Notices
Walt Disney World and Florida Trip Reports Trip Reports and Videos

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Old 11 Sep 13, 09:51 PM  
Link to this Post
#1
PrincessCastle
Apprentice Imagineer
 
Join Date: Jan 12

theDIBB Guidebook
Guidebook Photos: 50
Squirrels and Sizzlers - Day 6 - The one with the marine life

This morning we were up at 7:15 and out by 8:15. We didn’t bother with breakfast this morning as we were bound for Discovery Cove and, as most of you know, food is included in your day so we went straight for the itrolley stop to head to Sea World.

Now, I was snap happy on this holiday, in total I took over 2000 photos. I spent most days snapping away at most things, but this lady sat in front of me on the itrolley took things to the next level! She took photos of everything along the way... ihop, an empty shop unit, an itrolley stop, a bench ...yes really. I don’t think she gets out much! But hey if you’re gonna get out the house once in a while, Orlando’s the place to go right?

When we got to Sea World we didn’t need to wait long for a DC bus and we took the 3min journey to DC, arriving at around 8:45. Check in was a breeze, we got our photo taken for our ID badges and were given a 1:35 slot for our dolphin swim. I did ask for an earlier one, the sole reason being that I wanted nice hair for the photos on the dolphin swim (yes, so vain I know!) and this will prevent me from snorkelling properly all morning, but that was the earliest slot they had so not to worry!


We headed down the path towards breakfast, stopping for a photo on the way. There was a huge variety for breakfast, something for everybody and everything that we got on our plates was delicious. I got seasoned potatoes, sausage, French toast sticks, yoghurt with strawberries and a croissant. Ross got the same plus scrambled egg and ham and we both had a cup of tea. We were both very impressed with the food and were quite looking forward to lunch now!



It was now time to make the all important decision... wetsuit or vest? I opted for the wetsuit and Ross got the vest. We dumped our stuff in a locker and grabbed a snorkel each.

I had read in various places that it’s best to go to the aviary early on before the birds are full of food so that’s just what we did. Because we went nice and early the birds were still hungry so we managed to have lots of interaction with lots of different birds. At one point Ross had one on his shoulder and one on his head! Poor thing! We walked around all the different sections of the aviary, finding the little deer along the way, he came out when we offered him some food but the aviary staff asked us not to so he soon trotted off when he realised he wasn’t getting anything! The staff were really informative and gave us lots of info about the different birds we were meeting; I’m ashamed to say I can’t remember any of it now though!





Next we decided to go for a swim around the lazy river; we went in the entrance just before the aviary, grabbing a noodle each on the way. There was a photographer just before the waterfall so we had our photo taken. Like I said earlier I wasn’t keen on getting my hair wet before the dolphin swim (the frizz gets crazy!) so I obviously didn’t fancy going under that waterfall! I remembered seeing an entrance to the lazy river in the aviary so I told Ross I’d meet him in there. Now the logical size of my brain mustn’t have been working that morning as I thought that was problem solved, I got out of the water, trotted into the aviary, plopped back into the water and found Ross, no problems, hair bone dry. But as we swam round the corner we found another waterfall! What!? Oh Alix you muppet! The waterfalls are to keep the birds in that area so if there’s one at one end of the aviary, there’s going to be another one at the other side isn’t there?! I swear sometimes I wonder how I don’t fall down more!


So now I had a choice, get my hair wet or sit on a sun lounger and waste the morning while Ross had a great time exploring the water...no brainer really, I hadn’t paid all that money to sit on a fake beach all day! I swam under the waterfall as quickly as possible, hair was soaked, get over it.

We swam all the way round, it was really beautiful and the water was lovely and warm. It truly was a little paradise! Ross had a peak at some of the underwater ‘relics’, I kept my head above water, didn’t want my hair to get wetter than it was (I know, vain!). Once we got back to the start we had a sit on the crazy underwater seats and had a swim in the cave bit. I got out and went to the locker to check the time on my phone; it was 11:45 now.


My one complaint about DC is that they should really have clocks dotted about. I always wear a watch but I read that you could wear any jewellery for the dolphin swim I left it in the hotel safe with my rings etc. Now I realise I could have worn it for the rest of the day but even so, some people don’t wear watches and this is a place you need to know the time to make sure you don’t miss your dolphin swim! Personally I was on edge all morning worrying about the time and praying we hadn’t missed our swim!

Anyway, mini rant over, we decided to go to the grand reef to see the rays and the fish. Man that water is a tad chilly! I was worried I wasn’t going to like swimming with the ray and when I saw the size of some of them it was a bit daunting! But I had a paddle and they really didn’t bother me. It is quite a surreal thing to be standing in a pool and have a huge ray brush past your ankles! I didn’t want to go for a proper swim just yet (the hair thing!) so I left Ross to explore and take pictures on my behalf while I sat on the beach for half an hour. I could justify half an hour of beach sitting, not wasting too much of the day! I tried to look out for Ross and watch him snorkelling but face down, bum up everybody looks the same!







