Discovery cove dolphin swim

[florida-again]

I know everyone is supposed to want to swim with dolpins and it's an amazing experience so I am considering buying discovery cove with swim for my forthcoming trip.

However, swimming with dolphins has never been a huge dream of mine and I'm not a great animal lover if I'm honest.

I wondered if anyone else, who also isn't a particularly big dolphin fan or hasn't ever dreamed of swimming with dolphins, has done the dolphin swim, and how you found it?

I probably sound like such a grumpy misery asking that! It's not how it sounds, I've just heard such great things about it that I'd like to do it, but I wondered if it won't be the same if it's not something I've always wanted to do.

 

[spiceycat]

it is much cheaper NOT to swim with the dolphins.

in your case I won't.

there is still plenty to do at DC and it will be much cheaper without the dolphin swim.

 

[degirl]

We went to DC 2 years ago and we did the dolphin swim. I thought that it was ok but you are only in the water for about 30 minutes and you are with a group of people. I think our group had 6 people in it including us 2. At the same time there are other groups also in the lagoon with you. I thought the interaction was ok but it would have been nice to spend a little more time with the dolphin one on one. We only got to do one short solo swim with the dolphin. I would go again to DC because the I loved the bird avairy and the stingray pool and also the snorkling. The lunch was pretty good, it filled us up for the rest of the day. We got there as soon as the place opened and stayed all day long. We also had our dolphin swim first thing in the morning, that way it left the rest of the day opened to do what ever we wanted to do.Another good thing about getting there early you actually have a good choice of lounge chairs to choose from. We got lounge chairs in the dolphin lagoon, which I like, because throughout the day you we able to watch the other groups of people interact with the dolphins. Try to go the stringray pool as soon as they open up because you will get to feed them(that is what we did) Good luck and have fun

 

[N2DSNY]

Our family just did Discovery Cove the beginning of the summer. I was like you, I really love to see the dolphins, but to pay an extra $100 to swim with them, no. So I let my DH and my 2 DD's have all that fun swimming with them. They really enjoyed it. Yes, you are only in the water for like 45 min. but they had fun. I sat on the beach and was able to see them clearly. We enjoyed all the other activities together. The lazy river is great, it takes you right through the aviary. We would definitely love to go back at some point.

 

[erinch]

WE just had a magical day at Discovery Cove 2 days ago--our second time WITHOUT the dolphin swim. From the shore, we think the dolphin opportunity looks like a character greeting session more than anything else, and just couldn't justify the extra expense. What we discovered is that we really liked having a totally unprogrammed day. It was completely open when we did what, with no schedule or pressure. It's a magical experience, and you won't miss the dolphins. That area is not visible from the main area, so you won't be yearning over the missed opportunity. But if you want to, you can go watch, and really all you're missing is touching the dolphin and the very short swim with it.

 

[spiceycat]

you can touch and feed dolphin over at SW for much, much less money.

so you are paying for the swim only!

you get your 7 day free SW no matter which plan you get.

 

[dizzyfan]

My husband, my son (age 10) and myself did the Discovery Cove Dolphin swim last week (7/20/05) . we had a great time! I would do it again! We each got to give the dolphin a kiss, instruct him to do a "trick", we all got to give him three back rubs and we swam out to the trainer and he brought us back to shore! I was like a kid!

The entire park is very nice. We fed the sting rays and the birds. The coral reef is really nice also. The lazy river or resort pool is very relaxing and the water falls along the way were a nice touch. The staff was very freindly and helpful. Everything we needed was provided for us, all we needed to bring was ourselves and our swim suits, they have thought of everything. I really liked the fact that we had picture badges that we used throughout the day to purchase drinks/merchandise.

If you are a sucker for pictures like me - BEWARE - this is where they really get you. There were 34 pictures of my family with the dolphins, of course I wanted all 34 - so I bought the CD so I could have printed the size I wanted of each picture well the CD was $310.00. Then of course I wanted a DVD of our dolphin swim and the DVD was $69.00, not to mention the pictures of my family feeding the sting rays and the birds and one of us in at the water fall, therefore I bought four more pictures for $40.00. So beware of the picture pitfall!

I would highly recommend this park - it was a day in a tropical paradise for my family! We had a BLAST!!

 

[gjw007]

I did DC a few years back and I enjoy it. Surprisingly, the part that I enjoyed most was the lazy river. Swimming with the stingrays was pretty neat and seeing the shark/barracuda behind the glass while swimming was okay. Swimming with the dolphins was okay, but the birds didn't do much for me. As noted by others, they really hit you with the cost of pictures if you take the dolphin swim.

If you're not into swimming with dolphins, I'd pass this up as it is rather expensive.

 

[musicmama]

We did the dolphin swim last December - December 28th, almost the coldest day possible last year. DH was not positive he needed the extra $$ spent on him, but I said all 3 of us or none, just couldn't be that unfair. Even though we were in a "group" of 5 for the dolphin interaction, we still had an awesome time! Even DH loved it - his favorite activity, though, was the ray pool. To him that was even better than the dolphin swim. It was neat to stand in the middle and just have them swarming around. Other notes: We all wear glasses, so the prescription goggles that you can "rent" (about $5 or so for security) were so worth it. I am really nearsighted and I could see just fine! And the wet suits were invaluable. Because we got there when the park opened, we had our choice of full suit or vest - full suit really made a difference in the cold. I felt sorry for people who got there later and when only vests were available.

As another poster mentioned, beware the pictures. I had to try very hard - bought the VHS (they didn't have DVDs yet), one of DH covered in birds in the aviary and a poster size of DD and dolphin. Granted, the poster is probably one of the greatest pics of DD that I will ever have. Beyond the pictures, however, was the gift shop. That's always MY downfall. I bought a beautiful crystal dolphin statue for me, a gold/pearl dolphin pendant for DD, and a golf shirt for DH. Good thing he never saw the bill for the crystal (however, it and my Hummel from Disney were my only souvies for last year). All in all, a great day. We'll be back.

 

[Twinglezabe3]

I'm curious, can someone in your party take picture/video while your swimming with the dolphins or not?

 

[gjw007]

I'm curious, can someone in your party take picture/video while your swimming with the dolphins or not?

Yes. I saw this all the time when I had gone to DC.