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:

 

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As they say, all things must come to an end. We made the best of the rest of our time at DC, then slowly made our way to our locker, retrieved dry clothes and got showered and changed. Then we slowly made our way out, snapping some pics of the lovely landscaping on the way. We also stopped at one of the two (yes only two) small gift shops and bought a DC towel as our souvenir for the trip.

 

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On the way to the car I decided to walk down to the entrance and snap a photo of the entrance sign, just because I am a sign picture taking kinda guy.

 

[epcotisbest]

So in 34 years of going to Orlando, we sadly wrapped up one of the best days we have ever had there, and there have been many. Discovery Cove was such a pleasant surprise that we will probably do it again sometime before our annual passes expire next fall. It was an overall fun, relaxing and different experience from what we used to do at the theme parks. Having a quiet, relaxing time is now the norm for us. No more trying to do as much as possible at the theme parks, and this day fit right in.
Next up I'll post some SeaWorld pics and pics of where we stayed, then we will head over to AKL Kidani for lunch at Sanaa, then head over to the Poly for a Dole Whip.

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

Discovery Cove just made my list of things to do in the future.

 

[SSH]

We did go to SeaWorld on Sunday the 16th, and yes we collected lots of candy.
We were probably in the same trick or treat lines, LOL. We were there Sun too. We gave most of it away, but I kept all the gummy bears - those are my weakness.)

 

[epcotisbest]

We did go to SeaWorld on Sunday the 16th, and yes we collected lots of candy.
We were probably in the same trick or treat lines, LOL. We were there Sun too. We gave most of it away, but I kept all the gummy bears - those are my weakness.)

We went through the candy stations later in the day. I don't know if they were trying to get rid of it or what, but at some stations, they were putting it in the bag by the handful.

 

[MinnieM123]

What a fun experience! By the way, I use prescription swim goggles whenever I go to the Disney water parks. I wouldn't be able to see without wearing those.

So, I thought it was great that DC provided you with those (larger size) snorkeling-type goggles, that were in prescription strength for you (Note: when I bought my swim goggles, I picked the strength that was closest to my actual eye prescription. It was close enough, and did the trick! I bought them online from a swim/sports store. Used them for a number of years now.)

 

[21stamps]

I didn't have time to read this yet..just noticed it and wanted to make a request-

Please tag me the next time you do a trip report!! I truly enjoy reading them!
Looking forward to this one later tonight!

 

[epcotisbest]

I didn't have time to read this yet..just noticed it and wanted to make a request-

Please tag me the next time you do a trip report!! I truly enjoy reading them!
Looking forward to this one later tonight!

Thanks for stopping in. Hope you get a chance to read soon, then will come back later, as there will be more.

 

[minnie2000]

Great report. I didn't realise that there was so much to do at DC, I thought it was just swimming with dolphins. I would love to visit DC next time we go to Florida.

I'm looking forward to the rest of your report. I could really eat a dole whip now!

 

[fractal]

Thanks for the report! Looks very worthwhile.

 

[epcotisbest]

Thanks for the report! Looks very worthwhile.

Thanks for reading. It was an all around good, fun and relaxing day. You could get some really good photos at DC.

 

[epcotisbest]

Great report. I didn't realise that there was so much to do at DC, I thought it was just swimming with dolphins. I would love to visit DC next time we go to Florida.

I'm looking forward to the rest of your report. I could really eat a dole whip now!

It is always a good time for a Dole Whip.

 

[Figgy1]

It is always a good time for a Dole Whip.

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watching, always watching LOL

 

[epcotisbest]

Since I am not really going in any kind of chronological order, let's head over to AKL Kidani and have lunch at Sanaa. I think we went on Thursday after a quiet morning at the pool, and some aqua aerobics. Sanaa is simply one of our favorite places and we like the bread service with all nine accompaniments. This time we tried a butternut squash soup to go with it that the waitress said was something new. It was really good and went great with the bread service.

 

[epcotisbest]

We sorta wiped it out, even the hot stuff on the other side: