Wednesday: Discovery Cove
For those who haven’t been, Discovery Cove is advertised as an all-inclusive day resort. Pretty much everything is provided: food, wetsuits, sunscreen, towels. You can pay to add on activities (such as dolphin swims, feeding the rays, etc.), photos, or premium alcoholic drinks. (There are beer and wine options included as the “all-inclusive” part that don’t require paying extra.) You have access to the Freshwater Oasis (a small loop), Serenity Bay/Wind-Away River (lazy river), the Grand Reef (snorkeling with fish), and the Explorer’s Aviary (feed the birds). Dolphin Lagoon is where the dolphin swims happen. That’s not automatically included- that’s a higher ticket tier. But you can watch the dolphins, and there is an area with an underwater window to view them as well.
Unfortunately for us, the projected high of the day was 65 degrees Fahrenheit- and we didn’t hit that until late afternoon. When we first got there, it was in the mid-50s. Before noon, it was just below 60. So it was a chilly day. Thankfully, the water is warm, and even at these temperatures the coral reef still felt warm. I had found reports of portable heaters being set up on cold days. We did not feel these until later in the morning. For whatever reason, they just weren’t out and on when we first arrived. They also had long-sleeve wetsuits available. Back in October, we had opted for the short sleeve wetsuits. You can also get vests. This time around, we quickly opted for the long-sleeve wetsuits, which was a good choice. We were pretty… well, warm isn’t the right word. But only our feet were freezing. The rest of it was bearable.
Back in October, we had done the swim with the dolphins experience, so we opted out of that this time around. (The dolphins are well worth it though- highly recommended if it’s your first visit.) We did sign up for the Flamingo Mingle. (This was $210.88 for the two of us.) Our flamingo tour was first thing in the morning. Our tour had three groups- a family of five, a family of three, and us. First we were walked over to a locker set so we could change into our wetsuits and store everything in a locker.
The flamingos are allowed to choose to come on this interaction. We had five flamingos come out to visit. We walked with the flamingos to the area behind the Grand Reef, and we were given trays of food to feed them. After the introduction, they led one group to the water to interact with the flamingos while the rest of us stood on a bridge overlooking the reef area and an employee filled us in on some info about the reef. We went last with the flamingos. I even got a “hug”- where they rub against your leg. Then it was a walk to a photo spot with the flamingoes, then parade walk back to end their tour. The whole thing was just over an hour (including the time to change into our wetsuits). I do recommend this tour and would probably do it again (after I try some of the other tours).
We did buy the photos from out Flamingo Mingle. The photo package was $67.10 (I track my expenses very closely)- we had a discount from our hotel package. The photos were fantastic. I still wish photos weren’t that expensive. I want the photographers to get paid, obviously, but I just feel like it should be part of the price, you know? I wonder how many people opt to buy.
After this was breakfast. The breakfast isn’t particularly remarkable- scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, sausage, French toast sticks. The best part was the hot chocolate, but you had to ask for it inside- it wasn’t out by the coffee or other drinks.
We spent some time feeding the birds. They have a few points throughout the aviary where you can pick up cups of food for the birds. We didn’t have many takers, but there is an area where the small birds seem to always be game for food.
Then it was to the Freshwater Oasis to try to warm up a bit. The Oasis has the warmest water, followed by Serenity Bay/Wind-Away River (the lazy river). The Grand Reef is cooler. I think the Dolphin Lagoon is coldest. I think pretty much everyone was in the oasis- it was relatively crowded. I don’t blame them, the water was nice. You can see otters and marmosets while swimming in the oasis. The otters were pretty active. The marmosets were not out- a keeper said they have a warmed inside area so they weren’t likely to come out unless it warmed up a bit.
There is a small area connected to the oasis with “chairs” that are submerged in the water. It’s a nice place to relax with a drink, so that’s what we did.
Note: as part of our package, we had the premium bar added on for “free.” My husband had two drinks and I had four. The drinks are good- I had the Aloha Sunrise (twice), a hibiscus drink, and something else with pineapple that was blue. My husband had a strawberry daiquiri and a margarita, which was VERY tequila forward, if you catch my meaning. I would probably get a drink in the future, but I don’t know that I would go out of my way to purchase the package. We just don’t drink enough to justify it- the only reason we got the number we did was because it was already included. I think the package would have been $40 each. Individual drinks were about $14 each otherwise.
We then decided to hit up the buffet for lunch. The menu changes over time. This time around I had a coconut salmon with rice, a veggie wrap, and side salad. And a bunch of desserts! The food isn’t the best I’ve ever had, but it’s pretty good, and far better than breakfast.
Also offered throughout the day were snacks- pizza, dole whip, chips, cookies, soft pretzels.
I ended up shedding my wetsuit at this point. I had to use the restroom, and it’s such a pain to pull a wetsuit back on. I opted to drop off the wetsuit because I know I could get a “fresh” one later. (Just keep in mind that you run a risk of them running out of your style and size- on this particular day, the long-sleeved suits went fast.)
Then it was back to the aviary for more of feeding the birds. (I’m a big fan.)
At this point it had finally warmed up so everything was much more bearable, so I opted for a short-sleeve wetsuit, and we hit up the river. The river winds it’s way around the oasis and actually goes through the aviary, which is super neat. (You do have to go under waterfalls in order to enter and exit the aviary from the river.) Some of the birds are better viewed from the river, and there is an entry/exit point to the river from the aviary.
Then it was to the Grand Reef. We saved this for last, because we knew it would warm up later. I think a lot of people had bailed on the park at this time, and there weren’t many people in the reef. We grabbed snorkels from one of the locker areas.
My husband and I are… very near-sighted, so to speak. Thankfully, Discovery Cove has prescription masks for you to borrow form the gift shop. They advertise that they carry up to -8.0, but from our trip in October it sounds like they go beyond it. I’m typically a -8.0, but I opted for a -6.0 because the water magnifies everything and I find I don’t need the stronger prescription.
I LOVE the reef. If it hadn’t been so cold in the morning, I probably would have spent most of the day in it. It’s just such a joy to see fish swimming so closely to you. The rays sometimes even brush up against you. It’s a delight.
Then it was a quick loop in the river.
They close the waterways at 5 pm, so at that point we changed out of our wetsuits and headed out.
While the morning was colder than I would have liked, overall, the day was still incredibly relaxing.
