"I brushed my teeth, and I don't have cooties." An August DFTW and Disneymoon TR

[Tracy161]

I decided to adopt this practice in my life

I love your New Years tradition, what an inspiring way to celebrate.

I went to see The Greatest Showman

Yay! I've been wanting to see this myself.

This is amazing!

Sorry to hear about your health troubles that day, but I'm glad you made enough of a recovery to enjoy your family dinner at Ohana

 

[ashw100]

Isn't it amazing!? The coolest part is that Su-Lynn hadn't told her sister anything about what N and I looked like beforehand, and yet somehow she managed to depict us pretty much perfectly (before my haircut, obviously.) Fantastic!

Wow that card is amazing

N and I would take a break, and they would stay in the park since they weren't staying on property and would be meeting us for dinner that night at the Poly. I made them promise to ride 7DMT without me so I could see their ride photo.

Oh no I’m sorry you weren’t feeling well
It looks like your family still had fun though.

The upside of this whole experience is that now I get to give you all the low-down on the in-park first aid centres, in case any of you didn't realize they were an available resource, or for anyone who's just curious about what they're like!

What a way to put a positive spin on a bad situation

N loved Ohana when we went, but I found it overwhelming how much food was on the table for two people, especially since they always make up separate plates for allergy-friendly stuff. He was looking forward to going back, and I was looking forward to having some extra help at the table to share the food-consumption load with us!

I know what you mean, we get double too because the boys get kid food and it is excessive.

They also wanted to see the temporary tattoos we'd applied in the hotel room, so we showed them off and photos were taken.

Those are so cute

(Side note: It used to be that every time I ordered a non-alcoholic drink, people would assume I was underage. Now, suddenly everyone assumes I'm pregnant. The joys of married life! But for realz...chill out, guys. I'm just quite literally alcohol intolerant. No baby yet. It's been 5 months.)

And you can kind of see from his face that he's in the middle of an "Ooh-AAH" moment:

That’s cute.

I usually find dessert the hardest part of the meal for not being jealous of my gluten/dairy-eating family, but the chef had managed to put something together for me, too...

Wow that looks yummy.

Our next day was going to be a big one, especially for N, and we were pumped!!

Sorry the second half of the day was rough. Curious as to what come next.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Joining in! I saw the link to this TR and saw Disneymoon then clicked and realized this was YOUR WEDDING TRIP and I HAD to read!

Omg I lowkey cried throughout all of the wedding updates. Like I'm obsessed with the pics your photographer took inside The Little Mermaid queue and making note of it for my future wedding (if there is ever such a thing for me *insert upside down happy face emoji*). Also, your grandmother reading the lyrics to "Promise" (always thought it was called "We Go On" lol) was so beautiful. I haven't looked too deeply into what happens at DFTWs so everything had me SHOOK. Mickey & Minnie at my wedding would destroy me emotionally so I need that along with just every Disney love song in the canon played on violin... I'm just I'M TAKING LEGIT NOTES. You also looked like such a princess and everyone also looked so good and I barely even know you but I'm crying because it was all so beautiful. I NEED A DISNEY WEDDING LIKE THIS FOR MYSELF.

Ok I'm done. I'm calm. And I can't wait to hear about the rest of this epic adventure as well as your marathon weekend (since I'm assuming there's a TR to come with that too...)!

 

[MeghanEmily]

I love your New Years tradition, what an inspiring way to celebrate.

Thanks! I thought it was so inspirational and and exciting to always be wanting to be your best person and learn as much cool stuff as you can!

Sorry to hear about your health troubles that day, but I'm glad you made enough of a recovery to enjoy your family dinner at Ohana

Thanks! Dinner was definitely a way to end the day on a really good note! I'm glad I didn't miss out on it.

Wow that card is amazing

So beautiful! I was so surprised!

Oh no I’m sorry you weren’t feeling well
It looks like your family still had fun though.

Thanks! They really did seem to make the most of the rest of the day, which made me feel better.

I know what you mean, we get double too because the boys get kid food and it is excessive.

It's wild how much food you get there! Especially if there's someone at your table who gets something different, like me, or like with I'm sure it must be with kids.

Sorry the second half of the day was rough. Curious as to what come next.

Thanks. It was going to be a big day for us...we were pretty excited...

Joining in! I saw the link to this TR and saw Disneymoon then clicked and realized this was YOUR WEDDING TRIP and I HAD to read!

Omg I lowkey cried throughout all of the wedding updates. Like I'm obsessed with the pics your photographer took inside The Little Mermaid queue and making note of it for my future wedding (if there is ever such a thing for me *insert upside down happy face emoji*). Also, your grandmother reading the lyrics to "Promise" (always thought it was called "We Go On" lol) was so beautiful. I haven't looked too deeply into what happens at DFTWs so everything had me SHOOK. Mickey & Minnie at my wedding would destroy me emotionally so I need that along with just every Disney love song in the canon played on violin... I'm just I'M TAKING LEGIT NOTES. You also looked like such a princess and everyone also looked so good and I barely even know you but I'm crying because it was all so beautiful. I NEED A DISNEY WEDDING LIKE THIS FOR MYSELF.

Ok I'm done. I'm calm. And I can't wait to hear about the rest of this epic adventure as well as your marathon weekend (since I'm assuming there's a TR to come with that too...)!

Hi Timmy!! Glad you're here!!

The wedding was seriously an absolute dream. The #bestdayever to end all best days ever! It was just so magical, and it fit our style and needs so perfectly, I couldn't have asked for a better day. I really hope that if you get married someday that you have a day just as magical as this! I wondered if we'd regret some of our biggest splurges, like having Minnie and Mickey attend, or like our magic kingdom shoot, but those things turned out to be the most awesome and memorable parts of our day looking back...so no regrets!

