thatgirl23
Mouseketeer
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- Nov 3, 2007
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Discovery Cove Trainer for a Day Review
July 21st, 2014
July 21st, 2014
We arrived at approx 6:45am and there was already 20-30 people waiting in line. You could see through the doors that the staff was still having their morning meeting. About 5-10 minutes later, they came out and opened the doors. They started two lines for bag checks and thankfully we were able to get into the second line and right through. Once through the bag check, you were then in two lines where another greeter held you until the check-in stations opened up. It wasnt even a minute before we were told to go to the station in the far corner to check in. Since weve been there multiple times before, it was pretty quick because we already knew everything. We did have to get new lanyards/badges printed because they mixed up our pictures.
After that, we went over to the chairs and couches in the corner to wait for our trainer who would meet us in the lobby at 8:00am.By 7:15am the line was out the door and down the sidewalk as far as you could see. They usually hold you on the deck area outside the lobby but they quickly let everyone go down into the park and to breakfast because they were running out of room. The deck had been full and was spilling back into the lobby. To keep people in the lines occupied, a staff member brought out what looked to be an owl and was walking up and down between the two lines of people waiting.
A little after 8:00am the two trainers came over. There were two Trainer for a Day (TFAD) groups. I dont remember the name of the other trainer, but I believe there was a family of 4 and a family of 3 in that group. (Apparently my mom had talked with the family of 4 while I was walking around and it turns out that they had done the TFAD program before.) Our trainer was Karen and our group was comprised of a family of 3 from Glasgow, a mother and daughter from Virginia, and my mom and I from Pennsylvania. I know everyone probably says this, but we got the best group of people.
We made our way down to breakfast, stopping to take our individual group photos that you get for free. When we got down to the breakfast area, there was already a table reserved for us. Everyone got their food, including the trainer, and met back at the table. Breakfast was good but I couldnt eat much because of how excited I was.
After breakfast we went to our lockers. We were then supposed to go to the aviary but we were running late so Karen decided to take us right to the next stop.It was still before 9:00am and the swimming areas were blocked off from guests so Im sure we got some dirty/confused looks when seven of us followed the trainer past the line of the people waiting to get into the Wind-Away River/Freshwater Oasis area. We kept walking and finally went behind a gate to the backstage area. There we got to see and touch a 3 Banded Armadillo. We didnt get to hold it ourselves, but we got a picture of us with the handler holding it. At this point, the other TFAD group joined us before the next animal. (This was the only time throughout the day that we saw the other group.)
After they put the armadillo back in the carrying crate, they then asked us if anyone had a problem holding worms. At first I was thinking earth worms you see in the dirt so I thought ok, I can do this. Then the other animal handler brought out a bowl of worms that really looked like maggots and there was no way.
She put a handful of worms in each persons hand (those that wanted to do it) and asked if we knew what animal she was about to bring out. Someone in the other group said anteater and they were correct. She brought out a small anteater and then took it to each person so they could feed it. As my mom and I opted out of the worms, we just got to pet it which was fine. Again, everyone got pictures with the handler holding the anteater. Once we were done with the anteater it was on to the otters or ankle biters as theyre known. Its too dangerous to actually feed them by hand, but theres a shoot we were able to feed them through. This part was actually in the public area, although I believe feeding them is something only TFAD groups do. Between the Freshwater Oasis and the Wind-Away River area, if you walk back towards the lockers, theres a curve in the pavement that goes to the left. Almost to the end of the pavement is a clear glass wall that you can view the otters through. This is where we fed them. As soon as they saw us, a couple of them came running over and were reaching up and sniffing the shoot. Each of us got to take two pieces of fish and toss them down the shoot. If they got stuck, the trainer had a cup of water that we could use to wash them out.
Next it was a stop at the restrooms right next to the otters before heading back to our lockers to get changed into swimsuits and vests. We had our 10:00am dolphin swim in the Sand Dollar lagoon. This is the normal swim that you get with the dolphin swim package. After getting changed and getting our vests, half of our group was ready and half were still getting changed. Karen had my mom and me, along with the other mother and daughter, head down to the Sand Dollar cabana for the usual intro and video they show. We were the first from our group there but even we were late so the video was almost over. We only sat for a few minutes before trainers came up and took each of the groups out to the lagoon. In our group for the swim there were two people not doing TFAD that were joining the seven of us who were in the TFAD group. Right as we got to the waters edge, Karen and the remaining three of our TFAD group showed up.
