Today was the trip to Discovery Cove... In theory, it's the central point of the whole trip. The morning started pretty early, around 7:00 AM. Before leaving the hotel, we (Jessawick mostly) stopped off at the concierge desk to see about tickets to the Blue Man Group. We've got tickets for Wednesday. Since the Blue Man Group is located in Universal Studios anyway; we're going to make Wednesday the Universal day.
We arrived at Discovery Cove around 8:00 AM. I really like the way that Discovery Cove is managed, and the all-inclusive nature of the visits. For example, Discovery Cove is the only attraction thus far that has offered free parking. We signed in, and got our assignments for the dolphin session. We were scheduled for 9:55 AM.
After check-in, we wanted to check out something that we'd read in the literature... Supposedly, Discovery Cove offered free use of prescription diving masks. The rumor is true. I've got to say, the prescription diving mask really made the day much more enjoyable for both of us. It was really nice to be able to see.
But I digress... 08:58 AM. Disaster call from work. Remarkably, I hadn't ditched my cell phone yet, so I was able to take the call. Although I have not yet verified it myself, it sounds as if we had total failure on one of our main routers. That's never a good thing, as from the sound of it, it put most of the office out of commission. More on the work disaster later.
Since we had some time before the dolphin swim, we sought out breakfast. Remember, Discovery Cove is all-inclusive. The food was very good. Admittedly, breakfast was fairly simple, but the food is plentiful and of excellent quality. Following breakfast, we checked out the coral reef. The reef is really quite impressive. I also learned something about swimming goggles... Things are closer than they appear. I learned something else too. Don't kick really hard when you're swimming, if you can whack your foot on something painful.
Ok, back to the reef. It has depths of varying degree, with 14 ft. being about the deepest. It's salt water, with hundreds of species contained in it. They've got Stingrays that have got an 10-12 ft. "wingspan". They're ginormous. In the words of one of the staff: "They're like Mini Coopers that swim".
At just before 10:00 AM, we had our "appointment" with the dolphin. The facility has three different dolphin pools, and they run three separate groups at one time. Our dolphin was quite friendly and sociable. We got one of the younger dolphins at the park, "Coral". From what they told us, she was the first of the babies that was born at Discovery Cove. You could see that she'd spent lots of time around people, and she was great at her "job".
The dolphins and the trainers had worked it all out, and it ran very smoothly. Although I should have probably known better, the sheer size of the dolphins surprised me. They're about 8 ft. long, and they weigh about 650 lbs. They're a big honking sea creature.
The dolphin swim session ended with getting a ride around the cove. Coral towed us around, while we held on to her fin.
I'll admit that after the dolphin swim was over, I called back to the office to hear about their dilemma. It makes perfect sense, if I leave; we have a critical failure. From what I heard from the office, it sounds as if they were able to secure a replacement part, and get operations running again, even if in a limited fashion. I think they're ok at this point; or at least ok enough to continue for a few days. I felt better immediately. I realize that I take work too seriously; but I do; and that isn't likely to change.
I decided that it was time to get dry and warm. I like being dry and warm. Once again, I've got to mention how nice the whole Discovery Cove experience was... Their facilities were great. Private showers and changing areas, quality shampoo right at hand. Very pleasant experience. They really run a good operation. I spent an hour or so shooting photos of the dolphins from the shore.
Lunch was of excellent quality. They offered at least 8 different selections, and the results were great. As mentioned before, it was all included in the price of admission.
Around 1:30 PM, we took the horticulture tour of the facility. They really have a lot of interesting plants. They've managed to create a tropical jungle in a very short time. Good tour.
We spend the rest of the day between the Stingray Pool, the Lazy River, the Reef, the Aviary, and more dolphin photos.
We departed Discovery Cove around 5:30. I'd heard that there was a Taverna Opa in the area; so we went to investigate. Greek food is great, and Taverna Opa is a blast. I've visited the one in Miami before. This was a first for the Orlando branch. Just like Miami, the food was exceptional and the meal was a lot of fun. I highly recommend you visit a Taverna Opa, should you encounter one. Greek yogurt rocks, as does the entertainment.