I'm thinking there's definitely gonna be a TR for our Marathon Weekend adventures #whenfloridafreezesover... Wasn't sure at first, but I seem to have convinced myself, with a little help from commenters on this TR. So lots more Dis-fun to come!

 

[Raeven]

Oh wow, I don't think I ever knew where Josh's migraines came from, but I knew he had them. Yeah, it would be a very similar thing to how that happens with Josh! I'm also the same way that I've got triggers like that, pressure changes in weather being a big one! (I've got a titanium plate in my skull, so I compare it to how people who have things like knee replacements can feel the weather in their joint, etc.) But yeah, pressure changes are a big deal since my brain condition affects the spinal fluid pressure in my head. I can only imagine how frustrating and awful-feeling the sights and sounds of Disney must be for Josh when he's dealing with a migraine!

It is awful, and sadly there isn't much medicine can do. He's tried various ones over the years that can lessen the intensity or duration but that's about all they can do so far.

I worry about this, too! But I'm sure CMs have seen much weirder stuff than us cutting sheets of moleskin. But I never want to draw attention and make people worry!

Haha I hope so! I use a lot of moleskin anyone who sees thinks I'm seriously injured whenever I take my shoes off

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

It seems to be on everyone's minds!! Hard to escape it! Nathan and I like to think we're pretty forward-thinking, so we don't tend to just assume that every woman wants to have a bunch of babies. We're not sure yet whether we'll have kids or not, and we figure we've still got quite a bit of time to figure it out. It's two drastically different lifestyles, and I think both can be incredibly happy and fulfilling depending on what your personalities are like. But the moment after we got married we were starting to get questions about babies!! People were even trying to sell us their own children. It's pretty ingrained in society!!

Take your time! You have plenty of time. You should enjoy being married for awhile no matter what!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Haha I hope so! I use a lot of moleskin anyone who sees thinks I'm seriously injured whenever I take my shoes off

They just have never been enlightened to the beauty of moleskin! Once you've tried it, if you have any issues with blisters, you'll never go back.

 

[MeghanEmily]

"Every time I go in the water...I pee!"
Disney(ish) Day 5 - Part 1

The alarm went off early this morning...not like Wedding Day early, but still very early nonetheless. It was pretty easy to get up and moving though, because this day we would be going somewhere very special...

DISCOVERY COVE!!



Woohoo! This was an exciting day! If you read my PTR for this trip, you may remember that N and I decided to get wedding gifts for each other for this trip in the form of experiences, and that he bought our Wild Africa Trek tour for me (for later in the trip,) and I bought us Discovery Cove tickets for him. N loves the water and is very interested in marine life, and even as an adult he would be happy splashing around in the pool all day on vacation. This was perfect. For me, I also have fond memories of seeing billboards for Discovery Cove as a kid when I would go on vacation with my family, and I became obsessed with the chance to swim with dolphins, but my parents never could take me due to timing and $$, etc.

This was a very expensive venture for us, (about $850 taxes in when all was said and done,) but the value for what you spend at Discovery Cove is actually not so terrible when you factor in everything that's included. We had our admission to the park, plus I added a SeaVenture experience for N, and a Dolphin swim for us both. DC is also all-inclusive, so that included all of our food and drinks for the day, including alcohol (though neither of us took advantage.) For a very small price difference, we also upgraded to the Ultimate Package, which included 14 days of free admission to Sea World, Aquatica, and Busch Gardens, as well as free parking at these places. Of all those parks, the only one we'd be taking advantage of was Busch, but it still worked out in our favour because Busch single-day tickets themselves would have been about $80-90 per person.

*A word of warning: most of my photos from this day are varying degrees of terrible because I was taking them with my Nikon COOLPIX waterproof/shockproof digital camera. Certainly not the best quality, but awesome for capturing underwater stuff without putting my good cameras or iPhone at risk! I'm always scared the one time my waterproof iPhone sleeve will leak will be the time I actually use it underwater on a trip.*

We gathered up our stuff at CSR and left all our bags with bell services to have them transferred, and then we got on the road. Soon enough we started seeing DC signs, and signs for Sea World, which is just next door. We arrived at DC at about 7:15, because while the park officially opens around 8:00, they start registration and serving breakfast at 7:15. There was already a line out the door to register, so I was glad we got there when we did, and almost wished we'd arrived a little earlier. As we entered, we could see these neat dolphin figures hanging from the ceiling.

Arriving early was a good idea for a few reasons, including getting an early time for our dolphin swim, since times are given out by order of arrival. Even at that early hour, our dolphin swim was scheduled for 12:20pm...not morning, but still not too bad. N's Sea Venture was also booked for 9:45.

On our way into the park to find breakfast, we had another one of those encounters where people find out you're newly married and feel it's their duty to tell you their life story. The woman who was directing guests inside was chatting with us, and somehow our wedding came up. She was so thrilled for us, which was really nice. But she started telling us about how she's also found the love of her life...also nice...and that it was her second marriage...that the first one was lousy...goes on to share details about her horrendous first husband...how she had settled and you should never settle...etc. I guess I'm just glad she wised up and found someone good for her?! But, again...people are weird about weddings.

We got in line and picked out some breakfast offerings.

I found enough for breakfast without having to talk to a manager, but while I was there I made sure to ask about the allergy procedures for when we'd have to come back for lunch. I was told to come up to the front of the line and ask for a chef/manager, and that they'd handle my lunch. Cool beans!

