Renting a Cabana @ Discovery Cove

[Fuhnuh]

bas71873,
We are an average height family. The only standout characteristics we may have is DW's pink hair and DD11's dark brown and whatever color streaks she will have at that time. I'll be the graying brunette. DD11 enjoys emailing in anticipation of her trip, so if your DD is interested in exchanging emails and past experiences, PM me and I can give you her email. Enjoy your stay at HRH, I wish we were going back there, but RPH restaurants work with DD11 allergies much better. DD11 is pretty excited about the future addition of the Freshwater Oasis at DC.

Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina,
My daughter's name is Zoe, but I have been trying to convince her that her full name is Zoezoeboboe Bananafanamomoe Memimomoezoe to know avail. I should be better about trip reports, maybe this year I'll give some back to the board. All I know is my parents took me to Gatorland as a kid and I can't stay away as an adult. We don't have many alligators here in the Pacific NW.

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Originally Posted by Fuhnuh

Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina,
My daughter's name is Zoe, but I have been trying to convince her that her full name is Zoezoeboboe Bananafanamomoe Memimomoezoe to know avail.

My son (who's 16, a "jock" and uber-cool ) is mortified (and yet not surprised) that I have such a silly user name on the Disboards . Yet it suits me to a "T" . I like to laugh....its therapeutic. Life is too short to take yourself too seriously.

Have a great time at DC and Gatorland. Our vacations will be here before we know it!!!

[JimShockz]

Originally Posted by Pluto914

Is it worth renting a Cabana at Discovery cove. We are a party of 7 and we are going at the end of August. Any suggestions or advise on the Cabanas?

We suggest that if a cabana is available to jump on it,for the florida sun can take its toll on one,so book it if you can.

-JH

[Fuhnuh]

To answer one of OP's questions. Discovery cove is one of my favorite cabana experiences. They surround the snorkeling lagoon and offer a place to meet throughout the day. That being said, we did not rent a cabana the first time and I do not remember any negatives from that trip. We essentially spent most of our time exploring. If you are someone that really enjoys cabanas, it is a pretty good value (compared to the pricing of others). But if it doesn't work out for you, I wouldn't worry about it, DC does not seem to get overcrowded because of their sensible limitation on the number of guests. I never felt like I couldn't find a place to sit. We are a party of three though. Getting 7 loungers together may be a taller order.

Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina,

Now that DD is 11, she not so hip on her dad being goofy. I get a lot of eye rolls. Sometimes I respond by acting like what she thinks a normal dad would for a while. She likes this even less.

[Pluto914]

I want to thank everyone for your reply. You were right mjohnson96 they will not let you book a Cabana if you have 7 people. I tried really hard too. We are now booked for 2 Cabanas and can't wait to go. Even though it is extra money, in the grand scheme of things, we are spending enough money as it is we might as well suck it up and pay for the extra Cabana to ensure we are comfortable and have a great time. Thanks Again!!

[mjplantz]

Are the cabana's spread out throughout DC? Based on the park map:

http://discoverycove.com/Explore/ParkMap.aspx

It looks like all the buildings with white roofs are pretty scattered. Just worried that we would get one near the grand reef and would end up being further away from all the other key areas or is the distance not a big deal?

[bas71873]

Did you guys see that now your DC ticket gets you in to BOTH Aquatica & SW. I saw it on Facebook and I also got an email this morning that said even though I have already purchased my tickets, we get to take advantage of this offer too. We hadn't intended to do SW again, but we may have to squeeze it in now. I'm also glad I've already bought & paid for our day in August because I just checked and my day has gone up $30/pp.

[lauriegs]

I just booked a regular cabana for hubby since we will be there on Father's day - now I'm wondering if I should have done the premium package..not sure what we will want to do for the dolphin swim photos - probably get the cd and dvd, but printed pics don't matter as much to us, since we can have them printed at home, and I do alot of digital scrapbooking.

just wondering if I'd be able to upgrade to premium while I'm there, or would it have to be done ahead of time?

[Debs Hill]

Hi guys! we are considering a cabana for our July trip.........can anyone tell me where they are located? Do you get to choose or are they just allocated? Any photos?!! Is there sun and shade or are they completely shaded? What does it include?

We are not doing the dolphin swim this time so just want a standard cabana, not a package, what is the earliest I can book this?
Debx

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Originally Posted by Debs Hill

Hi guys! we are considering a cabana for our July trip.........can anyone tell me where they are located? Do you get to choose or are they just allocated? Any photos?!! Is there sun and shade or are they completely shaded? What does it include?

We are not doing the dolphin swim this time so just want a standard cabana, not a package, what is the earliest I can book this?
Debx

The cabana has a fridge and a locker inside, if I remember correctly.

You can book a cabana without one of their packages 3 weeks out from your reservation, if there are any still available. If you want to book more than 3 weeks out from your arrival date, then you need to book the cabana as part of a package (you don't need to be doing a dolphin swim to do so....we are doing the day resort only this next trip, and we were able to book a package/cabana no problem.......they will just leave your bouy in the cabana for you to pick up when you arrive).

Hopefully someone else will have photos for you and be able to answer some of your other questions.

