Discovery Cove Orlando

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WOW this has been a busy month of travel for me and Matt!!! For quite some time now we've had our eyes on Discovery Cove in Orlando . Trip Advisor had it ranked as the top attraction in Orlando and we had heard nothing but good reviews from numerous people. So off we went for yet another weekend getaway!

Lodging:
Yet again we stayed at the Hilton Orlando . We booked through Hotels.com and ended up paying $104 a night for a basic room before taxes and parking (parking is $12 a day). Although we also paid for this same room last visit, we did not get upgraded this time to the Executive Suites. 😞 The Executive Suites were about $150 per night. Regardless, our room was still gorgeous and the bed was the exact same which we loved. Unlike last time, the hallway did not smell like smoke either. The downside to the basic room vs the executive suites are simply smaller rooms and bathrooms and no perks which are offered on the executive level. Is it worth $50 to upgrade? Probably not...but I would most certainly take a free upgrade again! 😉

Although we promised ourselves we would utilize the pool next stay at this hotel, we did not. Next time, hopefully! The hotel was as beautiful and accommodating as we remembered. It was also quieter this time around which was nice. The location is great and very easy to get around Orlando and to the various parks. I believe that we will continue to stay at this hotel for our future Orlando trips so long as the price remains affordable.

Full Review of Discovery Cove:
As I mentioned before, Discovery Cove overall has solid reviews from people all over the world. Even better, once Labor Day weekend hit, the prices for FL residents dropped. Of course, by dropped I simply mean $199 per person vs. the $250 or whatever it was during season. Still a small fortune at first glance. The good news is the cost does include all food and beverages for the day (beer included). It also includes all necessary items such as souvenir snorkels, wetsuits to wear in the water, sun screen, and a day pass to Sea World good through December 31, 2010. All things considered, it was a relatively fair price for all that you get. And you get to swim with dolphins!!!!!!!

About a week before our trip, we booked everything online which was very quick and easy. The park opens at 8:30 and we arrived a little after 9. Parking was free. Upon arrival, we checked in and received name badges that are to be worn all day. The name badge said if we were over 21 or not and which POD or time slot we were in to swim with the dolphins. We had the 2:40 PM time slot. The badge also serves as the Sea World ticket good until December 31, 2010. Aside from the Dolphin Encounter time, everything is pretty free reign. The park itself is absolutely stunning and is basically broken down into a Cafeteria, Bird Aviary, Sting Ray Pool, Beach Areas for lounging, Lazy River, Snorkel Pool and the Dolphin Pool. Compared to other parks it really doesn't seem like much but the day certainly flew by for us! The sting ray pool was pretty neat but did have a unusual smell to it so we didn't spend a whole lot of time in there. Also, I should note that the water is absolutely freezing in any of the pools with animals. Due to the cold temperatures, it's required that you either wear a vest or full or wet suit in those areas. Matt and I opted for the vests for most of the day and squeezed into wet suits for the Dolphin Encounter. A little more information on the wet suits, good luck getting those suckers on and off!!! This was a first for both of us and quite comical as we tugged and pulled our second skins on. The vest is definitely more comfortable but not nearly as warm as the wet suit in the cold water. The lazy river is a comfortable temperature which was a nice surprise.

We started our morning by grabbing a light snack at the Cafeteria. The selection for breakfast was a bit scarce and included fruit, mini pastries, yogurt cups, cereal, coffee and juice. After breakfast, we explored the Sting Ray Pool, Bird Aviary and Lazy River. The Aviary was pretty neat because each person received a little cup of food to hold out to the various birds. They would then swoop down and sit on your arm, head or wherever you held the cup. Do note that since these birds get fed quite often, some may want nothing to do with you. The Lazy River at this park was very nice and accurate to what a real river may be like. The depths varied throughout the loop and there were stones and rocks throughout which added to the scenery. As opposed to having tubes, everyone received these noodle-like flotation devices. Matt and I really liked this Lazy River!

Before we knew it, lunch was being served (served from 12-3 I believe). Unlike breakfast, quite a few dishes were offered and everything looked and tasted delicious. I had a shrimp salad and Matt had some sort of BBQ chicken sandwich. The only thing not good was the Key Lime Pie (silly for me to even try Key Lime Pie outside of Key West!) Snacks including beer, pretzels, chips, fruit, etc were also served at the park all day long (everything is included aside from mixed drinks). After lunch, we opted to utilize the beach chairs in a shaded area and take a mini nap before our Dolphin experience. It was so relaxing! The Dolphin Experience itself was definitely worth the $199 in my opinion. Basically, you are split into Pods of 6 or so people. Each Pod is assigned a Dolphin and Trainer. The entire experience lasts about 30 minutes once in the water. Each person gets one on one time with the dolphin by feeding it, making it do a trick, feeling the skin, hitching a ride and of course giving the dolphin a kiss. We had Dixie the Dolphin, the dominant female of the bunch apparently. Both our assigned trainer and Dixie were awesome and really made the experience enjoyable for everyone. Pictures and video were also taken throughout the 30 minutes which were later made available to purchase. As a warning, the prices are pretty outrageous. We paid $70 for 2 5x7's, 1 3x5, 2 wallets and 2 key chains. After the Dolphin Experience, we checked out the Snorkel Pool. I must admit, for a man man reef, it was pretty amazing! I felt like we were back in Jamaica with all the fish and sting rays swimming around us. This was definitely my second favorite part of the park (Dolphin Swim first of course!)

Overall, I would definitely recommend that everyone try Discovery Cove at least once. By no means is this a park I see us going back to on a yearly basis, but maybe 10 years from now if we have kids we'll return. It's just a really enjoyable day experience that will probably never happen again. Well worth it in my opinion. 😊

Blue Man Group
During our last trip to Orlando, we really wanted to see this show but completely forgot until it was too late. Luckily, we were able to catch it this trip. After returning from Discovery Cove, we called the Blue Man Box Office around 6 PM in regards to the 9 PM show. We paid about $65 per person for tickets towards the back in Row M, seats 35 and 36. The nice thing about this theater is it's relatively small so any seat is pretty much a good seat. As a warning, the first few rows do have to wear ponchos as paint and random other liquids are squirted into the audience. Also, although we were able to see mostly everything from our seats, it may not be a bad idea to try to get closer next time since text was often shown and sometimes difficult to read from our distance. Overall, the show was awesome! I enjoyed Blue Man Group much more than Cirque du Solei which we saw a year ago or so. The band was awesome, great audience interaction, overall brilliant! I would love to see this show in Vegas or in another location and would definitely recommend others to see in Orlando.


Dining

TGIFridays
At this point, it's become tradition to kick off our Orlando trips with a dinner at TGIFridays. This particular Fridays was located on Caravan Ct. off of Major Blvd. I ordered the Blackberry Mojito and Matt had the Rum Punch, both were good. For dinner I ordered the Tropical Splash Chicken Salad and Matt ordered his usual Chicken and Cheddar Platter. I would definitely order my salad again. This was probably our favorite Fridays in Orlando and should note that it's right across the Doubletree Hotel.

Village Inn Restaurant
For breakfast on Sunday morning we opted to try the Village Inn again. This time I ordered an Egg White and cheese omelet (fluffy and fabulous), multi grain pancakes, and fruit. Matt ordered the Crepes again. Everything was great. For dessert, we tried the cherry pie which was actually warmed up this time so tasted much better.

After breakfast, we decided to get an early start home instead of hitting Sea World. We were exhausted and thought it would be nice to have some extra time at home before gearing up for the dreadful work week ahead. Overall, yet again successful Orlando trip under our belts! 😊

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