As I mentioned, everything is included, so you can choose whatever you want. My breakfast included two of the bowls of fruit, a boiled egg, and orange juice. N got their generic breakfast plate, which had eggs, sausage, bacon, and potatoes, plus some pastries, an egg, fruit, and orange juice, and what I suspect was probably a chocolate milk, but I can't tell anymore. Oh, and under the pastries was this type of french toast sticks thing, which is what the syrup packet was for.

He has a stomach of steel. I could never mix orange juice and milk. ...not that I could drink milk anyway. I think he kind of picked away at everything, and that some things were better than others.

Our first stop after breakfast was going to be the aviary since it supposedly opens before the pool/water areas, and since the birds are at their hungriest first thing in the morning, but when we went over to check it out, it wasn't quite open yet. We decided to take a walk around and explore/get the lay of the land while we waited.

DC is absolutely beautiful! I had heard this in reviews, but you really have to go there to appreciate what an oasis it really is. It's so nicely landscaped/themed, clean, and there are tropical plants and sand everywhere you look.

(This was the pool we'd return to for our dolphin swim later.)

I was a little worried though, because I find water activities really exhausting, and most of DC is all outdoors (no A/C unless you're in one of the buildings to register, shop, or get food, etc.) With how oppressive the heat is in Florida in August, I anticipated having some issues. We made a plan to try to make it long enough to do our dolphin swim, and then we'd play it by ear. If I was getting too tired, we'd leave. That would still give us a good 6+ hours in the park.

So we set off toward the aviary...and we started meeting some funny new friends...

Most of the larger birds, like that first guy, were very calm/tame around people, but they had no interest in eating the bird food we'd provide them. I did have some nice chats with them, and it was fun to photograph/video them and see their "expressions."

We found one of the carts where the employees were giving out cups of bird food, and those areas had lots of small birds in them...so it wasn't too long before this happened...

The birds were flocking—ha! bird joke!—to N, and I was really struggling to draw them to me. I blame it on his height—he was a higher and larger target! Eventually, I got in on the bird action...

We wandered to a different area of the aviary, and N became even more popular...

And then, this happened:

This little guy just climbed onto his shoulder and snuggled in, crawling in toward his neck, etc. He looked like an older bird, and from my limited research online he appears to be a particular bird that was hand-raised at DC and is known for being pretty cuddly. He wasn't even really there to eat, just to snuggle. N felt bad when we finally left because the little dude seemed so comfy.

I made friends with this little buddy:

And we chatted for a bit and made funny faces at each other:

I also made an attempt to feed this giant antisocial pink bird who was hanging out on the railing to the lazy river...but he wasn't having it. I have no idea what he eats. But it still seemed personal. I felt snubbed.

There were also these beautifully bright birds I desperately wanted to hang with, but they were happy to nibble your food...only if you held it high enough that they didn't need to leave their perch. #spoiledmuch

And, of course, I don't remember any of the names of the types of birds we saw this day. I leave this to your inventive imaginations, or to google if you're feeling seriously invested. Bad Diser here! You're welcome.

When we were finished with the aviary, we still had some time to kill before N's SeaVenture appointment, so we hit the lazy river. Now this isn't just your standard lazy river. It's pretty gorgeous. It even floats by a glassed-in area where you can see otters play. The depth changes occasionally, so most of it is shallow enough to walk, but sometimes a sign would warn us that it would drop to a depth of something like 6ft, and we'd have to swim/float. They have noodles and life jackets. We did it once with something to float with, and once without, and I preferred having something so I could fully embody the "lazy" bit of "lazy river."

You also go under waterfalls occasionally. They're much prettier than the ones in the lazy rivers at the Disney waterparks...but they have the same soaking effect.

Finally, it was time for us to split up. We decided on a place to meet back up, and N would go do his SeaVenture, while I would explore elsewhere.

I have no footage of the SeaVenture experience, but if you're curious about it there are lots of pictures/info online. Basically they put weighted scuba helmets on, which make you look like astronauts, and the weight of them helps you to sink to the bottom of a deep tank. You then take a "walking tour" with a guide who communicates with you by writing on a magnetic erasable board thing like kids draw on. You also learn hand signals to communicate with the guide so they know you're doing okay. This gets guests up close and personal with a lot of the marine life you wouldn't be able to get as close to otherwise. I wasn't a good candidate because of my brain condition—there's a series of safety rules about who's able to do this experience—and I'm also a little claustrophobic anyway. But I thought N would love it! He ended up finding it a little unnerving, but mostly really cool. Apparently at one point though, a shark swam up to him and rammed into his helmet directly in front of his face, which he told me was equal parts terrifying and awesome. ("A shark hit my face!" was also a TR title contender.)

While N was doing this, I picked up a pair of googles/a snorkel and headed over to...

I couldn't wait to step in that [chilly!] water and start seeing some real marine animals! This was what it's all about! You can swim in pretty pools anywhere.

*Side note: DC provides animal-safe sunscreen throughout the park for you to wear because regular sunscreen can be harmful to the fish. We slathered up with it a few times because I hate getting sunburns. It was really heavy, greasy, and hard to rub in, but worth it of course. It made me so angry when I saw a few people putting on their own regular sunscreen and then getting back in the water!*

I entered the Grand Reef and didn't see much wildlife. I tried not to be disappointed as I pulled on my goggles, put my face under the water, and started to swim...only to be shocked and amazed!!

Looking at the water from above had been deceptive, and it was really teeming with marine life! A little ball of excitement burst inside of me, and I couldn't get enough! I couldn't wait to show N and see what he thought.

Some serious shaky-cam warning here, this video below almost makes me motion sick, but I include it to give you a slight sense of what I was seeing under the water. I wasn't very good at capturing it all because I was too busy looking around at everything to be looking at the camera, but this is the best I've got.

