Day 7 Mother's Day with Dolphins and Rays

[karalma]

10.3.24

My alarm was set for 5.30 but it didn’t go off as my alarm isn't set for weekends when at home and I didn’t realise today is a Saturday. Alix woke me at 6.10 and we were out of the door by 6.30 and at Discovery Cove by 7.00. Before we left Alix gave me my Mother’s Day gifts of a beautiful bracelet and Harry Potter coaster, bookmark and pins.

The last time we visited Discovery Cove was 2012 on Boxing Day when we were rained out. The only time we have done the dolphin swim was 2011. Today we quickly checked in and were given a dolphin swim for 8.30. We were then held at the entrance until 7.20, which was only for 10 minutes but it seemed pointless opening registration at 7.00 but not opening the facility. We hoped to find chairs and settle in before breakfast but the beaches weren’t open. The Laguna Grill was the only thing open so we guessed it was time for breakfast. We all had the cooked breakfast and pastries.

By the end of breakfast everything was open so we found 5 chairs as Jean and Stan were joining us today. We collected towels and swim vests, texted Jean, put our valuables in the lockers and applied the sun cream supplied by the park. A lady asked me where I got my long sleeved vest from but it was one I brought with me to wear under the DC vest.

We had the safety brief and were warned about how cold the water is. We were joined by 2 couples and a mother and child for our swim. Everybody thought the water was so cold, to the point that Alix was shivering but I thought it was fine. Compared to the North Sea, that I have swam in, this water was warm. Our dolphin was named Frankie but we couldn’t remember who we swam with last time (now know it was Okeye). The 2 trainers were very friendly and answered lots of questions as well as sharing lots of information. The interaction with Frankie was good and the park photographer took lots of photos. The swim was very short and only in shallow water. The trainer explained they had not returned to the deep water swim since covid. We all enjoyed this but it was over very quickly and wasn’t something we felt we would want to do again.

We went to the lockers for Darren to check his phone to see if Jean had replied. She hadn’t so we decided to go for a 2nd breakfast as we had been a little rushed earlier. The first thing we saw was Jean and Stan sitting at an outdoor table eating breakfast. Alix and I grabbed some toasted bagels and granola and we sat in the sun chatting, before retreating to our beach loungers where Jean and Stan could watch the dolphin interactions. We got our new underwater camera from the locker, only to find the batteries weren’t working. Alix went to see if the shop sold them but they didn’t. This was a real disappointment but it didn’t spoil the day.

We all headed to wind away river, apart from Stan who preferred to relax in the sun. We loved floating around the river, chatting, watching the birds around the aviary and visiting the marmosets and otters. Not sure how Jean mistook the otters for raccoons. The waterfalls were viscious but fun. I wish I had had a camera to show Jean's face when she emerged. She thought she might have lost her glasses but couldn’t remember if she had them on. We found later that she hadn’t.

We then enjoyed a refreshing drink in the seating area of Serenity Bay. On the way back Alix collected warm towels and hot cookies which were lovely, before we collected Stan and went for lunch. Alix asked about the vegetarian burgers and the supervisor came out and asked if we wanted veggie burgers or beyond meat burgers so we requested one of each. I preferred the beyond meat and Alix preferred the veggie burger. We also enjoyed cheesecake and carrot cake for dessert but think I’d eaten too much at this point and couldn’t finish it.

After lunch we were going to try snorkelling in the Grand Reef. Jean and Stan decided not to come as Jean wasn’t keen on swimming with fish and Stan wanted to stay in the sun. We called at the sun cream dispensers on the way. Alix had enjoyed snorkelling 12 years ago but couldn’t remember it well. I was as useless at it as I was last time but Alix loved it even more and said it was the best thing she’d ever done.













Darren was a bit nervous about his knee and falling over the rocks, which he did a couple of times but soon he was off snorkelling with Alix.



I was happy floating around, watching the fish. We spent ages in here but finally decided to go and catch up with Jean and Stan.

On the way back we collected some pizza, ice cream and slush drinks. The pizza was delicious. Jean had been for another float around wind away river but Stan had stayed in the sun and now wasn’t feeling too well. We chatted for a while and Alix went for more pizza and slush. It was very quiet on Starfish beach with not many loungers occupied.

Alix and I decided to go and explore the aviary but thought we had better apply more sun cream as it was now quite hot, although we felt cool as we were in and out of the water. There weren’t many people in the aviary and we loved feeding the birds.





























When we returned Jean and Stan had left as Stan wasn’t feeling well. We decided to have a final float around wind away river and were enjoying chatting when Darren spotted Jean and Stan looking down on the river from the reception area. We waved wildly until they spotted us. Darren swam back to see why they hadn’t left so Alix and I found a rock to wait on. When Darren got back he said they had sat in an air conditioned area and now Stan was feeling much better.

We decided to have one last drink before leaving so returned to the seating area of Serenity Bay and enjoyed relaxing. Unfortunately it was time to get out but there were no warm towels left so we had to make do with more hot cookies. We had showers and changed and called for some last snacks of crisps, nuts and trail mix. When we went back to our seats Darren's cane had gone. Fortunately we spotted it a few yards down the beach where the cleaners were working so thankfully retrieved it quickly.

We called at the photo centre and bought a photo.



We had enjoyed our day so much that we asked about their offer of returning within 7 days for half price but their half price was nearly as much as we had paid for 3 parks so we decided to leave it. We would definitely return but wouldn’t do the dolphin swim again. We might do the feeding rays or animal trek next time.

We debated whether to go home or go to Hollywood Studios. We decided it was a lovely night so we wouldn’t go home quite yet. We arrived at the park by 6.00 and enjoyed Star Tours. As we hadn’t seen the Muppets in years we decided to pop in but I suddenly felt ill so went outside. I enjoyed the fresh air and sitting on a wall enjoying the night descending. Darren and Alix said I hadn’t missed much by not seeing the muppets and it definitely needs updating. As I was still felling queasy I didn’t ride Smugglers but Darren and Alix got to be the pilots without requesting it. I felt well enough to ride Rise and it was the quickest we had ever got on.







Next up was Slinky and great to ride in the dark.





We finished the night with a ride on Mickey and Minnie’s Railway and left the park at 9.00.





We were home in 20 minutes and we had enjoyed an amazing day. The only problem was that Alix was sunburnt. She had applied plenty of sun cream but we think it probably happened mid afternoon when we were enjoying snacks on the beach as she applied sun cream after that, instead of before. I was pleased I wore my long sleeved vest.

[Twinkle-Dolphin]

Loving your trip report, thanks for sharing

[JessBlu]

Great report and photos !

Thanks

[Pwills]

Sounds like you had a great time.