Disney 2013: Day 2 – Discovery Cove

Since the theme of this trip was new experiences, I was extremely excited about our destination on our first full day in Florida: Discovery Cove. I didn’t know much about Discovery Cove before researching SeaWorld as a part of this vacation. I knew that you could swim with dolphins, but I didn’t know what else it offered. It turns out that they offer a lot and since we went during the off-season, we got a great deal on the admission price. That admission price is all-inclusive and includes food and drinks for the day, a souvenir photo, snorkel, special sun block that isn’t harmful to the sea life there, as well as use of a mask and wetsuit or vest. You also get admission to SeaWorld and Aquatica for 14 days (Busch Gardens can be added for another $35). This was an amazing deal, but the financial stuff and lists like this are boring so this is the end of that.

We started the day with a nice breakfast buffet. There was plenty of food to choose from, but you don’t have to worry about stuffing yourself at the buffet since there’s plenty of food available all through the day. After suiting up and putting on the special sun block (which some of us did a better job at than others, I looked like an Albino because I had so much on my face) we started exploring the park. Our first stop was the snorkeling area which is pictured above. Jenne took to it right away, Cass got the hang of it after a while, but my postnasal drip prevented me from keeping the mask on for more than a couple of minutes. That’s ok, I still had a great time checking out the fish and rays from above the surface.

I’m not normally much of a beach person, but I loved this beach. It had that silky sand that feels great to walk on, the weather was beautiful, and there were comfortable lounge chairs as far as the eye could see. I had some snacks with Cass while Jenne swam around and then later was joined by Jenne as Cass built sandcastles. After a nice chill session, we made our way back to the buffet for lunch where we found more great food.

After lunch, we made our way to the other side of the park. Freshwater Oasis gives you the opportunity to wade out to an island where you can watch marmosets frolic. Once you are done there, you can head on over into a cave where you’ll find an otter habitat. The cool thing about this habitat is that you can use your snorkel gear to watch the otters swim around underwater on the other side of a Plexiglas wall. We were lucky enough to see the otters just as they were being fed. Watching them break open clams with rocks is adorable.

Our next stop had nothing to do with water, but was my favorite part of the day due to the experience offered. We’ve fed little parakeets birdseed on a stick at the Southwick Zoo, but that was nothing compared to this. The aviary at Discovery Cove mostly has larger birds in it. There is a room with just smaller birds for those who might be intimidated by the larger birds. That’s definitely a possibility since these birds have no problem with landing right on your arm to grab a bite to eat.

There were some beautiful birds in the aviary and feeding them allowed you to get a great, close-up look at them. I really can’t express how much I loved this. We still had more of the park to explore so we few the birds a few times and then went on our way.

The next thing that we did was something that I wish existed in more places. There’s an area of heated water around 18 inches deep with a bunch of underwater chairs and couches for you to sit on. We grabbed some Piña Coladas and had another chill session. This place was the perfect way to transition from the “real world” to vacation mode. You could just feel any stress melting away with all of the opportunities to relax.

I was just about done with the water at that point, so I changed out of my swim trunks and vest and grabbed my camera so that I could snap some pictures. Jenne and Cass made their way to the swimming area at the beginning of the lazy river. Cass had a swimming noodle here so she felt a little more secure in the water. While they were swimming, I made a return trip to the aviary where I made friends with a ton of birds and snapped lots of pictures.

Once Jenne and Cass were done swimming, we all made our way back to our locker and changed back into our regular clothes. We went and checked out our photos that were taken during the day, ended up purchasing a few, and picked up the complimentary picture that was taken when we first arrived at the park. From there, we did a little bit of shopping so that we could all have something nice to remember our day. I grabbed a pin (of course), Jenne got some postcards, and Cass picked out a very nice necklace.

We left a little early so that we’d have time to return to our room before we had to leave for the Animal Kingdom Lodge for our dinner at Boma. For those of you who have never had a meal at Boma, you’ve got to try and check it out on your next Disney trip. It’s not as easy to get there on the busses, but we’ve done it in the past and it is well worth it. Boma serves up a delicious buffet of African food. The great thing is that since it’s a buffet, you can take a little bit of something to try it out and then go back for more if you like it. Every time we’ve gone, I’ve found something new that I love which wasn’t there on the last trip. Before or after your meal, head outside and check out the animals that live right there at the Lodge. At night, they’ve got night vision goggles that you can use to check out the wildlife.

That’s it for Day 2!