I also have a note that while I was waiting for N I asked a chef about allergy-friendly snacks, and she had a fair list of options. I went with the allergy-friendly caramel corn, sampled a bit, and put the rest in our locker for later.

I also had me some of this:

Is it unreasonable for my favourite part of DC to be unlimited frozen lemonade/pina colada/white cherry icees? Because that was definitely a thing. I have a note that says: "Spent most of the day eating frozen lemonade/pina colada icees," so...

N had returned from his SeaVenture by this point, and he recounted a story from his walk over which quite nearly provided the title for this TR...until about a week later when something else took its place...but I digress! Anyway, he was walking over when he saw this little girl with her mother, and he overheard her exclaiming in this tiny, straightforward, but animated voice: "Every time I go in the water...I pee!!" The way he quoted it back to me was just hilarious! But it also serves as an excellent reminder of why they chlorinate hotel pools so heavily...*shudder*

He and I went back to the Grand Reef together, and he also thought it was great. (Maybe a little less exciting now that a shark had just hit his face though.) Then we went back to the lazy river for a while, and this time we had time to do the full loop without getting out somewhere in the middle. We got to go through this cave for the first time...

And a nice lifeguard in there took our photo for us...

N wanted to attempt an underwater selfie, and this is the masterpiece we came up with...

Not my best work.

Before we got out, we went by a pretty area with little cascading waterfalls on one side, and I got N to tread water and take a picture for me.

By the time we were getting out, I was starting to lose steam. But we were almost to our dolphin swim by this time, so I was determined to ride it out and realize Tiny Meghan's childhood dream. The tent where we needed to check in was determined by what group we had been assigned at registration, so with just a few hiccups we managed to find where we needed to be. We signed in, signed some waivers, and watched an information/safety video about the dolphins and our upcoming experience with them.

It's been so long (over five months now!) since all this happened. I wish I could remember more details, like exactly what we did in these kinds of encounters, step by step, or like what the dolphins names were, etc. But as I warned you, we didn't take super-detailed notes this trip in favour of just experiencing everything fully. I think this was an important decision. I'll relate what I do remember though...

We were led into the water in small groups and told to stand in a long line shoulder-to-shoulder. The water felt so chilly! It's kept at the same temp all year round for the animals (Grand Reef, too!) at 76-77F. Apparently it feels like a bathtub in January, but not so much in August. The dolphin trainer in the water with us had one of the dolphins come out to introduce herself to us, and we learned a few of the hand signals they use to train them to do different things. We all got to practice asking her to do things like wave, splash her tail, etc. The trainer showed us some of the other cool things she could do, like jumps. This was one of the older dolphins, and she had mothered some of the younger ones there. The trainer would have her swim in front of our line-up, and we could all stroke her along her back, but behind her head. (Just like how humans wouldn't appreciate someone touching their face all the time.) One at a time and/or in small groups, everyone got to go get photos with the dolphin, give the famous dolphin kiss, and stroke her.

Her smile was even bigger than ours! Teeheeheh

No cameras allowed in the water, so as you can see, we were the suckers who bought the ridiculously-priced photo CD. I'd waited years for these pictures and I wasn't leaving without them!! It was our honeymoon, and I have no regrets.

Dolphins are really social creatures, so they don't typically seem to mind interaction with humans, but the folks at DC still seemed to always be really mindful not to be overstimulating them and asking too much of them. They're always swapping the dolphins out, even within the same group sessions. Our first dolphin left at this point, and a younger male dolphin came out.

This was where we got to do our dolphin "swimming," i.e. we'd swim out into the depths of the pool and the dolphin would haul us back to shore. You needed to be comfortable treading water for up to a few minutes at a time, so they offered a shore-based alternative for anyone who wasn't a strong swimmer. I think everyone in our group opted to swim out though...except for one random buzzkill lady who refused to do anything that involved being close to, or actually touching a dolphin. (I was like...dude, why are you here? This thing is expensive if you don't like dolphins... No idea what was going on there...It seemed like the people with her were family members and had maybe forced her into it?)

I can't remember whether we volunteered or we were just at the right end of the line, but N and I ended up going first. They had both of us swim out to a second trainer. I'm a relatively decent swimmer, but I tire easily and I already was feeling sub-par, so N and I decided I'd go first so he would be the one treading water longer while he waited for me to go. We were instructed on where to put our hands, holding securely to the dolphin's dorsal fin, and then we just relaxed and let the dolphin do the work. It was pretty cool. I could gush about it, but I'll just leave the pictures here instead...

It felt like it was so effortless for the dolphin pulling us! They're so amazing and strong! The whole dolphin encounter was by far the highlight of our day at Discovery Cove, and we were both just smiling the whole time.

