Grateful, Thankful, Blessed: our 25th Anniversary SeaWorld Celebration (Spring ’18 TR)

If you have not already, DO IT! It's a great way to really enjoy seeing a dolphin. And that's a great price. with tax, our pass holder rate in August was $360 for the two of us adult tickets. If I had changed to the day before, it would have been full price, at over $600 plus tax. I think in years' past the pass holder rates and times had been better. But either day, we totally enjoyed our DC day, and had a great dolphin interaction. The dolphin was all about letting everyone touch her.
 
So I was just perusing the SeaWorld passmember's site, and saw that they are offering certain days in October at Discovery Cove to passmembers for $99 per person......AND IT INCLUDES THE DOLPHIN SWIM!!! :eek: One of the promotional offer days falls during our week, and now I'm thinking to myself.....

...should we swap out an Aquatica day for another day at DC? :scratchin :confused:

Ugh, I can only hope they sell out their limited inventory ASAP so I don't have to decide!! :headache:
I think you should! Unless you think Steve would prefer the second Aquatica day. That's such a great deal compared to what I was seeing for our dates in March.
 
So I was just perusing the SeaWorld passmember's site, and saw that they are offering certain days in October at Discovery Cove to passmembers for $99 per person......AND IT INCLUDES THE DOLPHIN SWIM!!! :eek: One of the promotional offer days falls during our week, and now I'm thinking to myself.....

...should we swap out an Aquatica day for another day at DC? :scratchin :confused:

Ugh, I can only hope they sell out their limited inventory ASAP so I don't have to decide!! :headache:

SAY WHAT?!?!?! That's cheaper than employee discounts with dolphin swims!!!!
 
Hi Gina!! I got a little behind reading here! We were in Orlando for a quick weekend trip to turn in Troy's apartment keys and move the rest of his stuff out to his storage unit! We squeezed in some park fun, too!! We purchased Sea World AP's!!:cool1: and made it over there for an afternoon! I also purchased the annual photokey so we can get all of our pictures!!

Your family pictures are great- your Mom is beautiful! :love: Family time is precious!

Now that I'm an AP member at Sea World, I have to check out that DC offer! :thumbsup2
 


So I was just perusing the SeaWorld passmember's site, and saw that they are offering certain days in October at Discovery Cove to passmembers for $99 per person......AND IT INCLUDES THE DOLPHIN SWIM!!! :eek: One of the promotional offer days falls during our week, and now I'm thinking to myself.....

...should we swap out an Aquatica day for another day at DC? :scratchin :confused:

Ugh, I can only hope they sell out their limited inventory ASAP so I don't have to decide!! :headache:

I saw that too! I really think I'm going to book one of those days
 
Do it!!!!

Wait....you guys were all supposed to be my voice of reason!! :laughing: You're supposed to talk me OUT of it, not INTO it! :rotfl2:

I agree. I would do Discovery Cove again, especially with the Dolphin swim

Ugh, you're twisting my rubber arm ;).

Glad you had a lovely weekend. You all look very happy. That DC package is a good deal..........

We were all very happy to be together :goodvibes. We all appreciate each other a lot more now.....not that we didn't before, but its easy to take people for granted when they're in close proximity. Now that we're apart, it makes our family time that much more special.

If you have not already, DO IT! It's a great way to really enjoy seeing a dolphin. And that's a great price. with tax, our pass holder rate in August was $360 for the two of us adult tickets. If I had changed to the day before, it would have been full price, at over $600 plus tax. I think in years' past the pass holder rates and times had been better. But either day, we totally enjoyed our DC day, and had a great dolphin interaction. The dolphin was all about letting everyone touch her.

I haven't yet purchased the tickets yet.....but I did just check to see if the offer is still available for our day, and it is :crazy2:. I'm so torn! We've been to DC....7 times now, I think?.....and done the dolphin swim 3 times. I almost feel greedy to do it again......yet its SUCH a good offer.

I think you should! Unless you think Steve would prefer the second Aquatica day. That's such a great deal compared to what I was seeing for our dates in March.

I've never seen a price this low that includes the dolphin swim. We've done the day resort package for $69 in years past, but I think the cheapest I've ever seen the dolphin swim package was $150. So now we have to decide.....2 Aquatica days or 1 Aquatica/1 DC day :scratchin. By the time we cancel our Aquatica cabana and all day dining passes, we'd literally only be an extra $95 out of pocket.

SAY WHAT?!?!?! That's cheaper than employee discounts with dolphin swims!!!!

No way! Ugh, you're all making a good case for me to take the plunge (no pun intended :p).

