Compare Discovery Cove with other Disney water parks?

[JenniferW]

Have never been to any water parks in Orlando and was considering it. We will be there in late March/early April and want to know what each has. I'm only really considering Disney water parks and Discovery Cove. I'm concerned about the water temperature do both heat? Do either have jacuzzis?

I saw the prices so I know what to expect, but since we do plan on going to Busch Gardens it doesn't seem that bad to pay for DC. I would not choose to do the dolphin experince though since I have done a couple already at other locations. I already have old park hoppers so wouldn't have to pay extra for the Disney water parks...

Any ideas? How do they compare?

Jenn

 

[GOOFYFREEK]

Have never been to any water parks in Orlando and was considering it. We will be there in late March/early April and want to know what each has. I'm only really considering Disney water parks and Discovery Cove. I'm concerned about the water temperature do both heat? Do either have jacuzzis?

I saw the prices so I know what to expect, but since we do plan on going to Busch Gardens it doesn't seem that bad to pay for DC. I would not choose to do the dolphin experince though since I have done a couple already at other locations. I already have old park hoppers so wouldn't have to pay extra for the Disney water parks...

Any ideas? How do they compare?

Jenn[/QUOTE]

Are you reffering to Discovery Cove next to Seaworld or Adventure Island next to Busch Gardens.

Discovery Cove is a animal interation park, you can swim with dolphins and other animals.

TL is a water slide park as well as wave pool snorkling area and float along creek.

Adventure Island is comparable to TL but the slides are all wooden structures. And are all very close to each other. TL has them more spread out and more themeing to them.

 

[Rob_b]

I wouldn't consider DC a water park. Its more like a very very nice day at the beach. If your not doing the dolphin swim DC may not meet your expectations for the price.

You really can't compare disney water parks to DC. DC has no water rides.

If I had a choice and cost was not an issue I would pick DC.

 

[WDSearcher]

Discovery Cove is at SeaWorld, not Busch Gardens (although Busch owns the SeaWorld parks). And Discovery Cove is not a waterpark. It's a place where you can interact with sea creatures on a one-on-one basis, learn about dolphins and other creatures, and spend a relaxing day enjoying the sealife. It has no water slides, wave pools, lazy river rides, jacuzzis or rides of any kind. It's very much a laid-back discovery experience.

 

[eeyore0062]

Discovery cove really is in no way a water park. It is a park where you can swim with the Dolphins and interact with other sea creatures. It is located across the street from SeaWorld in Orlando. It is owned by Anheiser-Busch Corporation, just like Busch Gardens Tampa Bay- Williamsburg Va, SeaWorld Orlando, San Antonio and San Diego and Sesame Place, which is in Pennsylvania, as well as Adventure Island in Tampa and Water Country, USA in Virginia

I cannot speak for Discovery Cove, but both Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon do heat their water. No, there are no jacuzzis there. If you are staying on Disney property, the following resorts have hot tubs:
CBR, CSR, PO-FQ, PO-R, Contemporary, WL, GF, Y&B Club, BWI, OKW, Saratoga Springs, and AKL

 

[JenniferW]

Sorry for the confusion, what I meant was DC, but in the admission price it said it included a day to Busch Gardens if you buy certain tickets.

Jenn

 

[Dizzyworld]

The water at DC is a lot cooler because they have to keep the temperature at an appropriate level for the sea creatures, not the human creatures. We went in summer of '03 and only used vests, but I think they do offer wet suits too. It was a fun day for all of us. Two did the dolphin swim and two did not do it. We were there before 9 am until it started to rain 15 minutes before the park was to close anyway. And we did use the DC pass to go to Seaworld too.

 

[kilee]

I think a day at Discovery Cove looks truly amazing. However, I don't think the water parks at Disney and Discovery Cove are in the same league. If you have the opportunity to do both, then by all means give them all a try.

 

[Twigs]

The pool with sea animals are kept quite cool, so the ray lagoon, the coral reef and the dolphin pools are cold. We went last Feb and needed to wear wetsuits, and even thne we were cold. But the lazy river and the larger pool I don't remember the name of it, were heated to 85 degrees and that was really nice. The lazy river also goes thru the bird aviaries which we really liked too. There are a lot of sandy beaches with lounge chairs too.

 

[cleo]

Discovery Cove, if you can swing it financially, is possibly the most memorable park you will ever visit. As Twigs said, the ray lagoon, dolphin lagoons, and coral reef are cool (very refreshingly so on summer days) but the river is like bath water. I was there last week and even though the day was moderate the water was quite comfortable (maybe even more so than in summer when the air and water temps are so different).

Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon have heated water, but in the cooler weather it can be a bit chilly as you wait for the slides. I don't think they compare in any way (other than they all have water!) to Discovery Cove. Totally different experiences.

 

[rlyrehc]

I have to agree with cleo. We went to DC not too long after it opened and we have awesome memories of our visit. Although it seemed to be very expensive at first, on second glance it wasn't that outrageous. After you enter the park everything is paid for-lunch, fish safe suntan lotion, wetsuits, photo at the beginning in tree area with macaw like bird, lockers etc. When we combined that with the other park admission that is included with the admission, we felt that it was within reason to the other parks in the area.

It was so neat to snorkle and look for things that were buried in the fresh water lazy river (caves, waterfalls.) Then we moved to the salt water area and nearly had a heart attack when we came face to face with a barracuda until we realized that he was in an underwater aquarium. The kids loved the area with the small sting rays (baby sting rays in their eyes) but would not enter the area where the big sting rays would float up from underneath you like a big black cloud. We have wonderful pictures of the kids riding the dolfin back to the beach. Sigh...what wonderful memories. If you can swing it you sould definitly do it!!

 

[JenniferW]

Thanks, looks like a visit to DC for us and then we will have to figure out if there is time to see TL or BB.

Thanks for the advice! These boards are the best.

Jenn