The best laid plans .were worth it! A great first trip for dd and me! (4/20-28)

[Dugette]

Sounds like a nice, relaxing second part of your day! Your daughter is very generous with other kids...very sweet about the balloon. I bet SAB was a nice break for you both! I've never seen a pic of the inside of Marrakesh. Good to see. Looking forward to the next surprise for Madeline!

 

[JLR]

Madeline did not know what we were doing today. She knew we were going off Disney property, and guessed we were going to Sea World. She was very funny when I told her she had to wear her swim suit and bring dry clothes. She was sure then that we were going to Sea World. Even when I asked the cab driver to take us to Discovery Cove, she thought we were going to Sea World and the road signs convinced her that I was just trying to trick her when I said we were not.

I was anticipating a very quiet relaxing day. I thought because there were only about 4 different things to “do” at Discovery Cove, that we’d have lots of time to sit on our loungers, relax, get caught up on postcards, homework, and planning for the next two days. So what do you think? Did that prediction come true?

When we arrived, we were ushered into the lobby to wait for the next available person to check us in. Madeline finally realized that this wasn't Sea World, but we would be swimming with the dolphins! She has just amazed looking around.

Soon, we were escorted up to a desk, had our photo ids made, and our dolphin interaction scheduled. There was a sign that invited us to ask about the enhanced dolphin experience. Apparently, on days when the park is not full, they offer, for a fee ($59) a second dolphin interaction. I had considerable vacation euphoria at this time, so of course! I am glad I did. We would have our first experience in the morning and our second in the afternoon.

We headed outside and saw this.

I wish the colors had come out better. The park is beautifully landscaped. Based on the internet and reference materials I thought the park would be easy to navigate, but it took a bit to figure it out. I wish I had grabbed a map. It would have saved us some time in the morning.

At that point you can get breakfast or get started on your day. I was anxious to get our things put away, so we went to pick up our gear. They give you a snorkel to keep and some animal safe sunscreen , and they lend you a mask and your choice of swim gear. You can get a vest, a short wet suit, or a long wet suit. We elected for the short wet suit. It was not as hot as it had been and I knew we could change it later in the day if we wanted. The staff person manning the cabana accurately estimated my size without any embarrassing questions. We were off to get changed. Then we had a quick bite of breakfast.

I tried to buy some of the animal safe sunscreen in spray form for our heads but they didn’t have any. (I found some at Sea World the very next day. If you need the animal safe spray on sunscreen, you can get it there.) We had to make do with the sunscreen they gave us. It is very white, thick, and creamy. It took forever to get all the bare spots on our scalps, but I had no interest in having a bad Florida sunburn on my head. We would be in and out of the water and wouldn’t be wearing our hats much.

Then we headed over for the Stingray feeding.

You get to wade out in the water with the stingrays and give them fish. It is a cool feeling. Even if they suck one of your fingers in their mouths they just let you go. FYI – the water the animals live in is chilled to the temperature most comfortable for them. We were very, very glad for the wet suits and at times thought maybe the full suits would have been a better option. Madeline loved this activity, but we missed the other times during the day.

Then we headed over to the “coral” reef. This was cool, but Madeline was freaked out by the enormous rays in the shallows of this pool. She wasn’t at all afraid of the smaller, more friendly rays in the stingray lagoon. At any rate, we did not stay very long.

Oops - have to get to work!

 

[skier_pete]

Great posts so far! I am really curious to hear about DC. I hope to do it someday with DD when she is a bit older. I think it is probably a "once in a lifetime" type thing at the regular price point...but will be curious to hear your opinion with your nine-year-old.

Do you know, do they have a "parents observing" price. While DW probably wouldn't mind coming along, she would have NO desire to do any of the activities...she is too easily freaked out by swimming with creatures.

And thanks for checking out my TR! I hope to start updating more soon.

 

[smithpack]

Another nice towel animal I see. Actually I can tell that one is a swan, I won't let my mind go elsewhere.

Once again, Madeline is such a sweetheart. That was so nice of her to give that Mickey balloon away. She is always so thoughtful. My eight year old definitely doesn't think about anyone but himself. It's amazing how you can raise your children the same, and they all have different personalities. My seven year old is more like Madeline, and always wanting to make others happy.

