"I've Waited A Long Time for a Mother/Daughter Extravaganza" 9/8 Update!

[PracPerfPatricia]

OMG-Riding Test Track in the Pouring Rain-that just adds a whole element to it...kinda like Test Track meets Kali River Rapids or something like that...

Those crepes in France are pretty tasty...my kids ate about 2 apiece the day we where in Epcot...even the plain sugar ones are really good...

I love Morocco too-I love other countries as well but I think they did a really good job of making you feel like you really were someplace else...the tile, the labyrinths, the fountain...something romantic about it...

 

[MomofCKJ]

Monday August 24
We woke early to our wake up call. We had a 7:25 shuttle to catch so we got ourselves ready and organized. We were out front by 7:15 and the CM told us the shuttle could be a van or a bus, depending on how many people. There was another group, of British tourists, waiting as well.

Side note: OODLES of British tourists this trip! Belle and I commented on how we felt we were in Harry Potter Land with the accents, we just love them! Many a time we just giggled to each other and said things like "Ron Weasley" or "Hermione Granger" and we also decided to try to bring "I have to go to the loo" into our daily conversation as well. Lovely folks to vacation with, so polite and we just seriously could listen to them talk all day!

So the shuttle arrives and it is a van with one family in it. We get in along with our British pals. And Mears had told me on the phone to plan on 45 minutes to get to Discovery Cove. Well since there were no other stops we were there in like 15! It was perfect. It cost $18 pp/rt. We had arranged to be on the 3:45pm shuttle to go back home. They ran in the afternoon at 1:45, 3:45 and 5:45. That was something I didn't like, how you were at the mercy of their schedule.

So we exited and checked in. Whoa. It felt like we were entering a lush Caribbean resort. Very very nice. Lots of very friendly staff. You really feel the love here. We checked in, were given the first dolphin experience at 8:40am and had our photos taken for our ID cards. They give it to you on a lanyard and it is also used as your ticket to Sea World which is part of your admission price. We would be using that in a few days.

They send you on your way down these paths surrounded by lush greenery. At one point they take your photo for a complimentary picture you get. There are staff along the way directing you to where you need to be. We were told to go enjoy breakfast and after we could go get a locker and our wetsuit or vest.

So we meandered into the breakfast area. All food and drink all day is included. It is very nicely presented. Breakfast was continental and there were fruits, yogurt, cereal and various muffins, breads and pastries. There was coffee and juice and milk. We each got our plate and found a nice seat outside.

After we finished we were taken by a staff member to our area, I think we were SeaHorse, and the lockers are there for you, included as well. We were given a mask and snorkel (you keep the snorkel) and we each chose vests though wetsuits were also available. They also provide you with sunscreen which is safe for the animals. We lotioned up (VERY thick lotion it is) and headed to our assigned cabana area to check in for our dolphin experience. We had to sign waivers and we waited as the room filled up. A short video was shown, very cute and then we were put into groups of 8-10 people. We headed out with our trainer.

We got to the lagoon and the water is COLD! We slowly went out as she talked to us about our dolphin. We would have Nate, a 5 year old. This translates to about an early teenager. She said Nate was very playful and starting to get interested in the girl dolphins but they had no interest in him, sounds pretty typical! LOL!

The trainers are VERY friendly and knowledgable and really make the experience all the better. They wanted to be sure everyone got time to touch, feed, etc. During it all the DC photogs and videographers are right there to film and take pictures of everything.

Nate came over and we were all in a line and he would swim by and we could touch him. During all this the trainer was teaching us facts about the dolphins. It really was informative. We did different hand motions to get him to do some of his tricks. At various times we all had a chance to feed him. We each got to go out for a kiss with him one at a time.

And we got to pose with our families:

We got to go out and do a dance move that would in turn prompt him to, it was cute, someone did the twist, someone else another move.

Then we did the swims. You swim out to the deeper water with one trainer. The other trainer stays with the group and Nate. Then she sends him to you. You hold the fin and then Nate swam back to the group and first trainer with you. It was a really, really cool experience! Not something you do every day!

At the end Nate does some jumps and then all the dolphins (there are like 4 dolphin experiences going on at the same time in different sections of this particular lagoon, do jumps together. All told we were in the water 30-35 minutes I think and it was very, very cool!

Once that was done we went to the photo place to view our pictures. They get you here because you are in the moment, it is such a special thing and you are in sucker mode. So yes I bought a package, not the most expensive, but did get a bunch of pictures and the disc with all the pictures. I spent $150 I think. Youch but it reall was a special day.

