Today was our Discovery Cove experience. We arrived so early, we were literally the first people who entered the place after getting checked in. It was cool and cloudy, so I asked if we could have an 11 am dolphin swim instead of the 9 am time we were assigned (figuring it would warm up a bit by then) but they said they had to assign them based on arrival time. They usher all the early arrivals to the cabana furthest from all the other attractions other than the dolphin pool, and you have to keep walking back there to get into your locker, change wetsuits, use the restroom/shower, etc, which got very tiring. So make note, it’s not necessarily beneficial to arrive early unless you want the earliest swim time they offer. Had I known the way it worked, we would have arrived around 10 am instead of an hour before they opened.
We got into wetsuits (I chose a long one) right away to keep us warm. The sun came out for a bit which helped a little too. By the time we entered the dolphin pool, the water didn’t feel that cold, but by the time we got out, we were freezing and I never had to pee more in all my life. LOL! Anyway, the experience with the dolphin was great. It went by too fast, and the one on one time is very limited, but I loved the ride I got back to shore.
After our swim, we went into the lazy river with our snorkels. Joe is so much better using a snorkel than I am! I kept fogging up the mask and getting water in the snorkel. Joe rescued me this one time when I started choking underneath this waterfall section that had some deep water. He’s my hero. :)
We tried going into the other pools where you could snorkel and look at the fish and stingrays, but the water was freezing and it had grown cloudy by then, plus the wind had picked up. So we made the decision to change into our dry clothes so we could have lunch. I was done with the freezing my butt off. I really wish it had been warmer!
After lunch, which was decent, we visited the bird aviary. I really enjoyed feeding the birds and taking photos of them. A few landed on Joe which was funny, especially this one who kept gently pecking at the side of Joe’s face. I guess he tastes good. I wouldn’t know. ;)
After the bird aviary, we walked around a bit and bought some souvenirs. We ended up leaving at 2 pm. While it was a fun and interesting experience, I don’t think I’d do it again. Maybe if it had been warmer I’d feel differently, but it was difficult to enjoy myself while freezing and always having to use the bathroom. Getting off a wet wetsuit to go pee is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do!
Even though I knew about this ahead of time, it still floors me how much they charge for souvenir photos and video/dvd of the experience. A 10-photo cd is $150! They know everyone wants a memento of their experience, so they capitalize on that. Don’t get me wrong, the photos are good quality, but after spending $239 per person, I think they could reduce their prices a little. We paid $30 for one 5×7 photo and three wallet size photos, two of which were inserted into magnet cases to put on the refrigerator. Our dolphin, Natasha, is barely visible in the photos, but what can you do? Animals aren’t always cooperative.
I feel like an impossible person to please, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this place to anyone. The British love it, though! I swear that we were the minority today. Not that I mind at all; British children seem a lot better behaved than Americans.
We decided since it was still early we should go to SeaWorld, so we ran back to the hotel to change into warmer clothes first. We also checked SeaWorld’s hours and to our delight, closing wasn’t until 8 pm.
Since we planned to go to SeaWorld tomorrow, we took a relaxed approach to our visit today. We didn’t even bother getting a park map; we just wandered around and took photos. Of course my A610’s batteries chose to crap out on me after just a few photos. I was very surprised since I had fully charged the batteries a few days ago and previously had gone 500 photos without a recharge. I guess I was using the camera more often than I thought! We had the other cameras along, so I just grabbed the Nikon since I had let Joe use my Canon 20D.
We probably saw a good deal of the park in the four or so hours we were there, so tomorrow will probably be more about feeding the dolphins and getting lots of great photos. We saw the evening Shamu show which was unique since it was dark out. It was pretty disappointing compared to the show we had seen at the San Diego SeaWorld three years ago, but at least now we know where the photo ops are.
We also saw the most bizarre, but cool, thing at the underwater viewing area of the dolphin feeding pool: this dolphin managed to blow air from its blowhole into a ring shape and push it around underwater before shoving his nose into it and causing it to dissolve. Here’s photos of the phenomenon. I looked online and these bubble rings aren’t uncommon even though I never heard of them before.
We also saw this neat water and light show in one of the bays. The water fountains changed height and color to the tune of music which was really cool. I got a few photos but they didn’t come out so good.
Before leaving we grabbed more souvenirs, mostly for Joe’s kids. I know I already mentioned this, but I am so glad I overestimated how much we would spend on dining because I didn’t budget for souvenirs and we have spent a lot! I checked our budget and I think we’re doing really well overall though. We leave on Wednesday so we should be good. Time for bed!!!
We didn’t want to spend the evening indoors, so we headed over to White River State Park. We kept walking and walking until we ended up at the back end of the zoo and gardens! I took photos along the way, and on our way back we took a walk around the canal which is very picturesque. By the time we got back to the hotel it was near 10 pm but it wasn’t quite dark yet since Indiana is in the Eastern time zone. I think we got to bed around midnight and both tossed and turned most of the night. It’s always difficult sleeping in a different bed even if it is pretty comfortable.