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Discovery Cove - Tues 24 Apr
I had kept this a secret from the girls until a few days earlier when they freaked in the 'Shark' lagoon at Typhoon Lagoon I had visions of us going and them refusing point blank to go anywhre near the water!
We arrived just before 8:30 and didn't have to wait too long to be checked in. I presented our confirmation, ID & credit card and we had our pics taken for our ID passes. We were allocated a swim time of 10:30 at the Starfish Cabana whch was ideal. Off to the next desk to pick up our passes which had maps attached on lanyards.
Next through the reception area and out to have our family picture taken before meeting our guide for a tour and briefing.
We opted to get our wetsuits/etc sorted first - Steve & I decided on vests (water was 76 degrees) and got wetsuits for the girls which they loved
Stowed most of our stuff in a locker and grabbed a couple of loungers between the resort pool & dolphin pool before heading off for breakfast. Pastries, muffins, yoghurt, juice & coffee went down very nicely!
The girls tried out their snorkels in the resort pool and before we knew it - it was time to go for our swim. We watched a brief video in the Cabana before going out to be introduced to our trainer - Skip. Now I have to be honest, I wasn't all that keen on doing the dolphing swim and almost didn't book for myself but decided it woul dbe better if we all did it so one of us could concentrate on Annabelle (she's only 6).
There were 8 of us all together (the 4 of us plus 2 couples) and we were soon heading into the water to meet Jen, our other trainer and Cindy our dolphin. The water was nowhere near as cold as I was expecting & I was fine in the vest. Annabelle couldn't touch the bottom even on the ledge so Steve had to hold her but neither her nor Rachelle had too much problem with the water temp.
The next 45 minutes were magical! The girls were so excited and were not at all apprehensive and were chatting continuously with both the trainers. When it came time for the deep water tow, Rachelle & I went out first. I got to go first so Rachelle could see what was going to happen but we needn't have worried - she was fine. Cindy is an ex 'show' dolphin from Seaworld and then decided to show us a few unscheduled tricks so we switched dolphins to Lester - a huge male. Steve & Annabelle went out next and (surprisingly) she stayed out with Skip whilst Steve did his swim before it was her turn. Well, you should have seen the grin on her face! Ear to ear
The other couples had their turn and we got to meet another dolphin - Hutch as Cindy was still doing her own thing.
Finally one of the other girls was 'chosen' to play with Ciindy to demonstrate how they like to play with toys. She took a buoy off the dolphin to find 'will you marry me?' written on it. Initial confusion before the penny dropped ... aaaawwwwhhhh.
We had a final chat with the trainer before going off to view our pictures (which we bought!).
We went and changed the girls' wetsuits for vests before going for a swim to waarm back up and visited the aviary before the birds had to much to eat.
By now it was lunch time - the choice was varied and the food good. Steve & I had salmon, the girls had chicken strips & mac n cheese. There was also a good selection of desserts, soft drinks & Bud.
We spent the rest of the afternoon wimming in the resort pool & the not-so-lazy river! There were plenty of snacks - I can recommend the strawberries & fruit punch before leaving when the park closed at 5:30.
It was worth every penny - for the whole experienc e- not just teh dolphin swim. It's a wonderful place to relax and get away from the hustle & bustle. Everything is provided, no lines and no stress