Discovery Cove/Seaworld & Aquatica

[Lee Matthews]

Hey guys

Ive been to Seaworld once back in 2007 and on my next 3 week Holiday to Disney next year I'm looking to go back.

I'm for certain planning to do Discovery Cove with my boyfriend with a Dolphin Swim as it is something I've always wanted to and know it's something i may not do again.

Silly question but is Discovery Cove a whole day event? I assume that for the price your paying that it is and i should try to get as much as possible from it. Food and drink is all included but what extras are there available.

Also, do you actually have to be able to swim to do everything at Discovery Cove because I'm not able to.

Also, Aquatica.....Is it worth visiting? Especially when we're on a 3 week trip and already have Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon planned, is it worth putting another half a day aside for it or squeezing it in with out Seaword day?

 

[jennasmommyinMS]

Life jackets are available at Discovery Cove, so if you can make yourself move in the water wearing one, you'll be fine. My daughter was 8 years old when I took her, and she wore a life jacket for most of her water time, including the dolphin swim.

I suppose you could cut your day a bit short if you wanted to, but there's so much to do that you could definitely make a day of it. All you really have to bring are swim suits and swim shoes if you think you might need them. They provide everything else, right down to your sunscreen. The bathrooms have all you need for a shower when you're done for the day. All of your food and drinks for the day are included in the price--that includes alcoholic beverages. I think if you want to want certain specialty drinks, you'd have to pay for them though.

The only other things I can think of that you would have to pay for would be your photos or photo package, plus whatever you might want in the gift shop.

We've never been to Aquatica before, but I have it planned for our trip in May of next year. Since we'll be visiting Discovery Cove, and that will include our admissions to both Sea World and Aquatica, we're focusing most of our vacation around all those parks. My daughter is looking forward to the slides there, and I'm looking forward to the lazy rivers!

 

[Lee Matthews]

Thank You very much for your reply.

Good news with Discovery Cove that its all pretty much included. As someone coming from the UK, I found the pricing reasonable per person (£212 each for the Ultimate tickets) How much does the photo package cost?

Im not really much of a swimmer myself so i think that between Discovery Cove, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, i think i might give Aquatica a miss

 

[jennasmommyinMS]

Here's a link to Discovery Cove's special occasions page: https://discoverycove.com/en/offers-and-upgrades/special-occasions/

It looks like the photo package is $229, according to what the website says under the Elite and VIP packages. We're planning on getting the Elite package for $399 when we go next May--it's worth it to me for the photos and everything else that comes with it.

I hope that helps--not sure what it would be in pounds.

 

[NorthshoreTigerFan]

I second what Jennasmommy said. DC is my favorite park of all in Orlando. If I only had one day and could only visit one park, I would do DC over any of the Disney parks without thinking twice. The only extras you could spend money on are the gift shops (which there aren't that many) and pictures/videos. I just went in May and did an Elite package so the photo package came with it. If you are going to do the dolphin swim and planned on getting the video of it regardless, the package isn't a bad deal.

I was very pleasantly surprised with Aquatica, we had a total blast there and spent two full days there. It's been a long long time since I have been to Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, but I like Aquatica the most. I don't know how it changes my opinion being that you can't swim. There would be some things that you wouldn't be able to do, but I think you would still have a good time.