Your friend brought silly bands??!!?!?!? Those things are all the rage around here. The kids where them to school and trade with their friends. They are also impossible to find as they are always sold out everywhere. I will buy a pack of them and then my kids become my slaves. I can get them to do anything for a silly band. "Vacuum the floors, and I will give you a silly band", "If you spray the bathroom for me I will give you a silly band", " Who ever helps mommy find her shoes gets a silly band" They come running and will do anything for a silly band. It also helps them to behave when I have to go out with all of them by myself. " Who ever is the best mannered kid while we are out, gets a silly band" Those things have been well worth my money. I just wish I were the one who had thought of such a thing. I need to come up with something really cheap that can be traded at school.

We ate at that restaurant, Marrakesh, on our first trip to WDW because that was before we knew about reservations, and that was the only restaurant that had seating. I must say, I was not impressed by the food. One of the few Disney Restaurants that I have not liked. Other than that one and a few at DHS, I have had wonderful experiences.

Discovery Cove looks like a lot of fun!! and, I love the braids!!

 

[mousetravel]

They called us in and we had our pictures taken. Silly me – I thought this was like the Princess lunch and we would get them for free or have them put on our photo pass card. They caught me in a moment of weakness later and I actually bought them. I hate paying a lot of money for photos! Oh well, they came out nicely enough. I don’t have them in digital format though.

Subbing! I am enjoying your mom/daughter TR. My DD & I have been to WDW a few times by ourselves, and we love it! On our most recent trip a few weeks ago, I also included Sea World to our trip, too. So I can't wait to hear about that too!

Did you know that you can add your Chef Mickey's pictures to your photopass? When you purchase the photo package, on the back side of the large picture, there is a photopass code that you can add to your photopass account.

 

[gallmcduck]

Yey to TSM three times we managed one ride last trip, despite many attempts, hoping to get some more in this trip. Madeline’s choice of DHS sounded v tiring you done lots and the pool and hot tub seemed the perfect wat to relax Oh what a thoughtful thing Madeline done with her balloon for the little boy. DC is sounding really enjoyable, we do hope to do this one day but at the moment do not think DD2 would get much out of this. We hope next trip that Gran and Grandad will come along again and they could take DD2 away for the day whilst we all go to DC. Can’t wait to hear more about DC and see the picutures

 

[JLR]

Great posts so far! I am really curious to hear about DC. I hope to do it someday with DD when she is a bit older. I think it is probably a "once in a lifetime" type thing at the regular price point...but will be curious to hear your opinion with your nine-year-old.

Do you know, do they have a "parents observing" price. While DW probably wouldn't mind coming along, she would have NO desire to do any of the activities...she is too easily freaked out by swimming with creatures.

And thanks for checking out my TR! I hope to start updating more soon.

We both loved DC! Keep your eye out for prices. If you are flexible in your travel dates and watch out for discount codes (usually about $50) you could go for as little as $199/pp for the dolphin experience or $99 for the non-dolphin admission for your wife.

When I was considering the price (we did not have a code - I got one after my no change date - and paid $249 pp) I took into account that you get 14 days at Sea World or Busch Gardens or Aquatica included. The Sea World ticket would have been $79 and we were definately going there anyway. So then the real cost to us was $170 which includes food and snacks during the day. Watch out for the cost of photos and videos though! There is a place your wife could go to take photos - I saw them directing other family members there and it was only 10 feet or so away from the actual photographers were. The non participant costs seems steep to me - do you think your wife would enjoy the aviary at least? It also might be worth it to not be with hordes of people for one day!

My daughter absolutely loved it. Whenever I see the look on her face from the dolphin tow, I think, "worth every penny!" I think that it would be worth waiting until your child is old enough to truly appreciate and remember the experience, and really make it something special - like a 12 - 16 year old birthday. I did it now because I knew she would love it and because this will be her only chace to get it to herself. She has had to share so much with her twin sisters, I wanted something just for her. I think whenever you do it, you will absolutely love it! I would just reverse the order I did - do Sea World first and Discovery Cove afterwards.

Another nice towel animal I see. Actually I can tell that one is a swan, I won't let my mind go elsewhere.

Once again, Madeline is such a sweetheart. That was so nice of her to give that Mickey balloon away. She is always so thoughtful. My eight year old definitely doesn't think about anyone but himself. It's amazing how you can raise your children the same, and they all have different personalities. My seven year old is more like Madeline, and always wanting to make others happy.