After we finished here, however, I knew I was done. We decided to go get showered and changed, and then we got some lunch before we left since it was included and we were both feeling pretty hungry after our busy mornings. I don't really remember what we ate, and I didn't take pictures, but I seem to have a recollection of some kind of an allergy-friendly burger and a side of mixed veggies. The food at DC might not have been quite up to par with my most favourite Disney QS places, but it was still quite good, and they had lots of options, both for regular meals and for allergy-friendly ones. You're not allowed to bring any outside food into the park, but I never really felt like we wanted for anything. Another great thing about DC is that they have a very small cap on how many people can enter the park each day (somewhere around 1200-1300) so even on the busiest of days at other parks it never feels crowded at DC. The whole park was an amazing experience, and I'm glad we finally could make it happen, and on such a special trip for us. We had said it would be a once in a lifetime kind of thing, but we had such a great time there that we've already talked about possibly going back again someday...just obviously not every trip. #takemymoney

Next up: we return to Disney and share the rest of the day's adventures...​

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Omg, what a fun experience! Swimming with the dolphins is another thing that's been on my bucket list forever and you two looked like you were having the time of your lives. Might have to hop on over to Discovery Cove to do it one day. I agree though I could never do that SeaVenture thing, that just sounds terrifying and unnerving. The coral reef looked really cool (rip Shark Reef @ Typhoon Lagoon). I think you're selling this Discovery Cove endeavor pretty well, they should pay you lol

 

[Raeven]

*A word of warning: most of my photos from this day are varying degrees of terrible because I was taking them with my Nikon COOLPIX waterproof/shockproof digital camera. Certainly not the best quality, but awesome for capturing underwater stuff without putting my good cameras or iPhone at risk!

Back in 2015 on our first trip we did Discovery Cove, and my brilliant idea was to buy one of those waterproof disposable cameras We couldn't find a place that develops them for the longest time, and we didn't take it for like a year and most are completely horrible.

I'm always scared the one time my waterproof iPhone sleeve will leak will be the time I actually use it underwater on a trip.*

Same! Hence the brilliant decision above.

I have a note that says: "Spent most of the day eating frozen lemonade/pina colada icees," so...

I was sick when we went, and I did that too

The food at DC might not have been quite up to par with my most favourite Disney QS places,

I was not a fan from what I remember. It's so nice it's all included, but I didn't really like anything besides the snacks.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

DISCOVERY COVE!!

I want to take the girls here one day. Morgan always talks about swimming with dolphins. I am thinking for a "big" birthday one year, maybe.....

If you read my PTR for this trip, you may remember that N and I decided to get wedding gifts for each other for this trip in the form of experiences, and that he bought our Wild Africa Trek tour for me (for later in the trip,) and I bought us Discovery Cove tickets for him.

Both amazing gifts to each other. A great way to start your marriage with some amazing experiences!

I became obsessed with the chance to swim with dolphins, but my parents never could take me due to timing and $$, etc.

I always wanted to go Whale watching as a kid. (all of our family vacations were to Maine. But I feel like it is the cold version fo swimming with dolphins, Ha!)

I'm always scared the one time my waterproof iPhone sleeve will leak will be the time I actually use it underwater on a trip.*

Me Too! Plus can you actually use the thumbprint and stuff?!?

I have no idea what he eats. But it still seemed personal. I felt snubbed.

Don't be offended...

Apparently at one point though, a shark swam up to him and rammed into his helmet directly in front of his face, which he told me was equal parts terrifying and awesome.

That would be SUPER alarming! Awesome but scary!

I wasn't very good at capturing it all because I was too busy looking around at everything to be looking at the camera, but this is the best I've got.

Amazing!

Is it unreasonable for my favourite part of DC to be unlimited frozen lemonade/pina colada/white cherry icees? Because that was definitely a thing. I have a note that says: "Spent most of the day eating frozen lemonade/pina colada icees," so...

Get your moneys worth, for sure!

he overheard her exclaiming in this tiny, straightforward, but animated voice: "Every time I go in the water...I pee!!" The way he quoted it back to me was just hilarious!

I feel like this is something Gwen would say and in that voice... (Her voice is super high pitched a squeaky.)

N wanted to attempt an underwater selfie, and this is the masterpiece we came up with...

I love the idea of the underwater selfie!

Perfect!

It was pretty cool. I could gush about it, but I'll just leave the pictures here instead...

Just amazing!

 

[thumper*]

So sorry to hear about getting ill at MK, but you always seem to find positive out of the negative.

This is hilarious.

Oh yum.

I never had an interest to go to DC, even though we had one next door to us when we vacationed in Islamorada FL about 20 yr's ago. But I gotta say your description peaks my interest. Looks like you guys really enjoyed yourselves.

 

[buzzrelly]

this day we would be going somewhere very special...

DISCOVERY COVE!!

SO cool! I've never been, but want to go someday!

This was a very expensive venture for us, (about $850 taxes in when all was said and done,)

Annnnddddd…that would be why I've never been!

she started telling us about how she's also found the love of her life...also nice...and that it was her second marriage...that the first one was lousy...goes on to share details about her horrendous first husband...how she had settled and you should never settle...etc.

Yikes! TMI, lady!

I entered the Grand Reef and didn't see much wildlife. I tried not to be disappointed as I pulled on my goggles, put my face under the water, and started to swim...only to be shocked and amazed!!

Beautiful!

Some serious shaky-cam warning here, this video below almost makes me motion sick, but I include it to give you a slight sense of what I was seeing under the water. I wasn't very good at capturing it all because I was too busy looking around at everything to be looking at the camera, but this is the best I've got.

I love it! We did the shark swim across at Typhoon Lagoon once and I was a nervous wreck so I couldn't even appreciate it.

Is it unreasonable for my favourite part of DC to be unlimited frozen lemonade/pina colada/white cherry icees?

Not at all!

"Every time I go in the water...I pee!!"

Yuck!

And a nice lifeguard in there took our photo for us...

Great pic!

N wanted to attempt an underwater selfie, and this is the masterpiece we came up with...

Her smile was even bigger than ours! Teeheeheh

Aw! I love her!

It was pretty cool. I could gush about it, but I'll just leave the pictures here instead...

That looks like an incredible experience! Definitely makes me want to go even more now!

 

[amazingact21]

Discovery Cove sounds great! I've always wanted to spend a day there but have never got around to doing it. But after reading your synopsis of everything, I want to put in on my list for our next big trip. That lazy river sounds amazing, and I don't blame you for buying the expensive CD of the dolphin encounter. How many times can you get pictures of you swimming with a dolphin?!