Instead of shelling out for an underwater camera to go with the new Nikon bridge camera and our little compact digital camera, my mum bought me a waterproof case for the little camera. She got it from Amazon for a mere £14.99, it’s made by a company called Overboard and it was fab! I will admit I tested it loads at home to make sure it did what it said on the tin and I was still a bit nervous putting my camera in the water at first but it worked a treat and we got some really great pictures!


Continued...
__________________
1999 - Hotel Cheyene DLP * 2002 - Explorers Hotel DLP * 2003 - Quality Inn I-Drive * 2006 - Explorers Hotel DLP * 2012 - Rosen Inn I-Drive * 2014 - New Port Bay DLP * 2016 - Beach Club * 2018 - Give Kids The World Village


IG:alixbennettx
PrincessCastle is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 11 Sep 13, 09:53 PM  
Link to this Post
#2
PrincessCastle
Thread Starter
Apprentice Imagineer
 
Join Date: Jan 12

theDIBB Guidebook
Guidebook Photos: 50
At about 12:30 we went for some lunch. Again there was lots to choose from, and it was truly scrumptious! I opted for pasta with meatballs in marinara sauce and cherry cheesecake and Ross had a pulled pork sandwich, meatballs, mac and cheese and a chocolate brownie, we shared the chicken tenders. There was a steel band playing while we were enjoying our food. That, combined with the lush surroundings made me feel like I was in the Caribbean!



By the time we had finished it wasn’t too long until our swim we decided not to venture far and sit on a lounger (Ross with beer in hand) and soak in the beautiful scenery! When it was time to go to the Sand Dollar cabana Ross decided he needed the toilet (I swear it’s like living with a child!) the toilets were right behind us so I waited a couple of mins and decided he must have gone to the cabana or got lost (again, child) so I was wandering up and down the path looking for him for what seemed like ages. By this point I was terrified we were going to miss our swim and if I didn’t find him in the next 30 seconds I was going without him! Thankfully I spotted him walking towards me... then straight past me! Muppet. So I ran after him and we both ran to the cabana and got there just in time! And they say women take forever in the bathroom!

Anyway, drama over, we were in a group with 1 girl from Kent and a family of 6 from Pennsylvania. We watched the short video and were taken into the water, which I’m sure you all know by now, is freezing! But not to worry, you get used to it! Our trainers were Ashley and Crissie and the first dolphin we met was Natalie who was 16. We all made her talk, and pump (very immature, very funny!) then we all got to meet her personally and give her a smooch and get photos taken with her. She was very photogenic!





Next we met Tyler who was 18. He was covered in scratches and had gained the nickname ‘The Ruggid Man’. He was the dolphin we did the swim with. Ross and I both opted for the deep swim and I went first, remembering to look at the camera as I glided past!

Then we were lucky enough to meet a third dolphin, Diago, 14. He swam past us so we could all have a stroke then they showed us how to tell male dolphins from female. The trainers in all the groups in our section of water then get all three dolphins to swim in a circle and jump together which was really cool. But then our time in the water was over. I really could have stayed in there with them all day! They are truly amazing creatures and it was one of the best experiences of my life. So many people would love to swim with dolphins and it is on lots of people’s bucket lists so I feel incredibly lucky and privileged to have done it and of course I would love to do it again!



After our swim we went to see how much money they were going to squeeze out of us for some photos! The guy who talked us through the different packages must have been about 80 and he was hilarious, such a nice bloke! Anyways we decided to get the package with the CD of all the pictures, 5 big prints, 2 small prints and 2 key rings which came to $159 which to be honest is less than I expected to pay! Not getting the DVD cut the cost quite a lot but we really weren’t bothered about that anyways!

Now I was free to get my hair wet (yey!) we went and grabbed our masks and snorkels and went to the freshwater area to see the sea otters. They were very lively up on land and swimming about in the water, then a guy came out to feed them and they went nuts! Ross’ mask was letting water in so he swam back to get another one while I stayed at watched the otters some more. When he returned we swam round to the marmosets and saw a couple running around in the trees. They are really cute but too fast to get any decent photos of them!



I really wanted to go round the lazy river again to enjoy it properly. We swam the whole way round underwater, stopping for pictures of all the underwater artefacts along the way!




Continued...
__________________
1999 - Hotel Cheyene DLP * 2002 - Explorers Hotel DLP * 2003 - Quality Inn I-Drive * 2006 - Explorers Hotel DLP * 2012 - Rosen Inn I-Drive * 2014 - New Port Bay DLP * 2016 - Beach Club * 2018 - Give Kids The World Village


IG:alixbennettx
PrincessCastle is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 11 Sep 13, 09:54 PM  
Link to this Post
#3
PrincessCastle
Thread Starter
Apprentice Imagineer
 
Join Date: Jan 12

theDIBB Guidebook
Guidebook Photos: 50
Then it was back to the grand reef. We swam all the way round this as well, I was in awe at all the fish and rays that just swim by you like you are not even there. They just aren’t bothered by you; well at least it seems that way anyways! We spotted one ray with no tail bless it! When we got round the back of the reef we found ourselves swimming towards a load of sharks, ###! Oh wait...they are behind bullet proof (maybe..I hope so!) glass...panic over! We stopped by the glass for a while watching them swim back a forward past us. It was really strange because you couldn’t really tell the glass was there which would have been really scary!




