Trip Report Discovery Cove, SeaWorld and other stuff.

So we went to Orlando in September and while there we purchased SeaWorld annual passes. It was one of our mostly relaxation type trips. My wife had some vacation time left she needed to use or lose so we went back in October.
SeaWorld annual pass holders get a significant discount to Discovery Cove and since it is something we have talked about doing for a long time we decided to go ahead and spend a day there.
It was fantastic...better than we imagined. I hope this mostly non-Disney trip report is OK here and trust the mods will remove it if not.
So we went the week of Oct. 15-22 and the weather was fantastic. We stayed at a place called Marriott Grande Vista off of International Drive near SeaWorld. It is a beautiful property and we enjoyed it a lot. We went to SeaWorld several times, went to Discovery Cove and went over to WDW and went resort hopping too.
I will start out with Discovery Cove, the highlight of the trip. Here is the lobby:

Discovery Cove.jpg
 
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Longers

Longers

Well-Known Member
Finally caught up and it looks like you had a lot if fun. We haven't been to sea world got quite a few years now as everything is getting so expensive so I liked looking at all the photos. The place you stayed at looked lovely and has given me somewhere to look should my sister and nephews ever venture over with us which I hope at some point they will. POR I think will be too expensive as she is a single parent.
I will be following the rest of the updates - keep them coming
 
epcotisbest

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Longers said:
Finally caught up and it looks like you had a lot if fun. We haven't been to sea world got quite a few years now as everything is getting so expensive so I liked looking at all the photos. The place you stayed at looked lovely and has given me somewhere to look should my sister and nephews ever venture over with us which I hope at some point they will. POR I think will be too expensive as she is a single parent.
I will be following the rest of the updates - keep them coming
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Thanks for reading. There are some very nice, roomy and affordable offsite accommodations available. Personally, reading how much you enjoy Disney and POR, I am not sure offsite would make you happy. It does work for us, but I will be the first to admit, it is not the same. That is fine with us, but we have reached the point where the parks are now just a small part of the trip, and the resort, relaxation and accommodations are the most important.
 
Longers

Longers

Well-Known Member
epcotisbest said:
Thanks for reading. There are some very nice, roomy and affordable offsite accommodations available. Personally, reading how much you enjoy Disney and POR, I am not sure offsite would make you happy. It does work for us, but I will be the first to admit, it is not the same. That is fine with us, but we have reached the point where the parks are now just a small part of the trip, and the resort, relaxation and accommodations are the most important.
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I would probably only consider off site of it were a full family holiday and it worked out much cheaper as my heart is at POR but I don't think the family would afford it as its slowly getting over priced for us too
 
epcotisbest

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Longers said:
I would probably only consider off site of it were a full family holiday and it worked out much cheaper as my heart is at POR but I don't think the family would afford it as its slowly getting over priced for us too
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I admire that you would stay offsite for family. It can be much more affordable, especially if you are able to cook some in the room. That adds up to big savings for us, plus, with a two or more bedroom condo or house rental there is room for several people, and splitting the costs would definetly help with the budget.
 
Figgy1

Figgy1

Premium Member
epcotisbest said:
I admire that you would stay offsite for family. It can be much more affordable, especially if you are able to cook some in the room. That adds up to big savings for us, plus, with a two or more bedroom condo or house rental there is room for several people, and splitting the costs would definetly help with the budget.
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What he said by spending most of our trip off site we stretched our trip from just over a week to just about a month:inlove: We were also able to see and do other fun things in the Orlando area for the first time:joyfull:
 
epcotisbest

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So I logged on today to add some more photos of SeaWorld, maybe some more Disney Springs pics and just casually talk a bit more about Discovery Cove and SeaWorld, then realized this thing has just about wound down.
The only thing I think I will add is the Pets Ahoy show at SeaWorld is one of our favorites. It is fun, informative and uses local pets that have been adopted from local shelters and rescue groups. It is a cute show and the love the trainers have for the animals is evident. Catch Pets Ahoy if you go to SeaWorld.
Thanks for reading and for all your comments.
Being a creature of habit, I ended my last few trip reports with a link to my favorite song and I see no reason to break that tradition now. Enjoy.

 
SSH

SSH

Well-Known Member
"The only thing I think I will add is the Pets Ahoy show at SeaWorld is one of our favorites. It is fun, informative and uses local pets that have been adopted from local shelters and rescue groups. It is a cute show and the love the trainers have for the animals is evident."

Yes. Yes. And a million more yes votes. Anyone who had a pet, has a pet or just likes animals will love this show. Hands down my favorite thing during our trip, as much as I loved Discovery Cove, all the SW rides like Manta, and so many other things. We saw it 2x and I would have popped in for a 3rd showing, if we didn't have to drive back that final day :D

It's so fun because it's rarely the same show twice. The timing is extremely tight from one trick or appearance to the next - it's truly amazing how everything syncs up. And inevitably, one or two animals don't always do what's expected and the cast is great about reacting/adapting to them. You can definitely see how they enjoy the love and attention - especially the dogs. I have some reservations about certain animal shows and dolphin swims in the Caribbean and other tourist areas as I think they overwork the animals.

But definitely not this one. Thanks for mentioning this show - I meant to and forgot. :joyfull:
 
epcotisbest

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
SSH said:
"The only thing I think I will add is the Pets Ahoy show at SeaWorld is one of our favorites. It is fun, informative and uses local pets that have been adopted from local shelters and rescue groups. It is a cute show and the love the trainers have for the animals is evident."

Yes. Yes. And a million more yes votes. Anyone who had a pet, has a pet or just likes animals will love this show. Hands down my favorite thing during our trip, as much as I loved Discovery Cove, all the SW rides like Manta, and so many other things. We saw it 2x and I would have popped in for a 3rd showing, if we didn't have to drive back that final day :D

It's so fun because it's rarely the same show twice. The timing is extremely tight from one trick or appearance to the next - it's truly amazing how everything syncs up. And inevitably, one or two animals don't always do what's expected and the cast is great about reacting/adapting to them. You can definitely see how they enjoy the love and attention - especially the dogs. I have some reservations about certain animal shows and dolphin swims in the Caribbean and other tourist areas as I think they overwork the animals.

But definitely not this one. Thanks for mentioning this show - I meant to and forgot. :joyfull:
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Yes, it is a nicely done show with very good timing and pacing of the many different animal acts. We saw it multiple times too. Funny how it is on a much smaller scale than some of the big theme park shows, but leaves you feeling amazed and appreciative of what you just saw.
 

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