 

[amalone1013]

Wow! I'd never heard of Discovery Cove until the boards, and I didn't realize how much there was there! It looks really cool!

Swimming with dolphins is on my list. It looks like you guys had an amazing time! I totally get getting suckered into the overpriced photo package though. We also bought the overpriced photo package on our cruise where we met...

Sea lions!

​

We picked them for a few reasons... 1. I love sea lions. 2. I'd seen Dolphin swims/meets, before, so I knew we'd have another chance at some point... but I'd never seen sea lions. 3. The sea lions were about half the price... So I think your Discovery Cove value sounds really good. The cruise Dolphin swim would have been about $600 alone for us, while the sea lions clocked in at about $260. With either animal encounter you got to use the private beach (this was at Blue Lagoon Island in Nassau, Bahamas), their inner tubes, and a basic lunch. There were a lot of other up charge items/food/drinks. The Ultimate package with the other parks, parking, food, drinks, snorkeling, and Dolphins(!) sounds like a great deal overall.


Also, OJ and milk? I couldn't do it. But as a chocolate milk aficionado, I do recognize the TruMoo carton

 

[pkondz]

"Every time I go in the water...I pee!"

Meghan!!!! Other people use those pools you know!

The alarm went off early this morning...not like Wedding Day early, but still very early nonetheless.

You only need to do that once in your lifetime.

DISCOVERY COVE

Umm...
So, I had to Google what that was.

he bought our Wild Africa Trek tour for me (for later in the trip,)

Looking forward to that!

This was a very expensive venture for us, (about $850 taxes in when all was said and done,)

Whoa! D'em's Disney prices!

I added a SeaVenture experience for N

Nice!!

and a Dolphin swim for us both.

Even nicer that you get to do that together.

For a very small price difference, we also upgraded to the Ultimate Package, which included 14 days of free admission to Sea World, Aquatica, and Busch Gardens, as well as free parking at these places. Of all those parks, the only one we'd be taking advantage of was Busch, but it still worked out in our favour because Busch single-day tickets themselves would have been about $80-90 per person.

Good to know. And good for you!

I'm always scared the one time my waterproof iPhone sleeve will leak will be the time I actually use it underwater on a trip.*

Uh huh.... You know why I have an iPhone?
Because my iPod apparently did not like toilets.

We arrived at DC at about 7:15, because while the park officially opens around 8:00, they start registration and serving breakfast at 7:15. There was already a line out the door to register

Whoa! Good thing you got there when you did!

I like it.

times are given out by order of arrival.

Really! I would've thought it would be advance registration. Huh.

Even at that early hour, our dolphin swim was scheduled for 12:20pm...not morning, but still not too bad.

What were you aiming for?

we had another one of those encounters where people find out you're newly married and feel it's their duty to tell you their life story.

But she started telling us about how she's also found the love of her life...also nice...and that it was her second marriage...that the first one was lousy...goes on to share details about her horrendous first husband...how she had settled and you should never settle...etc.

Uh, huh... So.... is she saying you settled for Nathan?

Brother.

We got in line and picked out some breakfast offerings.

I'm betting it was the kid with the tie died shirt! What did you name him?

I was told to come up to the front of the line and ask for a chef/manager, and that they'd handle my lunch. Cool beans!

Not a fan of cool beans. I like salad... just not bean salad all that much.

and what I suspect was probably a chocolate milk, but I can't tell anymore.

Oh, that's easy. If it's white, it isn't chocolate.
If it's brown, it is.


See??? Easy!

Oh, and under the pastries was this type of french toast sticks thing

You make it sound so appealing!!

DC is absolutely beautiful! I had heard this in reviews, but you really have to go there to appreciate what an oasis it really is. It's so nicely landscaped/themed, clean, and there are tropical plants and sand everywhere you look.

Looks really nice! Had no idea.

(This was the pool we'd return to for our dolphin swim later.)

Pretty.

If I was getting too tired, we'd leave. That would still give us a good 6+ hours in the park.

That's a lot!

So we set off toward the aviary...and we started meeting some funny new friends...

they had no interest in eating the bird food we'd provide them.

You need to invest in better bird food or better funny new friends.

I did have some nice chats with them

What do birds talk about?

Nice! There ya go!

The birds were flocking—ha! bird joke!—to N

You got one! Now grab it before it gets away!

This little guy just climbed onto his shoulder and snuggled in, crawling in toward his neck, etc. He looked like an older bird, and from my limited research online he appears to be a particular bird that was hand-raised at DC and is known for being pretty cuddly. He wasn't even really there to eat, just to snuggle. N felt bad when we finally left because the little dude seemed so comfy.

Awwww!!!

I also made an attempt to feed this giant antisocial pink bird who was hanging out on the railing to the lazy river...but he wasn't having it. I have no idea what he eats. But it still seemed personal. I felt snubbed.

Note to self... Discovery Cove has jerk birds.

Okay. Got it.

There were also these beautifully bright birds I desperately wanted to hang with, but they were happy to nibble your food...only if you held it high enough that they didn't need to leave their perch. #spoiledmuch

Royalty perhaps.

And, of course, I don't remember any of the names of the types of birds we saw this day.

I do.
Herb
Florence
Jock
Jessie
Terrance
Elizabeth (Betty to her friends.... but she doesn't have any.)
Harold
Filbert
Zacharia
Sir Snoofs-a-lot.
Bob

It even floats by a glassed-in area where you can see otters play.

