A few observations from our Discovery Cove trip

[Sydrox]

We (my kids 7 & 10) and myself spent a wonderful day at DC yesterday. I noticed a few things I wanted to mention on here especially to newbies.
1. The park officially opens @ 9. You can start checking in abs early as 7:15. We arrived @ 8 and the line was wrapped around the corner outside. I guess you should try even earlier if you don't be want the hold up.
2. We have been one other time so knew where we wanted to sit and put our stuff down. I also brought our own towels so the kids knew exactly where our spot was.
3. Here is the clincher. We were gone for a few hrs in the lazy river. We came back and someone had decided to take one of our chairs, it had my beach bag and towel layed out. They moved the bag and threw the towel on the ground. I was pretty upset that someon would be so rude to do that. Our chairs were on an end so it was easy enough to do I guess. This was the first of a few rude things i noticed.
4. My daughter (7)!was showering off her feet. An older gentleman came up and kinda pushed her out of the way and got in the shower with her (there were empty showers next to hers) I pushed in myself, gave her her shoes and gave him a dirty look. He was oblivious. People please wait your turn ..
5. At the end of the day throw alway your cups and plastic bags , return your wetsuits, snorkles, masks and towels. There are return bins, trash cans everywhere. It was a disgusting shocking mess at the end of the day. Most guests left their stuff including garbage littered all over the place. I do not remember that from before. I wish I took a picture. A lifeguard came over and made a point to thank us for cleaning up our stuff.

DIscovery Cove is a dreamy magical place and I hope everyone enjoys it as much as us.

 

[aprilgail]

We (my kids 7 & 10) and myself spent a wonderful day at DC yesterday. I noticed a few things I wanted to mention on here especially to newbies.
1. The park officially opens @ 9. You can start checking in abs early as 7:15. We arrived @ 8 and the line was wrapped around the corner outside. I guess you should try even earlier if you don't be want the hold up.
.

We usually get there at 7:00- wait a few minutes and get checked right in- we are at breakfast by 7:20 and in our cabana by 7:45 watching the morning feeding in the grand reef. The first two times I didn't get a cabana and it was nice but the next 2 times we did get a cabana and it was SO nice! Ours was right on the grand reef so you just walk out of your cabana and into the grand reef- it was great to have a nice shaded private spot to kick back in when you wanted to.

 

[andyw715]

You can keep your snorkle.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We (my kids 7 & 10) and myself spent a wonderful day at DC yesterday. I noticed a few things I wanted to mention on here especially to newbies.
1. The park officially opens @ 9. You can start checking in abs early as 7:15. We arrived @ 8 and the line was wrapped around the corner outside. I guess you should try even earlier if you don't be want the hold up.

A lot will depend on during what season you are visiting. We visited twice in mid-October, arriving around 8 am and only had to wait behind maybe half a dozen other families before we were checked in. We had oodles of time to have breakfast and get our wet suit vests before the water activities opened at 9 am.

 

[purple hippo]

You can keep your snorkle.

You get to keep the snorkel? I was thinking of buying our kids some for the pool while we are down there but if you get to keep your snorkel from DC then no need and a great souvenir. I hadn't heard that mentioned before but now that I think of it I guess it's because it goes in your mouth and could be a contamination issue. Thinking about it now I don't think I would want to use a reusable snorkel that was used by someone else.

 

[andyw715]

You get to keep the snorkel? I was thinking of buying our kids some for the pool while we are down there but if you get to keep your snorkel from DC then no need and a great souvenir. I hadn't heard that mentioned before but now that I think of it I guess it's because it goes in your mouth and could be a contamination issue. Thinking about it now I don't think I would want to use a reusable snorkel that was used by someone else.

Yeah, I guess its easier to give out new ones than try to sanitize old ones...

When you get there, at the changing areas, is a little cabana of wetsuits/vests also a couple large bins of masks/snorkles in blue mesh bags.

Also, if needed, you can get prescription goggles at the gift store counter.

 

[goofballs]

Yeah, I guess its easier to give out new ones than try to sanitize old ones...

When you get there, at the changing areas, is a little cabana of wetsuits/vests also a couple large bins of masks/snorkles in blue mesh bags.

Also, if needed, you can get prescription goggles at the gift store counter.

What is the cost (approximately?) for prescription goggles?

 

[andyw715]

What is the cost (approximately?) for prescription goggles?

You can just borrow them, well they'll hold your license.

Prior to going ask your eye Dr to get your diopter strength, or if you have the number (.5 * cylinder) + sphere = diopter

My daughter used them (she wears glasses) and really enjoyed them. Blind as a bat when if she took them off (so many of the pics we have she is wearing them

Next time I go, I'm going to buy the snorkle/mask combo from amazon. I had a hard time with the snorkle as I have a very strong gag reflex.

 

[Sydrox]

You get to keep the snorkel? I was thinking of buying our kids some for the pool while we are down there but if you get to keep your snorkel from DC then no need and a great souvenir. I hadn't heard that mentioned before but now that I think of it I guess it's because it goes in your mouth and could be a contamination issue. Thinking about it now I don't think I would want to use a reusable snorkel that was used by someone else.

