I took my kids to see “Dolphin Tale” last summer when a theater not far from our house was showing already-released movies on the big screen for $1 admission. Of course, the three of us combined for more than $3 at the concession stand, but, still, I love going to the movie theater and jumped at the chance for a family-friend movie. Remember, I’m kind of picky about what I let my kids watch.
“Dolphin Tale” is one of just a couple non-animated movies my kids have seen. To say they love it may be an understatement. Cate talked about it for months. She recounted the story, asked questions about Hazel and embraced dolphins when she saw pictures of them.
Winter — the dolphin on which the movie is based — lives in Clearwater Marine Aquarium. One night this winter when we were putting Cate to bed, she asked me to tell her again where Winter lived. Tampa, Florida, I said.
Then I realized we had plane tickets to fly to Tampa for four days one long weekend in February so we could be at my cousin’s wedding on St. Pete Beach. I don’t know why I hadn’t put together our trip south and my kids’ beloved movie hero until this moment.
I made the mistake of telling my kids we could go see Winter when we went to Tampa in February. I think this was in December. And my kids talked about it until we got there. At least Cate, at 5, has some concept of time. Three-year-old Ben, on the other hand, asked when he got up, randomly throughout the day, and before he went to bed each night, “When we go see Dolphin Tale?”
Meanwhile, we had to show Greg the movie so he’d be in the know of Winter — a dolphin whose tail was caught in a crab trap and permanently damaged. The movie is inspirational and my kids were happy to sit through it again!
Well, folks, we went to see “Dolphin Tale” a week ago. My only regret is letting my kids — especially Ben — know our plan so long before it became a reality.
Disclosure: That’s a compensated affiliate link for the movie, but, really, my family obviously thinks it’s worth owning. And, yes, there are more Florida stories to come.
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We've been all about dolphins this past week too! I think my girls watched Dolphin Tale 4 times this past week! (we were in car for 1500 miles!) It's a great movie! Dolphin b-day cake, dolphin valentines & box, seeing dolphins — they were talking about wanting to see Winter sometime!
My girl, who turns 6 in May, is currently debating between having a horse party or a dolphin party. We live in Kentucky, so one is a little more natural than the other! These are big decisions! 🙂