jen and Jenny, and they were both wonderful with us , and especially with the children. Those 30 minutes sure flew by! We went in thinking we'd buy the video, and a video and disk of pictures later, we were off to the rest of the park. Our only complaint is that we really felt like we were being "milked" with the pictures. They are frightfully expensive, and of course, after that experience it's hard to say no. Luckily, since we were there with another family, we got a photo cd package, and split the cost. Still, it was certainly not cheap!
After our time with Hutch, we went right to the Ray Lagoon. All the kids were a bit skiddish and it took some convincing to them to let them know it was safe. The 7 year old girl we traveled with never got in. There was an awesome lifeguard there that told us the best spot to stand in for them to swim by-this was close in my boys eyes to the dolphin swim. They ended up loving it and the rays.
Off to the reef to snorkel with the fish. The kids all picked up on this really quickly and did excellent.
Then on to our favorite area-the tropical river (we called it the lazy river). We must have gone around this 20 times, sometimes stopping in the aviary-which was awesome as well.
We ate lunch along the way,, which was wonderful. Plentiful food, and all very good. The food was open from 11-4, and we did see some families eating at 11, then again at 4. It was a great strategy, I wish we had used it!
We stayed until 5, then reluctantly left. We were blessed with wonderfully warm weather while there. It was truly a paradise. A nice relaxing day that was worth every penny!
Me- 33
DH- 34
DS-7
DS-6
Friends- 35,34, and their DD 7
Discovery Cove was my idea. I've always wanted to swim with dolphins, and figured it was now or never. So, I scrimped and saved, and scrimped some more to have the money for our family to go. I have to say, I was almost afraid that since it was so expensive I'd be dissapointed, or the people who went along with us would be. I'm glad to say, I was not , and we were not!
We got there early-before 8 am. They ushered us right in and set us up for a dolphin swim at 9:10 in the starfish cabana. The best part- we had it to ourselves!!! Our dolphin was Hutch, our trainers were Jen and Jenny, and they were both wonderful with us , and especially with the children. Those 30 minutes sure flew by! We went in thinking we'd buy the video, and a video and disk of pictures later, we were off to the rest of the park. Our only complaint is that we really felt like we were being "milked" with the pictures. They are frightfully expensive, and of course, after that experience it's hard to say no. Luckily, since we were there with another family, we got a photo cd package, and split the cost. Still, it was certainly not cheap!
After our time with Hutch, we went right to the Ray Lagoon. All the kids were a bit skiddish and it took some convincing to them to let them know it was safe. The 7 year old girl we traveled with never got in. There was an awesome lifeguard there that told us the best spot to stand in for them to swim by-this was close in my boys eyes to the dolphin swim. They ended up loving it and the rays.
Off to the reef to snorkel with the fish. The kids all picked up on this really quickly and did excellent.
Then on to our favorite area-the tropical river (we called it the lazy river). We must have gone around this 20 times, sometimes stopping in the aviary-which was awesome as well.
We ate lunch along the way,, which was wonderful. Plentiful food, and all very good. The food was open from 11-4, and we did see some families eating at 11, then again at 4. It was a great strategy, I wish we had used it!
We stayed until 5, then reluctantly left. We were blessed with wonderfully warm weather while there. It was truly a paradise. A nice relaxing day that was worth every penny!