Hi Gina!! I got a little behind reading here! We were in Orlando for a quick weekend trip to turn in Troy's apartment keys and move the rest of his stuff out to his storage unit! We squeezed in some park fun, too!! We purchased Sea World AP's!!:cool1: and made it over there for an afternoon! I also purchased the annual photokey so we can get all of our pictures!!

Your family pictures are great- your Mom is beautiful! :love: Family time is precious!

Now that I'm an AP member at Sea World, I have to check out that DC offer! :thumbsup2

Aw, thanks :goodvibes. My momma is a sweet soul. We look nothing alike though.....I look like my dad.
You bought your SW AP's? Wahoo! :banana:

Definitely check out the offers on the passmember site. From what I can see, the crazy cheap pricing is only on Wednesdays (and not the 24th). I hope one of those days work for you guys!!

I saw that too! I really think I'm going to book one of those days

I immediately thought of you when I saw the offer!! Don't hesitate girl, book it! (especially when you've never been!! :thumbsup2)
 


I immediately thought of you when I saw the offer!! Don't hesitate girl, book it! (especially when you've never been!! :thumbsup2)

I want to so bad! My only problem is that I work on Weds. So I would have to keep my fingers crossed that I could get the day off, or be able to give any shift away. I may take a chance on it though, because I love that low price
 
Friday, May 11th: Discovery Cove, continued :flower1:

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We were going to add on a cabana to this visit, but decided that the cost (around $200 for the day :crazy2:) would likely outweigh the benefit. Seating is plentiful at Discovery Cove and admission is restricted to a very manageable number of guests, so we knew we’d easily find seating and shade when we wanted it….even without a cabana rental. Since we still wanted to splurge a little for this anniversary trip, we decided instead to purchase the upgraded drink package: I’ll be honest, they had me at sangria :blush:.

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Telling ourselves that it was 5 o’clock somewhere (perhaps in China or Australia :rolleyes1, but still …. :p ), we stopped to enjoy a beverage from the upgrade drink menu in those peaceful early morning hours at the park.

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I’m not sure what Steve picked, but I’m guessing from the photo that it must have been rum punch with orange juice :confused:. I had the red sangria.

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We sank down into a pair of comfy blue Adirondack chairs and offered a toast to 25 years of adventures.

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Here’s to (hopefully) 25 more……at least! :goodvibes

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It was quite enjoyable to start the day off on such a relaxing note. We people watched as families occasionally strolled by, half whom were noticeably as relaxed as we were (grateful, I’m sure, for a break from the busy Orlando theme parks) and the other half in an obvious hurry……especially on a first visit, it’s easy to feel there is no time to waste. A lot of the time, though, we seemed to have that little corner of the park all to ourselves. This, my friends, is what vacation is all about :cloud9:.

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When we had finished what we wanted of our drinks….they were “okay”, not great :cool:……we headed to the Wind Away River. One of our favorite features of the park, it’s usually the place we start and end our day: with its waterfalls, lush foliage, varying depths, and tour through the free-flying aviary, it really does seem to embody all the best features of the park in one attraction.

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Unlike our Aquatica day a few days beforehand, I had actually remembered the waterproof case for my phone this time…..so I brought it along to take some pictures while we enjoyed a tour of the river. Each of us grabbed a big green noodle, and we headed “downstream” with the current.

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Floating up to the entrance to the aviary, we decided to fish ourselves out and see what the birds were up to: we had always heard that the birds were at their hungriest early in the day, but never seemed to make it one of our first stops on a DC morning. Heading in side, we were offered small cups of food by the aviary animal care staff member, and then the “magic” happened (it’s not just a Disney thing!).

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Stay tuned!

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Friday, May 11th: Discovery Cove, continued

The birds immediately flew down to eat out of our cups, with no hesitation or fear. There were hardly any other guests in the aviary at the time, so our offerings of food were among the only ones at the time….meaning we were very, very popular among the feathered residents.

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Our “quick stop” at the aviary turned out to be far longer than either of us initially expected, as we enjoyed meandering around after our food cups were empty to admire the vibrant colors of the various species who call the aviary home. Such beautiful birds! As an added bonus, the animal care staff who were working inside the aviary were super knowledgeable and were able to share a great deal of information about the unique birds in each section. It was definitely a highlight of the day.

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Eventually we coaxed ourselves back out into the lazy river to continue our water adventures......

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It was under the pounding waterfall (designed as a natural barrier for the aviary birds) and we were off.

More to come!
 
And I'm happy to say.....we pulled the trigger and booked DC for October 31st! :woohoo: We just couldn't pass up that $99 rate. SO excited to be doing the dolphin swim again! :cool1:

Now, to move things around on the itinerary to accommodate the change....one Aquatica cabana to cancel, two of our all day dining passes that we can cancel as well. Getting that all sorted out will be my Wednesday afternoon project :teacher:.
 
