Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off To Disney We Go - Day 12 - Discovery Cove and Steak N Shake

[caitlinsmummy]

Day 12 – Discovery Cove, Swimming With Dolphins and Steak N Shake

This morning I had my alarm set for 7am but I woke at 6.40am. I pottered around tidying up, had a cuppa and some toast with grape jam (why can’t we get this in the UK I forgot to get some to bring home too) then woke everyone else. I made Chris and the kids some pop tarts to eat in the car and then we set off to discovery cove at 7.45am. There was a lot of traffic at this time of morning, we think it was probably commute and school runs as we seen a few school buses

We eventually got to Discovery Cove at 8.15am and the queue was so big already!

We had a nice chat with a team member as we went through security, talking about England and where we were from. In the queue I had an American lady approach me and ask where my jacket was from (My 50th Anniversary jacket) I explained I bought it from the Disney Store in the UK but I had seen some in World of Disney in Disney Springs. I had so many compliments this trip about my 50th Anniversary merch, ears, bag and jacket which was lovely.

We were all checked in by 9am with a dolphin swim of 1.45pm, a bit later than I’d have liked but we were much later than last time. We went and grabbed some sunbeds over near the lazy river and went to grab some breakfast.

Obviously the female teen didn't want her photo taken

Breakfast

For those who don’t know Discovery Cove is all inclusive, you can arrive from 7.30am meaning you can have breakfast. You can pay for an upgraded drinks package, but Mr Grump and I aren’t massive drinkers so we just stick to soft drinks. We all went and grabbed some food for breakfast. It’s basically like a buffet, you pick and choose which dishes you want and you can take as many as you like. They have sausages, eggs, French toast, potatoes, yoghurts, cereal, fruit, granola. We all really enjoyed this.

We also took some drinks with us back to our sunbeds and the kids brought some cookies too.

I made everyone including myself get life vests, I can swim but I wouldn’t say I was a strong swimmer and I didn’t want the mishap of the 2019 trip. If you want a laugh read about it here We then went for a swim around the 'lazy river' this is the least lazy river we've ever been in we enjoyed it much more this time and had no mishaps

Chris and the boys then went to the reef pool, Noah got a bit upset over there as he didn't like the fish touching him so he came back.

The wetsuit I’d been given was all frayed on the bottom area and it was really annoying so I went and changed to a life vest. I know it’s not much to some but the guy handed me and extra small vest, I looked and thought there’s no way that will fit me, last time I was in an extra large! I put it on and it only did! So strange after 6st weight loss that my mind still hasn’t fully caught up.

The kids were peckish and grabbed some pretzels, crisps, cookies and drinks which we all shared. They then played for a while in the main pool whilst I read my book and then we went and got some lunch.

Lunch

Lunch is served from 11.30am I think. Again it is a buffet style you just take a plate of what you want or as many plates as you like. Chris and Caitlin went for the pulled pork burger, I had just a regular cheeseburger and a chicken caesar salad, Thomas and Noah had nuggets and waffle fries, we also got a small pot of mac n cheese to try. All the food was nice enough to say it was included. Chris also got a slice of cheesecake which he enjoyed. Noah and Thomas shared a yoghurt, some fruit and a slice of chocolate cake.

After lunch we all sun creamed up again (I went a little heavy on myself as I was determined not to burn ) and off we went for our dolphin swim.

I almost didn't get to do this swim, in the talk they mentioned about taking jewelry out, I'd taken my necklace and rings off but they were talking about earrings as they can distract the dolphins I have 3 in my ear which are really hard to get out, so I was struggling to try and get them out. As we were going towards the dolphin pool I almost had a panic attack as I couldn't get them out, I sat on the rocks and cried as I was devastated I wouldn't be able to do it and told Chris and the kids to go ahead. Chris pointed out there were other people with earrings in and I would be fine. I'd managed to remove 1 of the earrings so I ran and popped it in a random locker and we got photos taken, luckily we didn't choose any of these as my eyes were a little red from being upset

The interaction as usual was amazing, sadly I can't remember the dolphins name but I know it was an offspring of Capricorn who we had in 2019, the cast member told us that Capricorn has actually fathered most of the dolphins they have, he's been a busy boy

Noah was tall enough to stand on his own in the water this time too which was a bonus although he clung to me as he was so cold Due to covid they didn't do the kiss on the lips but the dolphin kissed us on the cheek. No one was offered a deeper swim either this time, although I'm not sure why.

Absolutely amazing. 100% recommend if you can do it. We decided not to buy the digital package this time as we've done nothing with the last photos so we opted to buy 4 6x8 prints instead which was $99 plus tax, we gave 1 print to Chris's parents and we've kept the other 3.

Our 2019 pic is below

Chris and the boys went back in the pools for a bit whilst Caitlin and I got changed and chilled with a drink and I read more of my book and caught up on Instagram and FB comments.

