Kid Free Trip to Orlando with Gluten Free Finds!
This past week, Jason and I celebrated our 8 year anniversary with our first ever anniversary trip. Last year we fell in love with Discovery Cove and decided that’s where we wanted to go - so we based our 3 days away around Discovery Cove.
I booked a hotel through Air BNB. When we travel, we prefer renting a whole house so that we can bring out own food to cook, but that wasn’t much of an option in Orlando. We ended up staying at the Marriott Grande Vista - it was nice. Nothing to write home about. If you’re a golf fanatic they did have a nice course that you could go putt around on. Our check in experience wasn’t the greatest as their card machines weren’t working efficiently and we were running late to an appointment we had booked - but their customer service made up for it when they allowed us to leave and catch our appointment while they handled the card situation. That was sweet.
Before we headed down for our getaway, Jason and I scoped out the area together and picked out things that we thought would be fun to check out. We made a tentative schedule and let that guide our adventure.
Our first stop was the Chocolate Museum and Cafe. We purchased 2 tickets for a tour (they honored the military discount) and while we waited for the tour to begin, we ordered some yummy drinks from their shop. I got their signature hot chocolate and Jason tried their white drinking chocolate and they were both really delicious.
Our tour began with a quick 10 minute video on the history of the cocoa bean and was followed by a guided tour through the history of chocolate and how it came to be a staple for the common man. The tour included a behind the scenes look at old equipment used to process chocolate thought out the ages - including on that looked nearly identical to the counter top kitchen mixer, except it was bigger than me! I thought that was pretty neat to see! After all this time, the details that made the kitchen mixer an amazing tool hasn’t changed much!
We then walked through a room filled with impressive chocolate sculptures that lead us to our favorite part of the tour - the sampling room, where we were able to try 8 different chocolates from all over the world. What I appreciated most about this part of the tour was that they had all of the packaging for the individual chocolates readily available for me to be able to read the ingredient labels and check for gluten.
I always find being able to read these labels as a double edge sword - on one hand: yay no gluten, but also DANG IT - seed oils and other garbage ingredients. When our family goes on vacation we loosen the reigns a bit and it is what it is.
It’s definitely a cute 45 minute tour and worth adding to your trip if you love chocolate!
Next we dove straight into relaxation mode and did a 60 minute salt float at Float8 in Orlando. I’ve done a salt float before and knew that they were so relaxing even though I have a really hard time being still. During my first experience with floating, I kept pushing off of the sides of the tank and wiggling - unable to calm my brain. That night, I went home and had the best sleep of my life regardless of my shenanigans in the float tank. This time I went in expecting to be a wiggle worm again, but I shocked myself (and Jason) when I realized I had fallen asleep in the float tank! A new level of relaxation was unlocked. Now, before you lose your mind and think I could have drowned while sleeping in there - the salt floats use around 1,000 lbs of epsom salt which makes your body float effortlessly. This float spa also had a foam circle that fit perfectly under your head making resting and relaxing even easier. If you’ve never floated before, I HIGHLY recommend you give it a go.
Each room comes equipped with a shower, toiletries, towels, ear plugs & a float tank. It is one person per room, so I booked two separate rooms at the same time (one for Jason and one for myself) so that we would finish floating together and be ready to carry on with our trip. You can bring your own toiletries in as well as your own towel if you are mindful of toxic products being used in and on your skin.
What to expect: You rinse off before your float, float, and then rinse off post float again and get dressed. It’s such a simple concept but it feels so relaxing and I’ve already started racking my brain as to how I can convince Jason to build me one on the farm.
Then, it was time for dinner. We had found a Colombian restaurant that served Gluten Free empanadas and I HAD to try them out - so we headed to Super Rico Colombian Cafe. When we got there, I was surprised to find that almost the entire menu could be adapted to fit Gluten Free needs. 10/10 recommend! I ordered the skirt steak with rice and beans along with 3 empanadas (cheese, beef, and chicken). Jason ordered a stead bowl with yucca fries (also all gluten free). For drinks, Jason grabbed a beer while I grabbed a coconut water and a blackberry juice that was made in house. I am not a huge fan of drinking coconut water straight up - so any time I can add a juice to it, I will - but I knew after a epsom salt soak, I needed to replenish my electrolytes! This worked out perfectly! The food came out and it was incredible.
Out of the three empanadas, the cheese one had me weak in the knees!! The other two were delicious as well, but the cheese one hit hard! So hard that I left thinking about it and made Jason take me back again before our trip was over to get some to go cheese empanadas. It’s such a struggle being Gluten Free and finding delicious foods somewhere you don’t visit often. I find ways to make it last longer - aka - to go orders.
