Hiya Thrill Seekers,
Hopefully by now you’ve all read by last blog about my first day on the FAM trip visiting SeaWorld. We were up early on our second day to visit Discovery Cove. I was particularly looking forward to this day as we would have the opportunity to swim with dolphins!
Discovery Cove is a very short drive away from SeaWorld. Before entering the park we had to get our passes for the day, which was a very easy process. A member of park staff will take your photo which will be printed on a plastic card attached to a lanyard for you to pop around your neck whilst you’re at the park.
As our Discovery Cove packages offers unlimited drinks during your visit guests who are over the age of 21 and want to enjoy a few alcoholic beverages your card will state that you are above the legal drinking age. This is great as it saves you carrying your ID around the park with you.
As we were there early the first stop was breakfast. As well as drink your food is also included for the entire day. Food is offered as a buffet service so you can go up and help yourself whenever you feel like it! There are also snack bars throughout the park. If like me you have a sweet tooth I recommend the French toast sticks!
Before getting in the water we decided to check out the Explorer’s Aviary. Here the park staff will give you a cup of fruit and seeds to feed the birds. Be aware the birds will land on you! I was pleasantly surprised at how gentle the birds were as they perched on my arm to eat.
After struggling to get into our wetsuits (allow for plenty of time to do this) we headed to the Freshwater Oasis, Discovery Cove’s newest attraction. You can relax and explore, swimming lazily past Otters and Marmosets. The Marmosets are very playful and extremely cute. I found it quite difficult to tear myself away. We then grabbed our snorkels and went for a swim in The Grand Reef. We had the chance to swim amongst thousands of colorful fish and view spectacular underwater scenes. We had to be extremely careful where we were putting our feet as huge stingrays gliding along the seabed. There is also a shark habitat separated by clear glass giving the illusion that we were actually swimming with them!
Finally it was our turn for the dolphin swim. We were split into smaller groups of 8 and entered the water. The trainer introduced us to our dolphin called Yoko and taught us dolphin behaviour and commands. We each got the chance to have our photo taken kissing Yoko before going into deeper water than holding on to her dorsal fin and being pulled back to shore. The fabulous photographers took some incredible photos to document our experience. This really was an unforgettable experience and will stay with me for the rest of my life. If you’re visiting Orlando I strongly suggest booking the dolphin swim!
We spent the rest of our day chilling out in the small pool next to the Freshwater Oasis. This offers relaxing under water lounge seating. It is also conveniently located next to the bar. 😉
So that’s me half way through my incredible trip to Orlando! My next blog post will be about our third day at Busch Gardens .
Smiles included…
Rachel