Again, this swim was the normal one anyone gets with the dolphin swim package. We had Dexter for most of the interaction. In the middle of the dorsal pulls, Hutch switched with Dexter so we got to spend a little time with him as well. After it was over, we all made our way out of the water and back to the beach area. Thats when Karen said stop, turn around, and go back in. The weather reports were all stating that Monday was going to have storms and a lot of rain. It turns out that the powers-that-be decided we should do our second dolphin swim right then and there instead of doing it later and taking the chance we would get rained out (as had the day before).
For this extra TFAD swim, there were four dolphins involved all the ones that were in the lagoon for the four groups of normal swims we just did. There was Dexter, Hutch, Rascal, and CJ. They all took turns doing different things. The first swim was the double foot push, which we were all required to wear a life vest (not just the normal vest). If we didnt feel comfortable doing the foot push, for whatever reason, we had the option of doing a double dorsal pull or another single dorsal pull like we do in the regular swim. Four of our group decided to do the double foot push, I did the double dorsal pull, one person did the single dorsal pull, and I cant remember what the last person chose to do. This was amazing! The whole entire time I couldnt keep the smile of my face, as Im sure the others couldnt either. It was also hilarious because there was one time the dolphin on the left foot kept letting go while the right kept going so the other member of our group was going around in a circle. Another time, when my mom went out, the dolphin on the right went right up to her foot but then the dolphin that was supposed to go to her left foot kept sharking (swimming circles around my mom, the other trainer, and other dolphin).
Once everyone was done with those swims, it was time for the belly rides/races. We were able to take off the life vests and they then took us in three pairs and then one individual. It was the mom and son from Glasgow, the mom and daughter from Virginia, my mom and I, then the dad from Glasgow. We went out where two other trainers were treading water in the middle of the lagoon. Each person went to a trainer and they called the dolphins over and got them to turn over. We then grabbed on to their fins and they pulled us back to shore. Mom and I tied. Again, this was SO MUCH fun! When everyone was done with their belly rides/races, we each got our pictures taken between two dolphins.
Unfortunately, before we knew it, our time was up and we were on to the next adventure. This time it was heading backstage to the fish house and back lagoon. First we got to see the boards. These list what dolphins are in which lagoon and then which dolphins are with what groups during which times. It also has two trainers listed with each dolphin and group. After that we walked back and around a corner to the back lagoon. This is where a majority of the young dolphins and mother/babies were. You could tell they liked to show off because as soon as they knew we were there they started jumping and coming right to the edge and looking at us sideways.
This area is also where they have the scale and Karen told us about one of the dolphins who likes to jump up on it for fun and then wiggle herself off. It would have been funny to see but unfortunately she didnt do it while we were there. She then pointed out the nets/fencing that goes around some of the back lagoons. She said that besides them being there to give the trainers something to hold on to, its also to prevent dolphins from jumping over. She then told us about the time Capricorn decided to use his strength to make a huge wave and then ride it up and over into the next lagoon.
After that it was back across the break area to the COLD fish house. There were two workers in there still working on separating all the fish into buckets. There are boards on the wall that list how much food each dolphin gets for the day. It then breaks it down to how many pounds of each type of fish. Then it brakes it down even further to how much and when throughout the day. Karen explained how they decide on their diet and then how they break down each dolphins total for the day into smaller buckets so the trainers can take them out when they do the group interactions. Once a dolphins fish is broken down into different buckets for different times, its put in the second walk-in freezer/cooler.
(On a side note, the board is where Karen pointed out a little tidbit about Cindy... her name is not really Cindy, its Goofy. Yep, she came to them with the name Goofy, but they decided to change it to Cindy for when shes onstage. She said that backstage they still call her Goofy. Apparently, Goofy is not PC due to their neighbors down there in Orlando.
)By this time everyone was getting hungry so it was perfect timing for lunch. Just as with breakfast, we went to lunch as a group with Karen. There was a table reserved for us again so we all took our time going through the line and/or using restrooms and then met back up at the table. We talked about everything from Karens stories of all the animals she has at home (she rescues cats, dogs, etc.), to the annual dolphin hunt in Japan, to when the first employees of the day show up at DC, etc. I must say, and I did say to others in our group, that we got a GREAT group of people. I was worried that it might be awkward with strangers, and that I might be self conscious about my leg, but I felt so comfortable the whole day.
After we were done eating, we were given our underwater cameras before heading backstage again. This time we went back and around to the sharks. There were three trainers in the water with the sharks and the plan was for each one to bring a different type of shark over. Well the one shark wasnt having any of that and they werent going to force her, so we saw a white tip shark and a zebra shark. We went up in our groups/families and got to sit on the steps while the trainer held the shark and brought it over to us. There was a DC photographer that took a picture of each group with the shark. Karen was also taking pictures for everyone with our underwater cameras. They just showed us the white tip and talked about them, the trainer holding it the entire time. We actually got to touch/feel the zebra shark (although it had spots, not stripes). This part was kind of short but still fun. The sharks feel completely different than a dolphin. I didnt think they would feel exactly the same, but I didnt think they would be the complete opposite like they are.