Once dinner was over, we headed over to a 1920’s inspired speak easy that served all non alcoholic drinks. We had found this spot during our online search and it looked like a really cool atmosphere. I’m all for enjoying alcohol responsibly - but I am just not a big drinker - so to find fun drinks that don’t have alcohol in them seemed like a really great move. They even had craft non alcoholic beers on their menu - which was a real eyebrow raiser for Jason (as craft beers are his favorite).
We had booked our tickets online prior to going to reserve a seat as the website said seating was limited. When we arrived, the space was very crowded - but not with people - with 1920’s inspired decor and knick knacks! We were greeted by two ladies working there and invited to get cozy on either the couch or the 2 person high top table. We walked around the space for a minute, trying to grasp what it offered and quickly realized that it was just a tiny room packed with trinkets. So much so it was hard to walk through. We both ordered a drink but unfortunately we weren’t impressed by the flavor at all. I ended up sending mine back (pictured above) - it was beautiful, but the flavor just didn’t fit my pallet. Jason finished his drink even though he wasn’t impressed because he literally can’t waste anything, so we hung out while he choked it down. They did have a cute little area for a Photo Booth with complimentary pictures, so we took advantage of that as we talked. All in all, the experience wasn’t one that I’d repeat. We paid for our drinks and headed back to the hotel!
At the hotel, we got to do something we NEVER get to do with kids…watch TV. It brought us back to our pre-baby days when we would come home from work and sit on the couch while we ate dinner and binge watched whatever shows we wanted to. Oh how life has changed since then - shoot, how WE have changed since then!
The next morning we woke up and headed to Discovery Cove. If you haven’t experienced the magic of this beachy resort that’s located nowhere near a beach, let me be the one to tell you all about it! Jason says the key to Discovery Cove are the discoveries. Make sure you check out every nook and cranny because there is so much going on.
As soon as you get there and check in, you head over to breakfast. Both breakfast and lunch are included in your day and it’s a buffet where you can eat as much as you’d like. I should also note: beer, wine, slushies, ice cream, the pizza station & more are included as part of your resort admission - and you have the option to purchase a drink package if you’d like to have cocktails and liquor “included” for about $40 more. Now, for Gluten Free friends, you’re going to want to head to the Buffett line and ask to speak with a manager about a gluten allergy. Someone who knows the ropes will let you know what choices you have and make them happen for you.
I went with an Udi’s bagel with eggs and cheese, a GF blueberry muffin, bacon, among other things. The food isn’t incredible - but it’s edible. I definitely think they could step up their game with the foods that they serve for breakfast and lunch. Often times they will throw in a prepackaged treat that you can stick in your bag and enjoy later on during the day when you’re ready for it.
After breakfast, we headed over to the station where we grab our wet suits & snorkeling gear - you can choose between a full suit and a vest (or nothing at all). The water at Discovery Cove is pretty cold - especially where you snorkel or swim with the dolphins (if you add that to your package). Wet suits are a must in my opinion. I’d also encourage you to consider bringing is a waterproof phone holder. They do sell them on site for $25-$40 a piece, but you can get them much cheaper off site and bring them in. Discovery Cove does offer complimentary lockers with lanyard keys for you to use as you’d wish, so if you’d like to store bags in there safely while you go and enjoy your day. We prefer to keep our bags closer to where we are staying and bring less valuable stuff for convenience. If you’re like us, it’s a great idea to bring a waterproof cloth diapering bag to put your clothes and valuables in just in case it rains or gets wet. Florida is known for random rain showers - especially in the afternoons.
Discovery Cove has some fun excursions you can add onto your package like the dolphin encounter, string ray encounter, swimming with sharks, and scuba diving experience. There are age requirements for those add ons, so make sure you look into them ahead of time.
Jason and I share a mutual love for their incredibly thought out lazy river, so we headed there first. The lazy river doesn’t open until 9 am - we didn’t know that because the last time we came we went snorkeling first. I’m thinking that may be a good way to go for our next trip so we aren’t waiting around! We also learned the hard way that not all of the lifeguard stations are manned by 9am when they open the lazy river. We were able to get a ways down it before the water was roped off and we had the choice to exit into the Aviary exhibit or stay and wait. It took almost 40 minutes before the water ways were all the way opened up. Once that little hiccup resolved itself, we really enjoyed our adventure on the lazy river. Jason and I agree - we have never experienced a more beautiful, and well executed lazy river in our life - so if you love them, you MUST give this one a try! It is a large body of water, so plan to be floating down it for 30 minutes or more. You can get off of the lazy river to explore different exhibits and then hop back over whenever. You can also hop off at a certain point and hop into a mini lazy river where you can watch an otter show - that water temperature is MUCH warmer than the others. Pro-tip: grab 2 of the green floats and either lay on your belly or lay on your back and float. It’s so much more relaxing that way!