That's cool. I'd stay there for quite a while.

sometimes a sign would warn us that it would drop to a depth of something like 6ft, and we'd have to swim/float.

Really! Huh. Surprised.

I preferred having something so I could fully embody the "lazy" bit of "lazy river."

I would too.

You then take a "walking tour" with a guide who communicates with you by writing on a magnetic erasable board thing like kids draw on.

Really! I would've thought that there'd be radio communication. One way at least, if not two way.

I wasn't a good candidate because of my brain condition

Ah. Too bad. You think you would've enjoyed it? I don't think the claustrophobia would've been an issue. You can see out and you forget that you're wearing it (I would think... based on SCUBA.)

He ended up finding it a little unnerving, but mostly really cool.

Great! Glad he (mostly) liked it.

Apparently at one point though, a shark swam up to him and rammed into his helmet directly in front of his face, which he told me was equal parts terrifying and awesome. ("A shark hit my face!" was also a TR title contender.)

That would've made a great title! And.... holy cow! What an experience! How big was it??

( I might have joined you in the whole peeing in the pool department... perhaps more than peed.)

While N was doing this, I picked up a pair of googles/a snorkel and headed over to...

Yay! Glad you did that!

I couldn't wait to step in that [chilly!] water and start seeing some real marine animals! This was what it's all about! You can swim in pretty pools anywhere.

*Side note: DC provides animal-safe sunscreen throughout the park for you to wear because regular sunscreen can be harmful to the fish.

Oh! I wouldn't have thought of that. Of course! D'uh!

It made me so angry when I saw a few people putting on their own regular sunscreen and then getting back in the water!*

Not so D'uh for some people obviously.

Cool shot! And yes! Look at all the fish! Wow!

this video below

Shoot. At work. I'll look later.

Is it unreasonable for my favourite part of DC to be unlimited frozen lemonade/pina colada/white cherry icees?

Perfectly legit.

"Every time I go in the water...I pee!!"

Avoid this kid at all costs.

But it also serves as an excellent reminder of why they chlorinate hotel pools so heavily...*shudder*

Yep. Better than the alternative.

He and I went back to the Grand Reef together, and he also thought it was great. (Maybe a little less exciting now that a shark had just hit his face though.)

We got to go through this cave for the first time...

That is really cool. Really!

Cute shot of you guys.

N wanted to attempt an underwater selfie, and this is the masterpiece we came up with...

Beautiful!

I got N to tread water and take a picture for me.

"Okay... hang on. Not quite ready. Wait, the sun is in my eyes. Is my hair okay? Hang on, someone's going by. Is this my good side?"

Man on honeymoon drowns at Discovery Cove. Bride devastated: "He never took my picture!!"

Very pretty!

realize Tiny Meghan's childhood dream.

Awwwww...

But as I warned you, we didn't take super-detailed notes this trip in favour of just experiencing everything fully.

Good for you.
You are reading my current TR so you know I did the same.
Sometimes you have to just live life.

we learned a few of the hand signals they use to train them to do different things

Cool!

Her smile was even bigger than ours! Teeheeheh

Uh, huh. It's forced.
Through the aide of advanced computer tomography, I was able to discern what the dolphin was saying:

Beautiful photo of you, Meghan.

No cameras allowed in the water, so as you can see, we were the suckers who bought the ridiculously-priced photo CD. I'd waited years for these pictures and I wasn't leaving without them!! It was our honeymoon, and I have no regrets.

Nor would I. Good choice.

one random buzzkill lady who refused to do anything that involved being close to, or actually touching a dolphin.

Whaaaa???? Why???

It seemed like the people with her were family members and had maybe forced her into it?)

Only thing I can think of. Weird.

I'm a relatively decent swimmer, but I tire easily and I already was feeling sub-par, so N and I decided I'd go first so he would be the one treading water longer while he waited for me to go.

Very nice. You should keep him. (Despite what "settling" lady says.)

It felt like it was so effortless for the dolphin pulling us!

So cool.

Another great thing about DC is that they have a very small cap on how many people can enter the park each day (somewhere around 1200-1300)

Really! I like that!

We had said it would be a once in a lifetime kind of thing, but we had such a great time there that we've already talked about possibly going back again someday...just obviously not every trip. #takemymoney

Sure sounds like a wonderful time. So pleased you enjoyed it so much!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I've been gone from the Dis for a long time but I am jumping back in and your TR is the first one I clicked on and I'm loving it. Your wedding was beautiful and sounds perfect for you two. The photos in MK were especially stunning.

I hear you on the awkward border crossings. One time I was crossing into New York at the Thousands Islands border crossing for a day of shopping with my friend who is originally from the Bahamas and the guard was asking us all sorts of questions. He was really grilling us about how we knew each other, for how long, what school did we go to, where did we live, whose car were we in. It went on and on. When we finally got waved through my friend found that he had slipped a card into her passport about how to seek help if you are a victim of human trafficking!!! We were astounded. We ended up laughing about it but it was so strange.

Looking forward to more!

 

[Steppesister]

Woohoo! This was an exciting day! If you read my PTR for this trip, you may remember that N and I decided to get wedding gifts for each other for this trip in the form of experiences, and that he bought our Wild Africa Trek tour for me (for later in the trip,) and I bought us Discovery Cove tickets for him.

That is such a cool thing! I love this idea so much!

This was a very expensive venture for us, (about $850 taxes in when all was said and done,)

Arriving early was a good idea for a few reasons, including getting an early time for our dolphin swim, since times are given out by order of arrival. Even at that early hour, our dolphin swim was scheduled for 12:20pm...not morning, but still not too bad. N's Sea Venture was also booked for 9:45.