We decided to go check out the lazy river. This was much warmer. What a nice lazy river! It went from very shallow, like up to your thighs, to quite deep, over 8 ft I think. There were places were it was smooth rock bottom to sandy bottom. There was a cave to go through, multiple waterfalls along the way and just lush, lush scenery. At times we had no one in front of us and no one behind us. You could get out and visit the aviary as well if you wanted and there were parts of the river where you could see birds. All along the way were lifeguards who I will say some seemed like they had no interest in being there. You could swim or they had many noodles around if you just wanted to float. It took a while to get all the way around, it is quite long.

We had left our shoes and bags for our snorkel/mask on a pair of lounge chairs. There are lots of lounge chairs.

Side Note: The fact that they limit admission here is wonderful! Never did we feel crowded or rushed or anything like that. It is truly relaxing!

We had both brought water shoes after reading that some parts of the lazy river or snorkeling areas were rough or rocky. There were some rocky parts but we didn't use the water shoes, we just didn't find them necessary.

We grabbed our snorkels and masks and hit the very large snorkeling reef area. This again was COLD. But amazing. Belle had never snorkeled, I have several times in the Caribbean. This was magical! So many fish! There were some of the HUGEST stingrays I have ever seen down really low at the bottom, I am talking HUGE. We loved floating around and pointing things out to each other. There were these large silver very thin fish that we dubbed Abe Lincoln and we laughed alot when we ran into them. It was a fabulous snorkeling experience! We did use the underwater camera but in true ME fashion I have yet to develope them yet!

Stock photo that came with my disc:

We decided at this point to grab some lunch so we headed up!

I'll be back with more, there is a lot on this day and lots more pics too!


Allyson

 

[cuppycake]

Oh Allyson. I don't know if it's because I'm a total sap or what, but I just can't help but hear the underlying theme of comradery that you and your daughter had for this trip! It brings tears to my eyes (told you, I'm a sap).

This sounds like such a special day in the middle of a very special trip, and I think that because of what I'm hearing here, I want to plan some sort of wonderful mommy and me trip for my girls when they are that age as well! What a super way to connect to your little girl

Your updates are amazing....I always feel like i'm right there with you!! Thanks soooooo much for sharing. I can't wait to hear more

 

[princess&her4princes]

GREAT update Allyson, I love all the pics you took!!! Especially of the one of Belle kissing Nate, soo cute! What a magical experience this was...something to keep in mind in the future for sure for me and my boys!!! First I have to teach them all to swim though!! LOL!!

Can't wait to hear more!!!

 

[askelton]

I'm so glad you had a good time. It really is an amazing and beautiful day.

 

[dizneyfreak]

Subscribing...I found and read your entire report from start to where you are now. I happened to catch the mother/daughter trip title and just had to read on. You see, I am 28 and my Momma is 57 and we are oh so very close...almost like sisters more than mom and daughter. We had some rough times growing up, but I assure you that it gets so much better after the teen years when you realize how smart your parents really were!
My Momma and I have been on two trips to the world just us, and besides my wedding at the Wedding Pavilion, they were two of the best trips to the world I have ever been on. I love reading your report because it brings all of those lovie feelings back. I can't wait to hear the rest. Thank you for sharing and making me smile.

Anna Marie

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Wow!!! How cool. This is definitely going on my someday to-do list.

I would have been 'convinced' to purchase the photo package too. How could you not? The pics are amazing. Nate is too cute!

Looking forward to more!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Wow, Allyson! What a great experience!!! That picture of Belle kissing Nate is the cutest thing I have ever seen!

 

[Gabrielsbigtrip]

I was hoping DC meant Discovery Cove!

We just went as well. Wasn't it so great?! Yes, I got suckered into the picutres AND the video I had to do it

I will have to catch up on the the other updates now

 

[Happydog]

SO amazing!! What a neat experience and really right up close like that!! I love all the other features at the Cove, I can't wait to see more... it does sound like a fabulous day... I did giggle though about those water shoes...

So we have whale Rider and we have Dolphin swimmer!!

EXCELLENT!

 

[MomofCKJ]

Oh Allyson. I don't know if it's because I'm a total sap or what, but I just can't help but hear the underlying theme of comradery that you and your daughter had for this trip! It brings tears to my eyes (told you, I'm a sap).

This sounds like such a special day in the middle of a very special trip, and I think that because of what I'm hearing here, I want to plan some sort of wonderful mommy and me trip for my girls when they are that age as well! What a super way to connect to your little girl

Your updates are amazing....I always feel like i'm right there with you!! Thanks soooooo much for sharing. I can't wait to hear more

Awww that is so sweet! We did share a closeness over the trip that we had been missing for a while. It was a special week and I am so glad we did it!

GREAT update Allyson, I love all the pics you took!!! Especially of the one of Belle kissing Nate, soo cute! What a magical experience this was...something to keep in mind in the future for sure for me and my boys!!! First I have to teach them all to swim though!! LOL!!