This was our 2nd trip to Discovery Cove (we went last year with the kids) and in true Jason fashion, we discovered a new to us area that included a bar, a beach like area and a drinking pool where you could actually sit in the water with your drinks and hang out. We spent the ENTIRE day at this place last time we came and had no idea this area existed. Truly a discovery.
At some point we snagged lunch - again, go check with the management team and see what goodies they can slip you. Pro tip - ask for fries. They can make you your own batch free of cross contamination - just expect to wait about 20 minutes for them.
I ended up having a burger with no bun, pulled pork and French fries for lunch.
As we hopped from water way to water way, we landed ourself a spot in the snorkeling area, Grand Reef. The thing I love about this area (especially when the kids are with us) is that the water is so buoyant that you float at the top, making it really relaxing to float around and look at the thousands of beautiful fish and reefs below. We were finishing up with our snorkeling when the rain started and the whistles blew - we all had to get out of the water, lightening had hit down close to Discovery Cove and we were officially not allowed in the water.
Getting rained on when you’re already soaking wet isn’t a big deal, and the showers we were in passed quickly, but unfortunately, the lightening in the area didn’t back down. After an hour of not being allowed in the water with no hope of getting in any time soon, I told Jason it was time for us to leave and go spend our time relaxing out of the rain storms until dinner. It was 3pm and the park closed at 5pm, so we were fine with the change of plans - but, I still think that Discovery Cove should have more things to do when it rains. If that had happened in the morning and wrecked the entire day, I wouldn’t have been so understanding.
Back at the hotel, Jason was able to swim in the pool while I took a much needed nap. I’m not sure why, but napping has to be my favorite kid free activity ever! Laying my head down when I want to and falling asleep without jumping awake thinking something is wrong is the ultimate win in my book!
Next up was dinner. We decided to go to The Boathouse at Disney Springs. We aren’t huge Disney fans, but Disney Springs does have a lot of restaurants that adapt well to allergies, so we took that into consideration. The Boathouse was amazing. Our waitress was from Jacksonville and lived off of the same road that we did when we lived in the city - what are the odds! Overall, we were pleased with the service and their adaptability to my gluten free needs.
When I’m out, my go to drink of choice for special occasions is a virgin pina colada. I always prefer them to their alcohol counterparts - maybe it’s my sweet tooth! Shortly after my drink came out, our server brought me a special gluten free roll with butter just for me to enjoy and they brought Jason his own separate gluten roll with butter. I thought that was sweet. Most places will send a gluten free one out and then expect me to share it knowing good and well people who eat gluten aren’t crazy about gluten free bread (unless it’s the good stuff like what I bake at home!).
For my main meal I went with filet mignon sliders. It was two cuts of filet mignon with cheddar cheese on top placed on a bun like a hamburger. I had added the truffle fries with lemon aioli sauce on the side (I can handle very small amounts of cross contamination thanks to my gut healing journey and I have a sensor that allows me to tell if I should stop eating something that has been cross contaminated or not - if you have more severe allergies, be mindful of that. There are plenty of GF options that don’t run the risk of cross contamination.) I will add, I had no issues with eating my meal!
After dinner, we dropped into Erin McKenna’s Bakery that carried 100% gluten free treats! The variety alone made my inner sugar dragon dance. I ended up ordering a bunch of gluten free treats and bringing them home for the kids to enjoy as well.
I got a crumb cake, thin mint cookie, loaded snickerdoodle cookie, salted caramel brownie, and something else that I can’t remember! It’s always so nice to have options and be able to enjoy a variety. I wasn’t super impressed with most of the treats - but I’m also a hard sell and my tummy wasn’t crazy about all the sugar I had been consuming - so keep that in mind. I will say the crumb cake was my favorite. Jason and I ate it for breakfast the following morning while we sat in bed and watched YouTube videos!
All in all, the first part of our anniversary vacation was so much fun! We left Orlando and headed back to snuggle our babies for a night before we were off to Oklahoma for the last stretch of our anniversary trip!