Your friend brought silly bands??!!?!?!? Those things are all the rage around here. The kids where them to school and trade with their friends. They are also impossible to find as they are always sold out everywhere. I will buy a pack of them and then my kids become my slaves. I can get them to do anything for a silly band. "Vacuum the floors, and I will give you a silly band", "If you spray the bathroom for me I will give you a silly band", " Who ever helps mommy find her shoes gets a silly band" They come running and will do anything for a silly band. It also helps them to behave when I have to go out with all of them by myself. " Who ever is the best mannered kid while we are out, gets a silly band" Those things have been well worth my money. I just wish I were the one who had thought of such a thing. I need to come up with something really cheap that can be traded at school.

We ate at that restaurant, Marrakesh, on our first trip to WDW because that was before we knew about reservations, and that was the only restaurant that had seating. I must say, I was not impressed by the food. One of the few Disney Restaurants that I have not liked. Other than that one and a few at DHS, I have had wonderful experiences.

Discovery Cove looks like a lot of fun!! and, I love the braids!!

Madeline has always been empathic, but struggled for a while with that selfishness. I think she is just at that perfect age where she "gets it" and on top of that I think having Mom all to herself made her feel good enough to want to share. Certianly I saw more of that gracious generosity this trip than is typical. I agree it is amazing how different the different kids turn out! It is funny to see the same parenting techniques have different results at the very same moment with my twins!

Silly bands! That's what they are called. I couldn't remember. PV said that same thing about not being able to get them. That is funny that they are such a great motivator! Maybe I can get the craze started here (after I stock up my closet with my own supply!).

I felt that way about Marrakesh too. I think the fine line between trying to make the food authentic and palatable to the American tastebuds was missed. Oh well. The restaurant was pretty and we were able to sit together. I could not get them added to my MBYBBQ reservation.

Subbing! I am enjoying your mom/daughter TR. My DD & I have been to WDW a few times by ourselves, and we love it! On our most recent trip a few weeks ago, I also included Sea World to our trip, too. So I can't wait to hear about that too!

Did you know that you can add your Chef Mickey's pictures to your photopass? When you purchase the photo package, on the back side of the large picture, there is a photopass code that you can add to your photopass account.

I love the DC photo of your daughter. I think I may have checked out your TR - sorry if I just lurked. I can't remember if I replied of not. I have been trying to get my TR up. It's slower going now that I'm back at work. I may get some more done tonight. I need to mow the lawn, but it looks like it might rain (again!). I guess that leaves me free......

I didn't know that about those CM photos! I'll check it out when I get home! I love the DIS for tidbits like that!

 

[JLR]

Yey to TSM three times we managed one ride last trip, despite many attempts, hoping to get some more in this trip. Madeline’s choice of DHS sounded v tiring you done lots and the pool and hot tub seemed the perfect wat to relax Oh what a thoughtful thing Madeline done with her balloon for the little boy. DC is sounding really enjoyable, we do hope to do this one day but at the moment do not think DD2 would get much out of this. We hope next trip that Gran and Grandad will come along again and they could take DD2 away for the day whilst we all go to DC. Can’t wait to hear more about DC and see the picutures

Good luck with TSM this trip! I don't think it would be very fun for you if you had to keep track of a 2 year old and although I think she might have fun, she could have just as much fun at the hotel pool! The grandparent solution sounds perfect! I am really looking forward to getting the next part of the story recorded!

 

[JLR]

My dh, dd, and I sat down last night after putting the kids to bed and watched our dolphin videos. The videos are nice, but my memories are more fun (at this point) than the video.

When last I posted, we had been exploring DC, checking our the coral reef and stingray lagoon.

We took a dip in the blessedly warm lazy river and followed it down under the waterfall into the aviary. There were many beautiful birds out, but most of them were not interested in eating at that time. I think many of the other visitors had already been there that morning. Still, it was great fun! We would be back!

It was now time for our first dolphin encounter. I left our things back at our chair since you can’t take anything with you. Apparently anything loose is fair game as a dolphin toy. We just made it to our cabana and started to listen to the educational session. Madeline rubbed at her eye. Oh no! She knocked the contact lens out of her eye!


She needed a new sterile lens, so I ran back to our chair – somewhat of a hike – before realizing the spare lenses were in the locker. Then I ran back to the locker – another hike – to get the lens and wash my hands in preparation for putting it in. I made it back in time, but I was sorry to miss the educational session. Crisis averted. Phew!

