Florida trip - Day 3

My mom and I got up very early to get to Discovery Cove by 8:30am. We got there, checked in, had a light breakfast and then got settled in. This place is so beautiful and clean. I was pleasantly surprised. I read many reviews on trip advisor and got some great recommendations. I was very confident in my decision to take my mom there.

The first thing we did was go to the bird aviary. There were many different types of birds flying around and they also had a baby deer that roams around. We caught a glimpse of the little deer eating, but it was hidden behind some trees. The birds are so pretty and very tame. They give you a little cup of food and the birds will land on your hand and eat right out of the feeding cup. At one point I had 3 little pink and gray birdies on my hand eating. They were so precious.

After the aviary, we went into the lagoon and lazy river. This was built this to seem very natural. It reminded me of the caves that hubby and I swam through on our honeymoon when we went to Xcaret. Unlike Xcaret, the water was a warm 85 degrees and felt so refreshing at Discovery Cove. The caves in Mexico were 65-70 degrees…brrrrr! After the lagoon and lazy river, we went into the Stingray shallows and got to pet some rays. My mom was super scared, but I talked her into it. I forgot how velvety they felt. Years ago I went on a cruise and one of our stops was in the Cayman Islands. We went to Stingray City and it was an experience that I’ll never forget.

After we checked out the Stingrays, we went to snorkel around the tropical reef. The water was salty and chilly, but there were a ton of different fish and Stingrays. I have seriously never seen a bigger Stingray in my life. I saw several that had a wing span bigger than most adults. They were enormous and quite intimidating. They didn’t bother anyone though. Around the reef, they had what looks like a shipwreck and behind the glass around the ship there are sharks that are sectioned off from the reef. It was fun because it makes you feel like you’re swimming with them even though they’re on the other side.

After snorkeling, it was time to go swimming with the dolphins. This was my third time and my mom’s first. The whole reason we got her this trip to Florida was to do this. She has always loved dolphins and always wanted to do this. We were with a group of 7 (including us), worked with 2 trainers and an adorable 17-year old dolphin named, “CJ”. He was unique because he is half Atlantic bottlenose dolphin and half common dolphin. It was cute, because he had different characteristics from his mother and father, just like a person.

During our dolphin swim, we were able to touch, kiss, feed and do hand gestures to make “CJ” do different tricks for us. Towards the end of the swim, we were able to take a ride on him. It was a ton of fun! I wish I could have done this all day.

After our dolphin swim, we went to grab lunch and it was really good. The wonderful thing about Discovery Cove is that you don’t have to worry about anything. All of your food, snacks, drinks, towels, snorkel and sunscreen are covered. We really didn’t need anything. Everything was so clean and you can tell they really do a lot to keep the park nice.

Once we were done with lunch, we went back to the lagoon, lazy river and tropical reef for some more swimming. We finally finished around 4:00pm and called it a day. It was a wonderful experience and I highly recommend this to anyone considering it.

After Discovery Cove, we went to Houlihan’s for dinner, then came back to our hotel and relaxed.

I apologize for my lack of comments. I should be back to normal by tomorrow!