At 9:00 a.m. every morning, Duck Master Dave leads the ducks from their home in the Duck Palace to their daytime home in the hotel lobby where they splash around in the fountain. People can sit and watch them, but you're not allowed to feed or touch the ducks.
Then at 5:00 p.m. every evening, they make their way back to the Duck Palace. I watched the parade for the afternoon journey back to the Duck Palace. Dave rolls out a red carpet and sets up a special staircase for the ducks. At exactly 5:00, the ducks' theme song plays, Dave makes an announcement, and the honorary duck master of the day helps Dave to lead the ducks through the hallway to the elevator.
In the afternoon, they are anxious to get back to the Duck Palace and eat dinner, so on most days, the ducks run very quickly through the lobby. They then run into their own special elevator.
After they get off the elevator at another floor, they run down the hall to the doors. They know it is nearly time to eat, so they run very quickly!
Then they go outside, en route to the Duck Palace. If they run too quickly, they need to wait for Dave to catch up to them so he can open their door and they can walk up the stairs and into their house.
Dave told us all about these ducks and their lives. Their home, the Duck Palace, was built specially for them. It has a roof that lets rain through the ceiling, and has a rubbery mat on the floor that the ducks like to walk around on and sleep on. If it rains, the ducks stay in the palace as they love to play in the rain. Dave said that the ducks are usually very sleepy the next morning after a big rain storm, because they stay up all night to play!
This is a picture of the Duck Palace:
If it is too cold outside (below freezing temperatures - which is rare in Orlando), the ducks stay inside the hotel and camp out in a suite just like people! They stay in the bathroom and fill up the bathtub with water so the ducks can play in the bathtub. But they don't like that nearly as much as the Duck Palace. They get confused and would rather be in their own home.
The most difficult day of the year for the ducks is this coming Sunday, when Daylight Savings Time ends because it throws off their schedule. They are anxious and ready to go back upstairs to the Duck Palace, but they have to wait around for an extra hour, which makes them angry. So they squawk to let people know they're not happy with the delay.
The hotel has two sets of ducks. Each set of five serves a six-month tour of duty, and then they go back to the farm for a six-month vacation. When they are on vacation, the female ducks lay eggs and ducklings are born. Ducklings grow very quickly -- within 3 months, they are entirely grown and can take care of themselves. They can even fly by that time. They are independent, too -- ducklings feed themselves immediately. The mother duck points out food, but ducklings eat on their own, even when they are only a day old!
The ducks I got to see are Duck Master Dave's favorite group. They are very well behaved. In two weeks, they will go on vacation to the duck farm and a different group will come to the hotel for 6 months.
Duck Master Dave suggested that if you want to feed ducks at the park, to feed them dry dog food. He said it won't make them sick. He also gave me a list of books about ducks to share with all of you.
My sister, Katie, is preparing for her first big trip. She is leaving soon for South Dakota. Before she leaves, she will visit Sycamore Creek so she can meet lots of you. Look for Katie next week. Then we will follow her travels to Mt. Rushmore and other exciting places! I can't wait to see where she goes and learn about her travels.
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