Can't wait to hear more!!!

Yes once they are older definately something to consider on a future trip. Worth saving the pennies for!

I'm so glad you had a good time. It really is an amazing and beautiful day.

I did, it is such a neat place!

Subscribing...I found and read your entire report from start to where you are now. I happened to catch the mother/daughter trip title and just had to read on. You see, I am 28 and my Momma is 57 and we are oh so very close...almost like sisters more than mom and daughter. We had some rough times growing up, but I assure you that it gets so much better after the teen years when you realize how smart your parents really were!
My Momma and I have been on two trips to the world just us, and besides my wedding at the Wedding Pavilion, they were two of the best trips to the world I have ever been on. I love reading your report because it brings all of those lovie feelings back. I can't wait to hear the rest. Thank you for sharing and making me smile.

Anna Marie

Oh that is so sweet, I am so glad you are enjoying my report and how great that you and your Mom did some trips just the two of you as well!

Wow!!! How cool. This is definitely going on my someday to-do list.

I would have been 'convinced' to purchase the photo package too. How could you not? The pics are amazing. Nate is too cute!

Looking forward to more!

Yes it is hard to say no to the pictures, esp in the moment!

Wow, Allyson! What a great experience!!! That picture of Belle kissing Nate is the cutest thing I have ever seen!

That is my favorite picture too!

I was hoping DC meant Discovery Cove!

We just went as well. Wasn't it so great?! Yes, I got suckered into the picutres AND the video I had to do it

I will have to catch up on the the other updates now

Didn't you just love it? A really great park!

SO amazing!! What a neat experience and really right up close like that!! I love all the other features at the Cove, I can't wait to see more... it does sound like a fabulous day... I did giggle though about those water shoes...

So we have whale Rider and we have Dolphin swimmer!!

EXCELLENT!

Yes it is a great place, so many neat things to do and see! And so relaxing to boot!


Allyson

 

[MomofCKJ]

(Sorry for the delay folks! Been busy! I turned 40 last week, 40! EEEKK! It was good though and Grumpy had a suprise party for me over the weekend which was really fun and even Disney themed! I walked in to see a whole bunch of my friends wearing little ears! Anyway I will try to get on a better schedule of updating this!)

So lunch, Discovery Cove, it is all part of your admission. So we went over and it is a buffet. They have a section set up where you can see everything plated up to know what you might like. There was no long line or anything and we went through quickly. I chose Pasta Primavera in a light cream sauce and Belle had chicken fingers and fries. I think we both had a small caesar salad as well. There were several different options for lunch and it all looked good and not "theme park"ish. We found a table and enjoyed our lunch.

After lunch it was more lazy river and more snorkeling. We went to the sting ray pool too. This was water that came up to, I don't know just above your knee maybe. And there were smaller (not like in the snorkeling area) sting rays swimming around. I loved it! Belle was a tad freaked out. They would at times swim pretty close to you and I felt one more than once. It was a pretty cool experience. They are neat little creatures!

We had snacks throughout the day as well, also part of your admission. There were several locations where you could get soft drinks, beer, soft pretzels, bags of chips, cookies, ice cream. It was great and I know Belle had ice cream and oreos at one point, I know I had a soft pretzel.

At some point we decided we were done with the water so we went to our locker,got our things and changed. Nice changing rooms by the way, showers, shampoo provided, etc. Very nice. They do think of everything here, even bags for your wet items.

We decided to go spend some time in the aviary and it was really cool! There are several areas to it that you can go through and staff are there to talk about the birds and provide you with small cups of food. We saw some really neat birds!

We loved the aviary and spent quite a bit of time there. If you have an aversion to birds, don't go! They are everywhere and will land on your hand, arm we even saw one land on an older ladies head and start picking at her hair. LOL! Looked like he wanted to take some to make a nest or something, it was really funny!

Here was our dilemma. We were paid to go on the 3:45 shuttle home. It was 2:15 and we were about done. Hmmmmm. So we exited and the girl at the door of DC called up a cab for us (they wait in the driveway). I'm glad we did. As much as I loved DC we were just all done and I didn't want to find things to do for the next 1.5 hours. It was best that we go home and change and rest and head out to the evening's activities.

So Belle and I got in the cab and she was fine. She is still not a fan of the taxi. I think being a country mouse she just doesn't feel comfortable having some stranger zipping her around in a car usually too fast. But we got back in I think 15 minutes or so and with tip it ran me about $28 so it wasn't bad at all.

We went to the room and we had gifts from our Mousekeeper Rudy!

He was a great Mousekeeper and left us notes all week with Disney Trivia. We'd write back our answer and he'd tell us the next time if we were right. We looked forward each afternoon to what we would find!