We went down to the lagoon to meet our dolphin. We were assigned Iggy, a 2 year old male dolphin. Toni was our (or rather Iggy’s) trainer. She introduced us to dolphin anatomy, dolphin sounds, and dolphin social behavior. Dolphins apparently communicate with each other using their teeth as well as sound and a lot of their scars are from each other. We learned that if we did not stand close enough together, that Iggy took that as an invitation to make us a dolphin obstacle course. Another senior dolphin, Rose kept swimming over to tease Iggy and because of that we had a much longer dolphin interaction. We got to see some tricks, kiss Iggy and give him a backrub. Then they had us pose with Iggy, individually and with families. Finally, the ultimate experience, we got to swim out and be towed back by a bigger, older dolphin named Jenny.

Madeline’s kiss

My kiss

Madeline’s pose

My pose

Family pose

Just take a look at that face! Worth every penny!

Then they take you back to view the photos. We had already decided to purchase a package that included the video, picture CD, and a few printed photos. Looking back on it the video(DVD) and picture CD would have been plenty, but not the end of the world.

 

[JLR]

It is snowing here!!!!!! Ick!

 

[skier_pete]

It is snowing here!!!!!! Ick!

What? It's 75 and sunny here in Buffalo...how do we get such a bad rap?

 

[Dugette]

It is snowing here!!!!!! Ick!

Yuck! Don't send any of that our way!!!

Love all the dolphin encounter pictures. Looks like you both had a great time!

 

[JLR]

What? It's 75 and sunny here in Buffalo...how do we get such a bad rap?

This is why North Dakota has such a bad rap! Oh well, we'll go directly from winter now to summer in 2 weeks or so!

Yuck! Don't send any of that our way!!!

Love all the dolphin encounter pictures. Looks like you both had a great time!

I wouldn't wish this on anyone. Actually it has changed over to rain, but south of here in Bismarck, they are expecting about 8 inches of the stuff!

 

[gallmcduck]

Great photos at DC

Snow doesn't sound good at least you'll be in summer soon. We are not doing so bad just now bet that will be our summer and June, July and August will just rain rain rain

 

[smithpack]

Snow??? in May???? I have never heard of such a thing. Of course, I did grow up in the south. I am just getting my swimsuit on right now and headed down to the pool to escape this 90 degree heat here. I must admit, I like the heat better than the cold. Hopefully you can go to the pool in two weeks. Do people have pools there?

 

[JLR]

Great photos at DC

Snow doesn't sound good at least you'll be in summer soon. We are not doing so bad just now bet that will be our summer and June, July and August will just rain rain rain

I know. May is very unpredictable. Our summers here are truly beautiful once they get started.

I imagine your weather is very similar to Denmark. I was an exchange students there and it seemed like it rained most days. Of course after a year of complaining, when my parents came to visit, it was sunny every day! I have always wanted to visit the UK and go garden touring.

Snow??? in May???? I have never heard of such a thing. Of course, I did grow up in the south. I am just getting my swimsuit on right now and headed down to the pool to escape this 90 degree heat here. I must admit, I like the heat better than the cold. Hopefully you can go to the pool in two weeks. Do people have pools there?

You are so cruel! I normally don't mind the cold so much - especially in the fall and early winter, but I'm officially done with it this spring.

Some people have pools but they are not common like they are in the South. We swim indoors 9 months out of the year and enjoy the community pool for June - August.

Enjoy your swim. I'll just work on my TR some more and remember the heat in Disney!

 

[Megan07]

Awesome TR! Love hearing about your day at DC! I'm going back in June for my 3rd time, but opted to not do the dolphin swim again. I can't wait to hear what your second interaction was like! That's so awesome! It truley is an awesome place, worth every penny! Keep it coming!!

 

[JLR]

Awesome TR! Love hearing about your day at DC! I'm going back in June for my 3rd time, but opted to not do the dolphin swim again. I can't wait to hear what your second interaction was like! That's so awesome! It truley is an awesome place, worth every penny! Keep it coming!!

Who is graduating? How wonderful you get to go back. I'm thinking it will be about 5 years before we return to DC.

Have a great time!

I should be able to finish up DC in the morning.

Then I'll proabably be a little slower with Sea World and the last day.

Thanks for the encouragement!

 

[Megan07]

Actually, I'm graduating from college. My mom and I will be heading down to Disney. Can't wait. So excited.

 

[JLR]

Actually, I'm graduating from college. My mom and I will be heading down to Disney. Can't wait. So excited.

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!

What a great way to celebrate!

I hope that's what my girls want.

Julie