After vacationing in Orlando for the past 10 years, Discovery Cove was a new adventure for all of us. We had no idea what this adventure was about until we had visited the site three months earlier during our last cruise. Here, Greg and Preston get ready to shake hands with Diego as three other dolphins jump in the background.

After a slow Sunday of relaxing around the resort, we were excited to get to Discovery Cove Monday morning. Sea World and Discovery Cove are less than a mile from our time share, really, just across the freeway. Luckily for us, WestGate Lakes is close to everything.

Even before leaving Monday morning, others at the time share are already enjoying the warm day. This fresh water lake is just outside our back door with convenient access through our screened-in patio.	Having the time share allows us to have a good breakfast each morning while avoiding the whole restaurant scene. Although Susan has to cook on vacation, she doesn't mind as it saves us money and it gives us a good meal to start the day.
Upon arriving at Discovery Cove, we register, receive badges to wear around our neck, and are given the tour of the facility, along with a free souvenir picture.	Our swim time with the dolphins is about 3 hours away. We spent time in the salt water area where you can swim with sting rays, fish, and yes--even sharks!
Preston, although wearing a flotation device, is able to dive down 10 feet and touch a sting ray or two.	As soon as Preston starts to handle the sting rays, Brooklyn too becomes brave and wants to touch one, so Dad helps push her to the bottom.
Greg and Preston sign up to spend time with the dolphins separately from Susan and Brooklyn. This allows us to take good picture of each other from the side of the lagoon.	Kissing the dolphin was the highlight of the trip. We spent about 45 minutes with the dolphin. During this time, we had the dolphin's undivided attention.
"Diego" was named after his mom who came from San Diego Sea World.	Preston gets a ride to shore from "Diego".
Of course, Greg had to show off and ride Diego's tummy.	Although she liked dolphins before, after kissing "Hailey", Brooklyn became a true dolphin lover. Dreaming of owning a dolphin someday, Brooklyn chooses dolphins as her topic for a lot of her projects at school.
A huge animal lover, Susan was in awe of the dolphin experience. She said it was one of the most unusual experiences of her life as the whole encounter seemed like a dream.	These dolphins truly get into their job and enjoy smiling and interacting with people.
Brooklyn rode the dolphin into shore with only one hand holding on. When the trainer told the dolphin to "go", it surprised Brooklyn and she barely got a grip.	As day trickled to an end, everyone in the park began to go home. We found that this was the best time to hang around and help feed the animals. Here, Preston and Brooklyn are asked to help feed the baby stingrays. At times, they had over 20 string rays climbing up their bodies to get the food.

There was so much more to Discovery Cove than what we covered here. The kids enjoyed snorkeling around the park in a lazy river, exploring coral reefs, looking in the shark tanks, floating through caves and waterfalls, and of course, building sand castles. Unlike any other park you will find, Discovery Cove is focused around the true beauty of nature and animals. Void of rides, slides or theme park noise, it made for a unique and unforgettable experience.

Although Discovery Cove was costly compared to other adventure parks, we were glad to finally get to swim with dolphins. It has given Brooklyn a great thrill to study them further and collect dolphin memorabilia. You can visit Discovery Cove on the web and gain more information at DiscoveryCove.com.