Aug 17 Cheeseballs, Chipmunks, Chunder and Chaps in Uniform - Day 6 Discovery Cove and HS

[bigshaz]

Disney steps 17,308 6.60 miles

Early start this morning, alarm set for 5.40 and no P20 routine as we were off to the land of fish friendly sun cream.
All very tired and a bit grumpy when we arrived at Discovery Cove at 6.45 to see the sun coming up.

They opened the doors to reception at 7am where we all booked in and we were given an 8am dolphin swim slot. I got very confused as I thought she had said be there for 7.15 when she actually said 7.50. They then held us again at the exit doors to reception where we chatted to to one of the staff, he was knowledgeable but failed to answer all Morgan’s questions, oh dear. Eventually we were walked down to the first beach and then all held again, grumpiness is overflowing a little by this point but eventually and through the staff’s use of talking to each other on the walky talkies (who knew they could work like that!) and eventually we were off for wetsuit/vest fitting. Grump over I promise.

So I’m not a small lady but let me share that is not a problem here – they could fit a whale into some of these vests so don’t let that hold any of you back. Millie went for a shorty wet suit, the rest of us vests. Thick sun cream slapped on, towels grabbed and off to the hut for a pre swim talk.

It didn’t take too long but the grumpy bit of me was still there as they told everyone that jewellery was not allowed as it could be swallowed and cause major issues for the dolphins etc. (id left mine back in the safe knowing this) and the teenage girl in front of us who had 3 earrings in each ear ignored completely and no one challenged her – ok so grump def over now lol.

Into the pool and we met two dolphins, in a nutshell, it was great, glad we did it, probably don’t need to do it again but it was everything expected.

Stroked, kissed, got pulled along by two lovely dolphins, the trainers are amazingly knowledgeable and very very helpful. I asked if it was ok being pulled along as I’m larger than most but the trainers assured me it was not a problem as she wouldn’t do it if it was a problem for her, mind at rest I enjoyed completely.

Having read that the birds can get full from feeding I was keen to do the aviary early on. So Steve went to find some sun chairs for us and move the bags to the lockers further away from the dolphin swim and then caught me and the girls up in the aviary. There were lots of birds in three different areas. It took a while for anything to go to Morgan but we think it might have been due to the bright rash vest she was wearing.

Big beaks some of these birds!

I do wish they would put benches in here – I could sit for hours.
And a lovely bird sat at the top of a log – sorry I cant remember what he was called , a type of owl I think. No its called a frog mouth mum

Birds fed and we were off to breakfast. Fail on the photographs I’m afraid but go with bacon, sausage, eggs, porridge, muffins. All good.

Then the reef – this was amazing. The water is very very cold – a big shock when you get in.

it takes a minute but then you realise how big the rays are that are swimming around you and there is a huge cavern in the middle you can swim across where the fish and the coral are such amazing colours. I would go back to do this alone. I’m not great with traditional snorkels – if you read the pre trippie you’ll see we bought a full face version from Decathlon (can get on amazon too) which made a massive difference - I didn’t have to remember whether too breathe through my nose or mouth as either worked fine- and much less steaming up of the eyes etc.

Millie surprised me by preferring the standard issue discovery cove snorkel and she helped me swim over the reef many times – we loved it. Morgan mmm, not so sure about swimming with the fish so sat to the side and watched.

We then decided to head for the much much warmer lazy river and swam/snorkelled all the way round, lots to see over and under the water,

lovely and warm and we passed a lovely lady about to take the parrots for lunch who brought them to the side of the water for us to see

and we stopped off to see the marmoset monkeys too.

By this time we were ready for our late lunch, another buffet and again ok but nothing spectacular.

Millie had nuggets and chips, I had orange chicken rice and veg, Steve had a bacon cheeseburger and chips, Morgan had meatballs and pasta with pasta salad and mc n cheese on the side and we tried the chocolate cake and cheesecake.

Morgan and and Steve went off to to do the lazy river again and Millie and I had a quiet lie down (and maybe a little snooze!) plus a few slushies and pretzels.