We both showered again and changed our clothes. We were not using a park ticket today so instead we had decided to head off to Downtown Disney. We didn't wait long at all for a bus and off we went. We had ponchos in the Baggalini and good thing because tut tut, it looked like rain!

Once at DTD we were hungry so we checked out a couple of shops I remember, the kitchen store and the Christmas shop. i love displays!

Then it was time for food! We decided to try something different and went with Wolfgang Puck's Express. It was a place we had never been and we'll be back for sure! Belle really wanted to have a big treat at Goofy's so she didn't want to eat much. So we just got one meal and shared it. We got the Chicken Pasta Alfredo with a caesar salad and a cookie. We shared and it was plenty to do so. It was delicious and what a great use of a counter service credit! We'll be back!

As we left the sky opened up and it poured! We ducked into The World of Disney, do you know we had never been in here either? Belle wanted to get a couple gifts for the neighbor girls so we spent plenty of time looking. There is SO much here! Oh my gosh! Loved this on the ceiling in one room:

She ended up with a princess towel, a princess cup and some Hannah Montana cards for the little neighbor girls which was sweet. I bought one of the Vinylnation little Mickey statues that we seemed to see everywhere. You can't open the box and see which one you have till you buy it and I was a bit disappointed with the one I got. I had hoped for another but that is the risk you take! I have the black/white/red Mickey with the Japanese characters on him.
By the time we left the rain had ended and we went over to the Lego Store to pick up some people for Goofy. We had fun making them and took some photos for Goofy of things we knew he'd love!

The long day was catching up to us so we decided to go make our treats at Goofy's and then head back. We had to wait a little bit there, seemed like they had not enough staff working and quite a line of people. We finally got our treats though and headed off to the bus line. It was only a 5 minute wait and we were off to Pop.

Back in our room we pulled these bad boys out, what a delicious mess!

Ate some, got ready for bed and we hit the hay!

Tomorrow we had a date with a Yeti!

Allyson

 

[Charleston Princess]

Happy Belated Birthday, Allyson!!! How sweet of DH to plan a Disney themed party for you! I think I want to see pictures of that!

Belle and you had a wonderful day at Discovery Cove! I think it is so cool that your mousekeeper played trivia games with you all weekend!

 

[MomofCKJ]

Happy Belated Birthday, Allyson!!! How sweet of DH to plan a Disney themed party for you! I think I want to see pictures of that!

Belle and you had a wonderful day at Discovery Cove! I think it is so cool that your mousekeeper played trivia games with you all weekend!

Thank you! I have some pics on FB but they didn't come out that great!
And we had the best Mousekeeper ever this trip!

 

[dizneyfreak]

Yea for a great Mouskeeper! We just got back from the world and had a pretty good Mousekeeping staff, but no trivia Happy belated birthday and I'll be waiting fo rmore

Anna Marie

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Happy Birthday! Discovery Cove really sounds amazing. I would love to check it out. Minus the aviary. The idea of birds landing on me freaks me out!

I haven't tried WPE either so will have to put that on the list as well. Can't believe you never moseyed on into World of Disney! Isn't it unbelievable??

Looking forward to more!

 

[Happydog]

YAY! I have been waiting for your updates!! Sounds like you had a wonderfully memorable experience there! And the rest of the day equally fun! WHAT amazing GOOFY goodies!!!

Can't wait to hear more, and a happy belated Bday!!!

 

[princess&her4princes]

GREAT update Allyson!! You guys got a great mousekeeper, jealous!! All we got was some crazy looking dog once...lol!! WOW those treats from Goofy's looked to die for!!!!!! YUMMY!!! What exactly were they?!!

Looking forward to hearing more!!!

Btw, loved that DH put together a Disney themed party for your 40th! The pics are FB were cute!!! Thanks for sharing!

 

[PISCESANGEL]

I'm HEEEEEERE Allyson!!

ALOT has happened since the last time I was on here in my personal life so I'm happy to be getting back on here finally.
I'm very anxious to get caught up on all that I've missed! So... I'm caught up on the pre-trippie and the Marathon mini-trippie...now I've gotta go back and start the main event!!!

Looking forward to more-as always, I love reading your trip reports!

P.S. My DS says to tell Bashful "Hi!"

 

[MomofCKJ]

Oh my I have never been so bad with a report! I am coming back to add an update and try to get this done. I honestly haven't been on the DIS at all in the last month or so. I think because I don't have a trip planned (first time in a long time it feels like) I have been pouting and staying away.

But I want to finish this, I do!

And so happy to see my friend PiscesAngel here! Yeah! I wondered what had happened to you! I hope things are now well with you. I see you have a ticker, that is always nice! And I will tell Bashful for certain! Honestly we were talking the other day about something computer related and she brought it up, how you would read my reports and your son would say HI to her. Too funny!

Allyson