2littlestitches
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2006
Hi there,
I just wanted to post a quick review on the wonderful day my family spent at Discovery Cove this March! Just a quick preface - it was my first time in this park (though I have been to Sea World before), and I am a Disney girl who is often reluctant to go off Disney property for any reason at all. I also am not afraid to spend money in Orlando, but even I was balking at the high prices for Discovery Cove. After reading so many positive reviews, I decided to just go for it, and I booked the Dolphin Swim as well as our admission to the park. It was myself, my husband and our two boys ages 11 and 9.
From the minute we pulled up in our vehicle, the Discovery Cove employees were so professional and so friendly! All smiles and big welcomes for us, which was so nice. That level of professionalism continued throughout our day. The day was awesome. The dolphin swim was so wonderful, and something we have never done before. I was worried my kids would be a little scared, especially my one son who is not the strongest swimmer. Not at all! They both absolutely loved it.
The Grand Reef snorkel area surpassed my expectations by a lot! I thought we would see some fish, but who would have guessed we would see thousands and thousands of fish in all the beautiful colors. And the stingrays - they were HUGE! My kids literally swam with the stingrays, touching them as they swam. We also loved the eels and sharks that were behind glass, but appeared as though they were with us in the reef. We were so very impressed with the Grand Reef area!
The lazy river was fun, too. For me, it couldn't beat the other areas, but my kids sure enjoyed getting out and feeding all the birds in the aviary. It was really neat, and I have to say SO impeccably clean. Very relaxing and very enjoyable.
The food was good and plentiful throughout the day. We didn't drink any alcohol, but I understand it was included. My kids liked the slushy machines a lot. For anyone who has been to Disney's Castaway Cay island, this place honestly reminded me a lot of it. I feel that's almost blasphemy to say that, being the Disney fan I am, but truly it felt a lot like the Disney island to me. It was like we were actually in the Bahamas while at Discovery Cove. My kids also had fun building sand castles and we had the best, most relaxing, enjoyable day.
I would agree with previous advice to book this in the middle of your week in Orlando. It was a great relaxing break from the parks mid-week. I will definitely return to Discovery Cove in the future. Yes it was very expensive, but it was wonderful. I don't regret the money spent there for the awesome time we had!
I just wanted to post a quick review on the wonderful day my family spent at Discovery Cove this March! Just a quick preface - it was my first time in this park (though I have been to Sea World before), and I am a Disney girl who is often reluctant to go off Disney property for any reason at all. I also am not afraid to spend money in Orlando, but even I was balking at the high prices for Discovery Cove. After reading so many positive reviews, I decided to just go for it, and I booked the Dolphin Swim as well as our admission to the park. It was myself, my husband and our two boys ages 11 and 9.
From the minute we pulled up in our vehicle, the Discovery Cove employees were so professional and so friendly! All smiles and big welcomes for us, which was so nice. That level of professionalism continued throughout our day. The day was awesome. The dolphin swim was so wonderful, and something we have never done before. I was worried my kids would be a little scared, especially my one son who is not the strongest swimmer. Not at all! They both absolutely loved it.
The Grand Reef snorkel area surpassed my expectations by a lot! I thought we would see some fish, but who would have guessed we would see thousands and thousands of fish in all the beautiful colors. And the stingrays - they were HUGE! My kids literally swam with the stingrays, touching them as they swam. We also loved the eels and sharks that were behind glass, but appeared as though they were with us in the reef. We were so very impressed with the Grand Reef area!
The lazy river was fun, too. For me, it couldn't beat the other areas, but my kids sure enjoyed getting out and feeding all the birds in the aviary. It was really neat, and I have to say SO impeccably clean. Very relaxing and very enjoyable.
The food was good and plentiful throughout the day. We didn't drink any alcohol, but I understand it was included. My kids liked the slushy machines a lot. For anyone who has been to Disney's Castaway Cay island, this place honestly reminded me a lot of it. I feel that's almost blasphemy to say that, being the Disney fan I am, but truly it felt a lot like the Disney island to me. It was like we were actually in the Bahamas while at Discovery Cove. My kids also had fun building sand castles and we had the best, most relaxing, enjoyable day.
I would agree with previous advice to book this in the middle of your week in Orlando. It was a great relaxing break from the parks mid-week. I will definitely return to Discovery Cove in the future. Yes it was very expensive, but it was wonderful. I don't regret the money spent there for the awesome time we had!