The Power of Hope: Winter’s Dolphin ‘Sister’ at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium
The whole world is about to fall in love with ‘Hope’, the dolphin who was rescued and cared for at Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Florida, the same aquarium that rescued and cares for Winter, the dolphin made famous in the movie Dolphin Tale. Hope is the star of Dolphin Tale 2, set to be released September 12th.
My family was fortunate enough to meet and fall in love with Hope back in 2011 during a trip to the Tradewinds Resort in St. Pete. We had heard about the making of the Dolphin Tale movie and drove up to Clearwater that day just to meet Winter. The pr folks for the aquarium allowed us to take a behind the scenes tour of the facility (which has since been replaced by the new aquarium just across the street from the older facility—made possible by the income the aquarium earned as part of the movie success). We learned all about the incredible rescue efforts the amazing team does at the aquarium (it’s not just make believe for the movie—these people are working around the clock to take care of marine life when rescues are needed, along with caring for those rescues afterwards).
During our visit, the first dolphin we met was Hope. I remember it clearly because Hope is my middle name, so I felt immediately connected to this beautiful dolphin (it wouldn’t take much—I’ve always been a huge dolphin lover and my youngest, who was with me that day, dreamed of being a dolphin trainer after watching her first dolphin show at the Georgia Aquarium). To further deepen the connection, I learned Hope was brought in from the Indian River Lagoon (where I am from and spent my childhood years playing and swimming). She was just a baby then, trying to nurse from the carcass of her dead mother when she was found. Winter was found in that same region exactly five years earlier.
When we walked up to the tank where Hope, still a baby, was being treated, she wanted so much to play with us. She just swam around our window, watching us as we watched her. She was so playful and sweet—it was hard not to instantly fall in love.
We met other dolphins, too, including Nicholas (who had been badly sunburned after washing up on the beach) and Panama (who was named because she was found up near Panama City, where I lived for several years of my life, often swimming with the dolphins not in captivity—right around the jetties where you can still see them nearly every time you go out in a boat). Maybe the next movie will feature one of them. And, of course, we met Winter, the dolphin with the prosthetic tail during our visit. Daly even got to hold and play with the tail (as you can see in this video with the PR director for the aquarium).
[hana-code-insert name=’winter dolphin’ /]
When Hope was moved from the Dolphin Deck to the Winter Zone, they used Panama as a stand in mother of sorts to help with the transition. Panama helped when Winter was brought in earlier. So, as Winter met Hope, they became sisters of sorts. I haven’t seen the movie yet, so I don’t know that they’ll follow the true-life version of the story line, but I don’t think it will matter. Now you know the real story behind the story.
It was an amazing visit that we hope to repeat some day soon, especially with the launch of the new movie.
If you happen to want to go, the folks at Tradewinds Resort told me they have a special ‘Dolphin Tale 2’ Package for visitors. The promotion includes tickets to the aquarium, a dolphin watch cruise, plush toy, book and donation to the aquarium. The getaway is $632 for a three-night package, including these perks. Tradewinds is one of my favorite coastal resorts for families, as you can read in my past review. You can find out more about the special rate by visiting www.JustLetGo.com. And for those with children with special needs, know that Tradewinds also meets a special designation as a resort catering to those families. Read this for more.