And I'm happy to say.....we pulled the trigger and booked DC for October 31st! :woohoo: We just couldn't pass up that $99 rate. SO excited to be doing the dolphin swim again! :cool1:

Now, to move things around on the itinerary to accommodate the change....one Aquatica cabana to cancel, two of our all day dining passes that we can cancel as well. Getting that all sorted out will be my Wednesday afternoon project :teacher:.
I’m so hapuppy for you. We’re doing our first DC trip this December and are really looking forward to it.
 
And I'm happy to say.....we pulled the trigger and booked DC for October 31st! :woohoo: We just couldn't pass up that $99 rate. SO excited to be doing the dolphin swim again! :cool1:

Now, to move things around on the itinerary to accommodate the change....one Aquatica cabana to cancel, two of our all day dining passes that we can cancel as well. Getting that all sorted out will be my Wednesday afternoon project :teacher:.

Whoo hoo!! for you. Peer Pressure rules!!!!:rolleyes1:rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2:
 
The aviary is one of the things I am looking forward to at DC, as I absolutely LOVE birds! It looks awesome

And I'm happy to say.....we pulled the trigger and booked DC for October 31st! :woohoo: We just couldn't pass up that $99 rate. SO excited to be doing the dolphin swim again! :cool1:

Now, to move things around on the itinerary to accommodate the change....one Aquatica cabana to cancel, two of our all day dining passes that we can cancel as well. Getting that all sorted out will be my Wednesday afternoon project :teacher:.

The 31st is one of the dates I am looking at! Maybe I should go with that one
 
The bird aviary is so fun! When we've gone in the past, the birds are pretty full! I think we should go first thing like you did while they are still hungry!

Yay on booking the 31st!! Happy Halloween!! :D
 
What excatly is the itinerary thus far?

With the most recent revisions, it now looks like this:

Friday: late afternoon arrival & a pool night at the Vistana

Saturday: Gatorland during the day, Rocco’s Tacos for dinner (assuming you are free to dine with us that evening, @chiamarie :goodvibes), Old Town’s Halloween Haunt in the evening [with @DontRushMe and you too, @chiamarie , if you don’t have to work too early the next day]

Sunday: SeaWorld, with the Animal Ambassadors Tour [meeting up with @verleniahall ]

Monday: Aquatica

Tuesday: breakfast at Boma (and touring around Animal Kingdom Lodge), dinner at Trail’s End, and the Return to Sleepy Hollow event & dessert party at Fort Wilderness in the evening. Between breakfast and dinner, we have no plans……maybe a pool day?

Wednesday: Discovery Cove

Thursday: SeaWorld, with the Sea Lions Tour

Friday: Disney Springs during the day [meeting up with @afan ], and the Ferrytale Wishes Dessert Cruise at night [preceded by Hash House A Go Go for dinner with @pattyw …. Patty, did you and Joe decide if you are also coming along to the fireworks cruise?]

Saturday: morning flight home

You will have to let me know if Saturday night works for you for dinner....if not, I'll start reworking the plans :thumbsup2. Do you generally have to work early on Sundays?
 
I’m so hapuppy for you. We’re doing our first DC trip this December and are really looking forward to it.

I am SO excited for you!! Discovery Cove is an incredible park.....I'll hedge a bet to say it will be your favorite day of the whole vacation. Is your family doing the dolphin swim as well?
Whoo hoo!! for you. Peer Pressure rules!!!!:rolleyes1:rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2:

Ain't that the truth, sister!! You guys made me do it :p. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it ;))

Im sure when writing up your report you convinced yourself to book it :goodvibes

It sure was ironic timing, wasn't it? I get all warm and fuzzy with the May memories, and all of a sudden.....I'm booking another visit! :rolleyes:

The aviary is one of the things I am looking forward to at DC, as I absolutely LOVE birds! It looks awesome

The 31st is one of the dates I am looking at! Maybe I should go with that one

Definitely let me know if you end up reserving for that day. If that's the case, we'll absolutely plan to meet up and say hello! ::yes::

The bird aviary is so fun! When we've gone in the past, the birds are pretty full! I think we should go first thing like you did while they are still hungry!

Yay on booking the 31st!! Happy Halloween!! :D

It definitely will be all "treats" and no "tricks" this Halloween day! :hyper:

Assuming we don't have our dolphin swim first thing, I think we'll head right to the aviary after breakfast when are there again in October. I would LOVE to have a repeat experience of our May visit!
 

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