We had a mooch around the shops and Millie decide to spend some holiday money on a Discovery Cove T-Shirt, which was very good quality and is still a favourite being worn at home. Our final stop before we left was to pick up the photos. Now you come all this way it is hard not to buy the full package – of course that’s how they make it, and the photos are good (although they would be much better without all the other folk in the background – would just take a little thought) so another $270 plus spent along with a towel and two photo frames as the girls wanted one each (that’s more stuff for the case!) and we were off to the hotel.

Tonight’s dinner was boked at 50’s Prime Time Café so chance for us all to shower and change and we were on our way to Hollywood Studios.

50’s Prime time was busy when we arrived and we were a little early so we checked in, asked for a TV table and were sent to Dads bar for a drink first.

Great service and the cast member at the bar struck up a conversation with Morgan about her Hogwarts t-shirt which then led into did she like Star wars and was she dark side or light side? He then asked for her phone, told her to pretend she was holding a light saber and took what looked like a keyring of plastic cocktail sticks which he held one over the camera lens and hey presto:

Great pre dinner fun, As was looking at the décor and watching people who had no idea about the theming here. The cast members were very good at realising when someone wasn’t playing along and explaining quickly. It wasn’t long before our server took us to our table and yes we got a TV table,

he asked where we were from and then promptly introduced us to our cousins sat behind us also from the UK. He then made Morgan set the table as the eldest. He was fantastic – Millie ordered Aunt Lizs Golden Fried Chicken, she didn’t like it at all and without a word our cast member recognised this and quietly asked if she would prefer nuggets – yes please and in seconds a full plate of nuggets had arrived with a very funny “its ok I just took it from another child” its this kind of service that makes Disney amazing and holidays magical.

Morgan, Steve and I had the Sampling of Moms Favorite Recipes : The golden fried chicken, pot roast, and meatloaf. So yummy we had started eating before we took a photo sorry.

Steve had ice cream sundae for pudding and I had Apple crisp with ice cream. The girls were both full so again our cast member (sorry I didn’t write his name down) stepped in and brought two brownies to take away for when they were hungry.

I can tell you those brownies were yummy the next day. $42 tip/drinks bill and were were off for our fast pass on Toy Story. Millie beat me this time,

I love this ride. Then we decided to split up – Millie and Steve went off to ride Tower of Terror and Rock N rollercoaster whilst Morgan and I went off for the much more leisurely and to be closed later that week Great Movie Ride. It’s the first (and last) time I rode this and it was great fun, I can see why hundreds queued for hours later that week to see it for the last time.
We all met up as we exited the park – the star wars fireworks had started behind us but Steve and Morgan had those tomorrow and Millie and I were tired so home to bed.

Night night all, after a lazy morning Steve & Morgan have Star Tours tomorrow and Millie and I have Magic Kingdom. Things don’t always work out as planned though..

[MinnieMrsA]

Discovery Cove looked great - and that photo of Morgan is great too!

[Goldia]

It looks like you had great fun at Discovery Cove. The underwater shots are brilliant. And the you made it to HS in the evening...we just had to crash out after our DC day, I'm not surprised you were wilting a bit by the end of the evening.

[bigshaz]

Originally Posted by Goldia

It looks like you had great fun at Discovery Cove. The underwater shots are brilliant. And the you made it to HS in the evening...we just had to crash out after our DC day, I'm not surprised you were wilting a bit by the end of the evening.

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I think the little snooze in the afternoon helped

[Mortimer Mouse]

You have more stamina than me, having a night out after DC. I'm always worn out. A great day.

[Excitedx4]

Wow another mega day, you guys are really going for it this holiday!

[Custancia]

Fantastic pictures from Discovery Cove, and what great service at Prime Time Cafe

[Jakey Neverland]

Another perfect day, dh favourite day of our holiday was DC. Looks like you all had an amazing day there too.

[mouselover22]

Amazing day. Great photo's at Discovery Cove

So impressed with how much you pack in to your days.

The meal sounds good fun. Great picture of Morgan with the lightsaber

[kansaskitty]

Lovely 😊 photos from DC it’s still a lovely family shot even with others in the background.
Dinner at Prime Time looks so fun!