So.... confused. The dolphin times aren't pre-assigned long before you go to the park? Like weeks or months ahead. Seems like that might be a better method?

But, again...people are weird about weddings.

Odd. Why do people feel like they need to say anything other than congratulations without knowing you at least a little better.

I think he kind of picked away at everything, and that some things were better than others.

Like every fast food anywhere, ever.

DC is absolutely beautiful! I had heard this in reviews, but you really have to go there to appreciate what an oasis it really is. It's so nicely landscaped/themed, clean, and there are tropical plants and sand everywhere you look.

I'm beginning to like the idea of going there more and more.

That would still give us a good 6+ hours in the park.

Did you feel like that was enough time to really enjoy the park and get your money's worth? I'd want to snorkel, do the lazy river and dolphins, of course eat (twice), and lay on the beach some.

This little guy just climbed onto his shoulder and snuggled in, crawling in toward his neck, etc.

Awwww!

Question: So, you can swim IN the aviary? Does the lazy river go through it or is this a separate swimming area, or?

I leave this to your inventive imaginations, or to google if you're feeling seriously invested. Bad Diser here! You're welcome.

Yeah! Hey, what's up with that?!

(Goes back to own TR and checks to see if I named any birds... Nope. Okay, fine, you're forgiven. )

They have noodles and life jackets. We did it once with something to float with, and once without, and I preferred having something so I could fully embody the "lazy" bit of "lazy river."

Can you do it with a floatie raft?

Apparently at one point though, a shark swam up to him and rammed into his helmet directly in front of his face, which he told me was equal parts terrifying and awesome.

Cool!! I felt exactly like that when I snorkeled in the Keys. Amazing!

It made me so angry when I saw a few people putting on their own regular sunscreen and then getting back in the water!*

Yeah, that would majorly peeve me too.

Is it unreasonable for my favourite part of DC to be unlimited frozen lemonade/pina colada/white cherry icees? Because that was definitely a thing. I have a note that says: "Spent most of the day eating frozen lemonade/pina colada icees," so...

How is this a bad thing?

N had returned from his SeaVenture by this point, and he recounted a story from his walk over which quite nearly provided the title for this TR...until about a week later when something else took its place...but I digress! Anyway, he was walking over when he saw this little girl with her mother, and he overheard her exclaiming in this tiny, straightforward, but animated voice: "Every time I go in the water...I pee!!" The way he quoted it back to me was just hilarious! But it also serves as an excellent reminder of why they chlorinate hotel pools so heavily...*shudder*

Aw, major great pic! Just perfect!

I think everyone in our group opted to swim out though...except for one random buzzkill lady who refused to do anything that involved being close to, or actually touching a dolphin. (I was like...dude, why are you here? This thing is expensive if you don't like dolphins... No idea what was going on there...It seemed like the people with her were family members and had maybe forced her into it?)

Ummm, okay.

 

[Si C]

Funny story with the Dolphin encounter!

Right at the start when we were in the water they asked if anybody had swam with Dolphins before and I was the only one that raised my hand, they asked where and were surprised when I said here, around 8 years ago!

Anyway, what was funny was when it came to the first Dolphin interaction and the trainer asked "who'd like to volunteer to go first?" and without saying anything the entire group all turned and looked at me!! I was like "ok, I guess I'm going first then!"

 

[MeghanEmily]

Omg, what a fun experience! Swimming with the dolphins is another thing that's been on my bucket list forever and you two looked like you were having the time of your lives. Might have to hop on over to Discovery Cove to do it one day. I agree though I could never do that SeaVenture thing, that just sounds terrifying and unnerving. The coral reef looked really cool (rip Shark Reef @ Typhoon Lagoon). I think you're selling this Discovery Cove endeavor pretty well, they should pay you lol

It was so excellent!! It's not the kind of place most people can afford to just throw onto every trip, us included, but for special occasions I highly recommend it! It actually made me think of Shark Reef, too! I did it as a kid and had wanted to go back and do it again—wish it was still a thing!!

I wish they'd pay me for promo! Even if the payment was in dolphin swims and unlimited frozen lemonade!

Back in 2015 on our first trip we did Discovery Cove, and my brilliant idea was to buy one of those waterproof disposable cameras We couldn't find a place that develops them for the longest time, and we didn't take it for like a year and most are completely horrible.

Oh man! In theory it sounds like a good idea...but I guess not so much...

I was not a fan from what I remember. It's so nice it's all included, but I didn't really like anything besides the snacks.

It's certainly nothing special in terms of cuisine. We did fine eating there. Maybe because we were starving and would have eaten anything. But I liked having free brand-name snacks (like Lays chips, etc.) at my fingertips

I want to take the girls here one day. Morgan always talks about swimming with dolphins. I am thinking for a "big" birthday one year, maybe.....

I think they'd love it! That would make an awesome gift for a really special birthday or occasion!

I always wanted to go Whale watching as a kid. (all of our family vacations were to Maine. But I feel like it is the cold version fo swimming with dolphins, Ha!)

Whale watching was a big deal in a few areas near to where I grew up, so we went a couple of time. I'm not a fan just because I'm prone to seasickness, but otherwise it's pretty neat! Did you ever get to go??

Me Too! Plus can you actually use the thumbprint and stuff?!?

You can't. I mean the touchscreen still is basically usable, but the fingerprint reader thing doesn't work. You can use side buttons to operate the camera on most iPhones I think. But still. Pretty clunky.

I feel like this is something Gwen would say and in that voice... (Her voice is super high pitched a squeaky.)

Now that you say that, I could totally see little Gwen saying this!

Just amazing!

It was pretty fantastic! A big highlight of the trip for sure!