The 1st time we went, when we went to return the gear that told us to keep the snorkels. This past trip around Easter, they were not offering the snorkels, they were directing you to put it all in a bin. I did see a family ask and they let them keep the snorkel....

 

[Tozzie]

We (my kids 7 & 10) and myself spent a wonderful day at DC yesterday. I noticed a few things I wanted to mention on here especially to newbies.
1. The park officially opens @ 9. You can start checking in abs early as 7:15. We arrived @ 8 and the line was wrapped around the corner outside. I guess you should try even earlier if you don't be want the hold up.
2. We have been one other time so knew where we wanted to sit and put our stuff down. I also brought our own towels so the kids knew exactly where our spot was.
3. Here is the clincher. We were gone for a few hrs in the lazy river. We came back and someone had decided to take one of our chairs, it had my beach bag and towel layed out. They moved the bag and threw the towel on the ground. I was pretty upset that someon would be so rude to do that. Our chairs were on an end so it was easy enough to do I guess. This was the first of a few rude things i noticed.
4. My daughter (7)!was showering off her feet. An older gentleman came up and kinda pushed her out of the way and got in the shower with her (there were empty showers next to hers) I pushed in myself, gave her her shoes and gave him a dirty look. He was oblivious. People please wait your turn ..
5. At the end of the day throw alway your cups and plastic bags , return your wetsuits, snorkles, masks and towels. There are return bins, trash cans everywhere. It was a disgusting shocking mess at the end of the day. Most guests left their stuff including garbage littered all over the place. I do not remember that from before. I wish I took a picture. A lifeguard came over and made a point to thank us for cleaning up our stuff.

DIscovery Cove is a dreamy magical place and I hope everyone enjoys it as much as us.

I think you were the rude one, it is one thing to save chairs for a little while but you were gone for a few hours. That is beyond rude.

 

[Vicki106]

You can just borrow them, well they'll hold your license.

Prior to going ask your eye Dr to get your diopter strength, or if you have the number (.5 * cylinder) + sphere = diopter

My daughter used them (she wears glasses) and really enjoyed them. Blind as a bat when if she took them off (so many of the pics we have she is wearing them

Next time I go, I'm going to buy the snorkle/mask combo from amazon. I had a hard time with the snorkle as I have a very strong gag reflex.

After using their Rx goggles/mask on my last trip to DC, I realized how much I liked being able to actually see the underwater sealife! So I ordered my own Rx goggles/mask from amazon and they are amazing. I wouldn't have bothered to buy them, but I wanted to snorkel in other places and I haven't seen anywhere else that provides them for rent or borrow. I spent less than $100 and thought it was a good deal.

 

[AllyBri]

I think you were the rude one, it is one thing to save chairs for a little while but you were gone for a few hours. That is beyond rude.

I don't have a pony in this race, never been to DC. I do think at the prices these folks are paying, everyone deserves a chair. What can they do, throw their things in the sand?
Actually the rude person is the one that would take someone's chair.

 

[Tinknalli]

I think you were the rude one, it is one thing to save chairs for a little while but you were gone for a few hours. That is beyond rude.

Do you go to water parks? It is pretty standard to every water park I have ever been to that people go in and find a couple of chairs to set up camp. Unless there is a policy against saving chairs the op did nothing wrong. We went to Typhoon Lagoon on Easter Sunday, so super busy and everyone respected other people's property and space. Same thing at our local Six Flags.

 

[melissa723]

I think you were the rude one, it is one thing to save chairs for a little while but you were gone for a few hours. That is beyond rude.

I have to disagree with this, especially when it comes to DC. There are enough chairs for EVERYONE based on how their admission/reservation system is set up. DC is extremely different from a pool type situation because you could be away from your chairs for hours a time based on the activities that are going on all around you. Yes, you are provided with lockers, but do you really want to keep going back to your locker to dry yourself off with your towel, and then put that wet towel back in that locker? Many of those lounge chairs stay empty all day, so there was really no reason for someone to throw her stuff on the ground and steal her chair. I'm sorry, but that person was beyond rude, not her.

 

[NorthshoreTigerFan]

I think you were the rude one, it is one thing to save chairs for a little while but you were gone for a few hours. That is beyond rude.

I'm with Ally, Tink and Melissa and disagree with Tozzie. I've only been to DC once (going back in a few weeks), but every time I passed the area with the loungers there were always many that were completely open without any towels or other personal items.

It typically bugs me when I see people lay out all kinds of stuff to "mark off" a section of chairs or loungers at pools or water parks, but I find DC to be different. Because they restrict the number of people allowed each day, there should never be an over crowding issue. Given this, there shouldn't be any reason for someone to need to move someone else's stuff and take "his" or "her" lounger. It sounds as though the person took Sydrox' lounger because he/she wanted to take an end spot.

 

[macraven]

I think you were the rude one, it is one thing to save chairs for a little while but you were gone for a few hours. That is beyond rude.

Let's not go there

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Play nice here


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