Discovery Cove
On Thursday, September 29th, my mom and I visited Discovery Cove. It was an awesome day.
We arrived to the parking lot around 7:15 AM. We walked into the lobby and were greeted by friendly DC employees every step of the way.
We checked in, had our pictures taken, and IDs made. I found out that my dolphin swim was at 8:30 AM, and I was to check-in at the Sand Dollar Cabana about 8:25. The IDs were made right away, and we were also given a little map that was attachable to my lanyard.
We waited for a little bit in a group, and then we were walked over to the inside of the park. Our picture was taken (complimentary), and then we headed into the Laguna Grill to have breakfast. It was cafeteria-style, and they offered bacon, scrambled eggs, french toast sticks, seasoned potatoes, yogurt, cereal, mini muffins, and juice.
We finished breakfast around 8:05, and then we headed over to the locker area to get our wetsuits or vest.
2/8/12 ETA: (Can't believe I hadn't added this memory yet) I think it was around this time when we walked by the dolphin lagoon. One of the coolest "first impression" memories I had of this day was when we walked by the dolphin lagoon, and I saw a dolphin's dorsal fin skimming the surface of the water, not too far from the shore. A VERY COOL SIGHT to see. I remember being in wonder!
I decided to go with the wetsuit, after the reading I did on the DIS. I heard the water was cold in the dolphin swim areas and the Grand Reef, so I opted for the wetsuit. You did have the option to switch as many times as you wanted throughout the day. We were also given snorkel gear that included a sample of eco-friendly sunscreen (i.e., safe for the fish). :)
Once we got our locker and changed (my mom decided to change later), I headed over to the Sand Dollar Cabana and checked in. My mom hung out nearby (she did not do the dolphin swim).
We all signed waivers and hung out until 8:30. One of the trainers came and talked for a little bit, then played a video. We then split up into groups of A, B, C, and D. I was in Group 1B.
There was a group of 9 people in my group: a couple from Brazil, a couple from Scotland, a family of 4 from England, and me!
We interacted with Kyla, a 2-year-old dolphin, and Rascal, a 7 (?) year-old dolphin.
We got to interact with Kyla first. We got to pet her several times and learned about her. The trainer was trying to get her to do some tricks, but she didn't feel like it that morning. :) We got to see a few other dolphins from the other groups do some tricks, however, which was awesome. We learned some hand signals, which, when performed, would prompt Kyla to do some tricks. And then we got pictures with her!
Rascal also came out and did some tricks, and we also got to pet him several times as well. We did the swim with him. Guests had the option to do a shallow water swim or a deep water swim (I believe the trainers said it was 15 feet water, but the website says the deepest point is 12 feet). Everyone in our group did the deep water swim. It was so cool!
We got to have pictures with Rascal as well. I was the last person in our group to get a picture with him, and the trainer said, "Let's do something different," and I got to rub his belly and tickle it (and when I tickled him, he wiggled his flippers!).
All the dolphins did some jumps at the end, which was so neat.
It was such a great, great experience. Stay tuned for Part 2!
We arrived to the parking lot around 7:15 AM. We walked into the lobby and were greeted by friendly DC employees every step of the way.
We checked in, had our pictures taken, and IDs made. I found out that my dolphin swim was at 8:30 AM, and I was to check-in at the Sand Dollar Cabana about 8:25. The IDs were made right away, and we were also given a little map that was attachable to my lanyard.
We waited for a little bit in a group, and then we were walked over to the inside of the park. Our picture was taken (complimentary), and then we headed into the Laguna Grill to have breakfast. It was cafeteria-style, and they offered bacon, scrambled eggs, french toast sticks, seasoned potatoes, yogurt, cereal, mini muffins, and juice.
We finished breakfast around 8:05, and then we headed over to the locker area to get our wetsuits or vest.
2/8/12 ETA: (Can't believe I hadn't added this memory yet) I think it was around this time when we walked by the dolphin lagoon. One of the coolest "first impression" memories I had of this day was when we walked by the dolphin lagoon, and I saw a dolphin's dorsal fin skimming the surface of the water, not too far from the shore. A VERY COOL SIGHT to see. I remember being in wonder!
I decided to go with the wetsuit, after the reading I did on the DIS. I heard the water was cold in the dolphin swim areas and the Grand Reef, so I opted for the wetsuit. You did have the option to switch as many times as you wanted throughout the day. We were also given snorkel gear that included a sample of eco-friendly sunscreen (i.e., safe for the fish). :)
Once we got our locker and changed (my mom decided to change later), I headed over to the Sand Dollar Cabana and checked in. My mom hung out nearby (she did not do the dolphin swim).
We all signed waivers and hung out until 8:30. One of the trainers came and talked for a little bit, then played a video. We then split up into groups of A, B, C, and D. I was in Group 1B.
There was a group of 9 people in my group: a couple from Brazil, a couple from Scotland, a family of 4 from England, and me!
We interacted with Kyla, a 2-year-old dolphin, and Rascal, a 7 (?) year-old dolphin.
We got to interact with Kyla first. We got to pet her several times and learned about her. The trainer was trying to get her to do some tricks, but she didn't feel like it that morning. :) We got to see a few other dolphins from the other groups do some tricks, however, which was awesome. We learned some hand signals, which, when performed, would prompt Kyla to do some tricks. And then we got pictures with her!
Rascal also came out and did some tricks, and we also got to pet him several times as well. We did the swim with him. Guests had the option to do a shallow water swim or a deep water swim (I believe the trainers said it was 15 feet water, but the website says the deepest point is 12 feet). Everyone in our group did the deep water swim. It was so cool!
We got to have pictures with Rascal as well. I was the last person in our group to get a picture with him, and the trainer said, "Let's do something different," and I got to rub his belly and tickle it (and when I tickled him, he wiggled his flippers!).
All the dolphins did some jumps at the end, which was so neat.
It was such a great, great experience. Stay tuned for Part 2!