Chris and the boys returned and we they got ready to leave. Noah was getting very annoyed at everyone who had left their snorkels on their sunbeds rather than returning them to the boxes On the way out Noah was looking at the booklet that details are the wildlife in Discovery Cove and he loved checking out what he could see over the bridge and what we seen throughout the day. We had a lovely chat with a cast member and by 4.30pm we were leaving the park and on our way to Steak N Shake for dinner.

Dinner

Now last time I absolutely loved the garlic burger so I was really looking forward to it this time. Even if it was going to take me 3 sittings to eat it, I was getting that garlic burger and it did not disappoint!

I ordered a double (optimistic I know ) garlic steak burger with extra garlic just on it’s own. I had an offer for a free shake so I opted for a M&M milkshake to go as I knew I couldn’t have it at the same time.

Chris got the double bacon cheeseburger as a meal with fries and a cookies and cream milkshake.

Thomas and Noah both had kids chicken tenders meal, Noah had milk, Thomas had coke

Caitlin had a double bacon cheeseburger meal too and she actually ate the fries, she had a Dr Pepper. Hers was basically the same as Chris's just minus the onion

We all thoroughly enjoy this. I managed about 3/4s of my burger which I was over the moon about I was tempted to bring one back to the villa for later but knew that was wrong We had a free shake voucher for my birthday so we used this, but I did find it a bit more expensive than the last time we were here, but then again it was almost 3 years ago! It was still cheap for what we had and obviously delicious.

Traffic on the 192 was awful again so took us 30 minutes to get back to the villa. We unpacked everything and just chilled for the night, the boys enjoyed playing with Thomas's Oculus.

We had an absolutely amazing day as we always do at Discovery Cove but we were shattered, Noah was fast asleep by 8pm the rest of us by 10pm.

[mick]

Great day


Joan

[WIGGYSMUM]

An absolutely lovely day Kelly
I love your happy face on needing an XS vest 🤗
Your garlic burger sounds amazing, I may have to try
Xx

[Loobylou_82]

Fabulous day for you all. On your recommendation I am going to go to Steak and Shake and have a garlic burger. Never been to one. The milkshakes look good too. Yes, the lazy river in DC really is lazy.

[JudeB]

Have caught up on your trip report and am really enjoying it. We love villa holidays and reading yours is making me excited about our upcoming trip! Like you, we have 3 kids, girl and 2 boys, but ours are older and this year DD's new hubby will be joining us, along with my parents. A great place to make memories. Look forward to reading the rest of your report.

[Goldia]

What a brilliant time at Discovery Cove. Always a chilled out day. I bet you were really chuffed to be given an extra small vest. Woo hoo. Seems like everyone enjoyed the day and had fun swimming, eating and relaxing on repeat!

[Fuellady]

Fantastic day at DC, and lovely photos of you all with the dolphin. The food looks decent too.

Nice meals at Steak & Shake. We found it expensive too (2017 I think), so it's always been a bit dearer than other burger joints. The burgers are so good though, it's worth it, I think - hopefully we'll get back there one day.

No wonder you were all tired after such a great day out.

[jothp]

What a fantastic day at Discovery Cove. I'm glad you managed to do the swim despite the earring problem.

[eleele]

Great day, Steak and Shake is now on our list to visit - looks really good.

Also loving the arty “palm trees in the wing mirror” shot!

[caitlinsmummy]

Originally Posted by mick

Great day


Joan

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Thanks Joan x

Originally Posted by WIGGYSMUM

An absolutely lovely day Kelly
I love your happy face on needing an XS vest 🤗
Your garlic burger sounds amazing, I may have to try
Xx

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It's such an amazing feeling, a big non scale victory for me. Please do, it's seriously underrated, I do attempt it again later in the holiday but I don't do as well as this attempt x

Originally Posted by Loobylou_82

Fabulous day for you all. On your recommendation I am going to go to Steak and Shake and have a garlic burger. Never been to one. The milkshakes look good too. Yes, the lazy river in DC really is lazy.

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You must let me know what you think! Even Chris was jealous he didn't get one The milkshakes are good too although I'm not a massive sweet lover, I'd have rather had another burger x

Originally Posted by JudeB

Have caught up on your trip report and am really enjoying it. We love villa holidays and reading yours is making me excited about our upcoming trip! Like you, we have 3 kids, girl and 2 boys, but ours are older and this year DD's new hubby will be joining us, along with my parents. A great place to make memories. Look forward to reading the rest of your report.

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Thank you so much for reading along I hope you have an amazing trip. That sounds so lovely being able to spend it with all the family including inlaws and parents, what a magical trip! Will you be doing a report? Would be so lovely to see how you got on x

Originally Posted by Goldia

What a brilliant time at Discovery Cove. Always a chilled out day. I bet you were really chuffed to be given an extra small vest. Woo hoo. Seems like everyone enjoyed the day and had fun swimming, eating and relaxing on repeat!

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It is isn't it. I was over the moon, it's the little things. Even Chris said he'd go back (although he said no to the dolphin swim, I have a feeling Noah will twist his arm on that one) x