Ray with no tail!

The sun was now setting on a beautiful day so we decided to go and get showered and dressed (it was getting a bit nippy now!). We collected our photos and raided the snack bar to get as much free food as possible! I think we ended up with two cereal bars and a lemonade slush! Rock and roll!

We left Discovery Cove and got the bus back to Sea World and the itrolley back to the hotel and arrived back at about 6:30. The plan was to chill in the room for a while then go out for some tea. So I backed up all the pictures onto the laptop, then took photos of our dolphin swim photos and put them on Facebook so everybody could see (and be extremely jealous of) what we had been up to that day! We watched some rubbish on TV, then... I fell asleep, woopsie! It was only 8:30 but I was absolutely goosed so dinner out was cancelled! It’s ok though, Ross got some food from the shop in the hotel...I think!

We both had such an amazing day. I really can’t say enough good things about DC, it’s just a little paradise! I’m not a water park person but obviously this place is a whole other world and swimming with those fish and rays is something you just can’t do many other places unless you go snorkelling in open water. And the dolphin swim is just incredible, can’t really describe how amazing it was to experience that! I believe that the price is fair for what you get and the food is lovely. We didn’t really take advantage of the free snacks and drinks but we were far too busy swimming and exploring we forgot about the snack bars!

All in all a great day, would not hesitate to come back, even without the dolphin swim there is so much to do and see. Highly recommended!
__________________
1999 - Hotel Cheyene DLP * 2002 - Explorers Hotel DLP * 2003 - Quality Inn I-Drive * 2006 - Explorers Hotel DLP * 2012 - Rosen Inn I-Drive * 2014 - New Port Bay DLP * 2016 - Beach Club * 2018 - Give Kids The World Village


IG:alixbennettx
PrincessCastle is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 11 Sep 13, 10:45 PM  
Link to this Post
#4
shirley
Imagineer
 
shirley's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 07
Location: Scotland

shirley's Reviews
Restaurant Reviews: 2
Lovely day
shirley is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 12 Sep 13, 10:23 AM  
Link to this Post
#5
mick
VIP Dibber
 
mick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 04
Location: Rugby

mick's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 1
Great day
__________________
mick is online now Boy Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 13 Sep 13, 09:31 AM  
Link to this Post
#6
norfmancblue
Gone all Goofy
 
Join Date: Feb 13
Great report, thanks.
norfmancblue is offline Boy Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 13 Sep 13, 10:37 AM  
Link to this Post
#7
PrincessCastle
Thread Starter
Apprentice Imagineer
 
Join Date: Jan 12

theDIBB Guidebook
Guidebook Photos: 50
Thanks for reading!
__________________
1999 - Hotel Cheyene DLP * 2002 - Explorers Hotel DLP * 2003 - Quality Inn I-Drive * 2006 - Explorers Hotel DLP * 2012 - Rosen Inn I-Drive * 2014 - New Port Bay DLP * 2016 - Beach Club * 2018 - Give Kids The World Village


IG:alixbennettx
PrincessCastle is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 13 Sep 13, 11:13 AM  
Link to this Post
#8
babagail-kaye
Trainee Dibber
 
babagail-kaye's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 08
Love it, cant wait to go here
__________________
kaye's Family

babagail-kaye is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 13 Sep 13, 12:44 PM  
Link to this Post
#9
colinzy
Imagineer
 
colinzy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 07
great pics and report
__________________
Colinzy
colinzy is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 13 Sep 13, 03:23 PM  
Link to this Post
#10
Guest
Guest
 
Brilliant day, you've got some fantastic photos. I agree completely, DC is like a little paradise.
Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 06:09 PM.


Powered by vBulletin - Copyright © 2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
DIBB Savings
AttractionTickets.com

Get £10 off each Disney Ticket with the code ATDIBB10

Get up to £50 off per room at Disney or Universal with the code DIBBHOTELS


theDIBB Blog
One of the the five worlds found in Epic Universe, How to Train Your Dragon... Read More »
Disney announced that a new nighttime show, “Disney Dreams That Soar,” will run nightly at... Read More »
Walt Disney World Resort guests can get ready to have a “glowing’’ good time when... Read More »


theDIBB Menu


Exchange Rates
US Dollar Rates
ASDA  $1.2366
CaxtonFX  $1.2318
Covent Garden FX  $1.2545
FAIRFX  $1.2350
John Lewis  $1.2380
M&S  $1.2178
Sainsburys  $1.2357
TESCO  $1.2364
Travelex  $1.2353
Updated: 17:00 28/03/2024
Euro Rates
ASDA  €1.1447
CaxtonFX  €1.1407
Covent Garden FX  €1.1514
FAIRFX  €1.1432
John Lewis  €1.1457
M&S  €1.1263
Sainsburys  €1.1440
TESCO  €1.1445
Travelex  €1.1435
Updated: 17:00 28/03/2024

DIBB Premium Membership
Did you know you can help support theDIBB with Premium Membership?

Check out this link for more information and benefits, such as...

"No adverts on theDIBB Forums"

Upgrade Now



X