[chimo2u]

Hi Gina Fellow Canucker here! I chose to do Discovery Cove on October 1, due to Epcot being a not recommended park due to the birthday celebration/ projected crowds..... Originally our DC day was going to be Tue Oct 2, but changed it when crowd calenders began predicting Epcot as a not recommended park on Oct 1. So...... There will be 4 of us.....my 19/16 yo sons, my BFF and myself. We have been to DC once before in Sept 2009, and LOVED it, one of the most memorable days of our trip for everyone! My BFF has always had a bucket list dream of swimming with the dolphins, so I booked her and I a dolphin swim with my SW annual pass discount....got a crazy great rate! (I think it was around $169 ea) with our discount! I bought the boys non swim resort days when they where on sale with the discount for $69.......so for 4 of us, it was around $500, which is amazing because i paid over $1,000 for my family of 4 in 2009.

My question, is there shady areas to relax if I don't buy a cabana?? or would you recommend the purchase of the cabanna? I don't do well in Florida sun, and would like some place shady to relax....however, I seem to remember last time, there was so much to keep us busy, that we rarely if ever where out of the water!!! I am thinking it might be a waste of money if there are other places to relax that are shady and free. Is there a discount with SW annual pass for Cabana rentals??

I am very much looking forward to this day at DC....I will be getting my son a Sea Venture experience since he will not be doing the dolphin swim this time. I think he'll really enjoy Sea Venture. I am also looking forward to seeing the new oasis that has been put in since our last visit, and the new reef as well....
Hoping for sunny skies and nice weather on our October day

~Marie

[morehousemommy]

Originally Posted by lauriegs

I just booked a regular cabana for hubby since we will be there on Father's day - now I'm wondering if I should have done the premium package..not sure what we will want to do for the dolphin swim photos - probably get the cd and dvd, but printed pics don't matter as much to us, since we can have them printed at home, and I do alot of digital scrapbooking.

just wondering if I'd be able to upgrade to premium while I'm there, or would it have to be done ahead of time?

We just went to DC on May 23. We rented a cabana with the premuim package! It is definately worth it. The cost of the photo cd and dvd would be $200 because we purchased the premuim package we received 25% off of the ultimate photo package(includes dvd, cd, 16x24 photo, 7 6x8 photos, 4x6 with 2 key chains and a photo alblum that holds the 6x8 photos) the package ended up costing $175 after tax. Plus with the premuim package you get a nice quality backpack, a very nice class frame, a tshirt or stuffed animal, underwater camera plus the bouy delivered by the dolphin during your swim!

We loved DC and can't wait to go back! We will also rent a cabana again in the future!

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Originally Posted by chimo2u

Hi Gina Fellow Canucker here! I chose to do Discovery Cove on October 1, due to Epcot being a not recommended park due to the birthday celebration/ projected crowds..... Originally our DC day was going to be Tue Oct 2, but changed it when crowd calenders began predicting Epcot as a not recommended park on Oct 1. So...... There will be 4 of us.....my 19/16 yo sons, my BFF and myself. We have been to DC once before in Sept 2009, and LOVED it, one of the most memorable days of our trip for everyone! My BFF has always had a bucket list dream of swimming with the dolphins, so I booked her and I a dolphin swim with my SW annual pass discount....got a crazy great rate! (I think it was around $169 ea) with our discount! I bought the boys non swim resort days when they where on sale with the discount for $69.......so for 4 of us, it was around $500, which is amazing because i paid over $1,000 for my family of 4 in 2009.

My question, is there shady areas to relax if I don't buy a cabana?? or would you recommend the purchase of the cabanna? I don't do well in Florida sun, and would like some place shady to relax....however, I seem to remember last time, there was so much to keep us busy, that we rarely if ever where out of the water!!! I am thinking it might be a waste of money if there are other places to relax that are shady and free. Is there a discount with SW annual pass for Cabana rentals??

I am very much looking forward to this day at DC....I will be getting my son a Sea Venture experience since he will not be doing the dolphin swim this time. I think he'll really enjoy Sea Venture. I am also looking forward to seeing the new oasis that has been put in since our last visit, and the new reef as well....
Hoping for sunny skies and nice weather on our October day

~Marie

Hey there Marie ,

We did not rent a cabana on our January 1st visit, either. Like you guys, we were never out of the water.....too much to see and do!!

For this visit, we opted for the cabana simply because we figure that the heat and humidity will be a big issue for us the last week of August (where it wasnt during January). We wanted a guaranteed place to kick back and relax that was out of the blazing sun if it happens to be a real scortcher that day. Since we booked with the passmember discount and got our admission for just $69 pp, it was definitely able to be fit into the budget. I would guess you would have little difficulty finding a shady spot to camp out if you arrive early enough, so the cabana quite honestly is more of a personal preference than a necessity.

Have a great time, whatever you decide!

[chimo2u]

Originally Posted by Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina

Hey there Marie ,

We did not rent a cabana on our January 1st visit, either. Like you guys, we were never out of the water.....too much to see and do!!

For this visit, we opted for the cabana simply because we figure that the heat and humidity will be a big issue for us the last week of August (where it wasnt during January). We wanted a guaranteed place to kick back and relax that was out of the blazing sun if it happens to be a real scortcher that day. Since we booked with the passmember discount and got our admission for just $69 pp, it was definitely able to be fit into the budget. I would guess you would have little difficulty finding a shady spot to camp out if you arrive early enough, so the cabana quite honestly is more of a personal preference than a necessity.

Have a great time, whatever you decide!

Thanks Gina for your reply I think we might just pass on it this time, as we are renting a CABANA at the POLY on our MNSSHP morning/afternoon for some much-needed pre-party rest

~Marie

[Treelight]

Just wondering about cabana attendants....does each cabana have one assigned for the day? Or does one attendant work several cabanas? Is tipping appropriate at the end of the day?

Also, does DC honor requests for certain cabanas or areas? I would rather be near the grand reef as opposed to near the freshwater oasis.