On our way back to the regular part of the park, they told us about SeaWorld doing the first ever shark c-section (which you can see on YouTube). We also got to look into the pool where the shark pups were housed but they had just been fed and apparently were all relaxing out of view.
When we came back on stage we followed the path that goes behind the cabanas on the Grand Reef and the SeaVenture area. We stopped by a hidden little area where Karen picked up a container of food for the fish in the reef. I have no idea what all was in there, and frankly I dont care to know what I picked up.
We went over the bridges to the other side of the reef and onto the beach. Earlier, Karen had asked if any of us had snorkeled before. No one had, so she said she would give us a crash course which is what we did. We then entered the reef and waded in until we were right at the drop off. She then took turns giving each of us handfuls of the food, which we then threw out into the water trying to miss all the people swimming. As soon as the fish realized there was food they descended upon us. Of course then everyone else started to come over and unfortunately, one person kept bumping into me and ruining my pictures because they werent watching where they were going. My mom and I are not big fans of snorkeling so we got to talk with Karen, standing in the cool water while the rest of our TFAD group went around snorkeling. Eventually a couple others came over and said they wanted to swim over to where there sharks are so Karen swam with the rest of the group over to the other side. My mom and I stayed back with one of the Glasgow family and just watched the fish and rays. I love the rays and there was a huge one that kept coming around. It was around 2:30pm and 3:30pm is when they feed the rays right in the area we were standing. He or she was probably hoping we were there with the ray food.
It wasnt too long before Karen and the rest of the group came back from the sharks. She said that our TFAD time was almost up but that there was one last surprise back at the lockers. We all made our way back up the beach and down the path to the lockers. Thats when we got the last surprise TFAD shirts and TFAD bags. I had known about the shirts beforehand, considering they ask you for the shirts sizes when you book, but the bag was a surprise. Its the current bag they give out with the special packages however this had Trainer for a Day embroidered on it as well.
After everyone checked out their shirts and bags it was time to part ways with Karen. She actually had to go and do one, possibly two of the regular dolphin swims. Before she left everyone exchanged emails or Facebook info. The very last thing we did was get a group photo. We were right across the path from the wetsuit/vest area so the staff member there came over and took all our phones and cameras. Im so glad we got a group photo.
It was right around 3:00pm when Karen left and we were on our own. We had the last 2.5 hours to do whatever we wanted. I knew the photo area was going to get packed as it got closer to closing so that was where we headed first. We never got to look at the pictures right after the swim like you normally do because we went right back in the water for the TFAD swim. I figured we could pick out the pictures for the package and then go to the gift shop while we waited. Thats exactly what we ended up doing.
After we ordered the photo package, we went across to the main gift shop. They have dolphin fluke pendants that are based on each individual dolphins fluke. No one pendant is the same and each one has the dolphins name on it as well. I started getting these as my souvenir the first time we went and Ive gotten them ever since. They had ones for Dexter but were all out of Rascal and Hutch. They were nice enough to take the Hutch pendant out of the display case but I was out of luck for Rascal. I looked around in the rest of the gift shop but didnt see anything else.
Both my mom and I were getting tired as we didnt get much sleep the night before and the heat was taking its toll on us. The heat index was 104 degrees that day.
We decided to go back to the lockers and get changed. It was nice to be able to take our time and not have to rush to try to beat the rain like in years past. Its usually when we are getting changed that it starts to pour. Luckily, it never rained once the entire day at DC. Once we were done and made sure we had everything out of our lockers, we went back to the photo area to pick up our photo package. After that we slowly made are way back up to the main building and to our scorching hot car. Unfortunately, that was the end of our day at Discovery Cove.-----
And that is the Trainer for a Day program at Discovery Cove. 100% hands down the TFAD program is worth the money. It was one of the best days of my life
and I would do it again in a heartbeat. (Were seriously considering doing it again in October 2015.) I hope the rest of the people in our group read this because I want to thank them. I have issues that Im usually very self conscious about and not once did I feel that way around them. I can honestly say I dont know if the day would have been as great as it was if we had a different group.I hope this helps anyone who is thinking about doing the TFAD program. Before we went, I tried searching for recent reviews but wasnt able to find any. Thats why I made it a point to be as detailed as possible with my review. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask or even PM me. We also did the dolphin painting program at Marineland in St. Augustine and the Titanic Exhibit in Orlando. If you have any questions on either of those, let me know as well.
