Dc

[disneynewbee]

Does anyone want to try and talk me out of Discovery Cove? I made the mistake of going to the site and now it's all I can think about. I want to go so bad but it is $1400 for our family bumping our trip up to $8000. I've been trying to talk myself out of it but then I watch more videos and I'm back to wanting to go. I feel like it's a once in a lifetime opportunity so we should go right? Well once in a lifetime unless I love it. We have swam with stingrays before on Castaway Cay but never dolphins and my 2 youngest were not old enough at the time.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Discovery Cove is amazing. Hands down, its our favourite park in Orlando. Its relaxing, there are never any crowds, is all-inclusive, and swimming with the dolphins is a truly remarkable and memorable experience. We did our "once in a lifetime visit" back in January 2012. We are now going back for the third time this August!!

It is definitely appears more pricey if you don't choose to use the included admission to SeaWorld and Aquatica. We LOVE both those parks as well, so we always get the biggest bang for our buck out of our DC price.

We always tell our friends....if we could only do ONE thing while in Orlando, Discovery Cove would be it!

 

[disneynewbee]

Haha well that didn't talk me out of it We do plan to do Sea World so that will help with the cost and might consider doing Aquatica too. We won't have a car so I guess it will depend on how much the ride to each costs. I think it's something my kids will remember forever so I'm going to book it. My sister thinks I'm crazy when I told her how much it was but hubby didn't even flinch when I told him and that's all that really matters. Does anyone know of any discounts for November? I did see where if you bought a season pass to Sea World you could buy up to 6 tickets for a discount and that came out cheaper for us but then I read it and it said it didn't include Sea World so then I would have to buy 4 of those so that would take it back to what we would be paying to just do the package.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Haha well that didn't talk me out of it We do plan to do Sea World so that will help with the cost and might consider doing Aquatica too. We won't have a car so I guess it will depend on how much the ride to each costs. I think it's something my kids will remember forever so I'm going to book it. My sister thinks I'm crazy when I told her how much it was but hubby didn't even flinch when I told him and that's all that really matters. Does anyone know of any discounts for November? I did see where if you bought a season pass to Sea World you could buy up to 6 tickets for a discount and that came out cheaper for us but then I read it and it said it didn't include Sea World so then I would have to buy 4 of those so that would take it back to what we would be paying to just do the package.

lol, I am a bad one to talk you out of a day at DC . Its so awesome, I think everyone should get a chance to visit it at least once!!

Transportation, though, might add up to a pricey sum if you are needing to get from Disney to SeaWorld, Aquatica and DC all on separate days. You might be further ahead to rent a car.

If you are not doing SW or AQ (just a single day at DC), then the discounted admission via an annual pass (one from Aquatica would be cheapest) might be your cheapest option.

 

[rottiemom]

OP, we're going to DC for the first time this summer so I can't talk you any which way .

Where are you going to be staying? Is there regular transport to & from SW? Because from SW there are shuttles to Aquatica and DC which won't cost you anything.

If free transport isn't an option you might want to look into renting a car. We did that for the first time last year when I discovered that it would be cheaper to rent a car that to pay for transport to & from the airport alone.

Of course if you're staying at a Disney resort & using magical express transport to the airport isn't an issue.

Then again, in the grand scheme of your vacation $ 1400.00 isn't a huge amount (OK, granted 1400 is usually my entire vacation budget ). DC is an all inclusive day so you won't have to worry about meals. The earlier you book DC the "less" the admission costs...you can always cancel 30 days out for a full refund if you really think it's going to be too much.

Now, a word of warning...DC is more than just the ticket cost. Carefully consider if you're going to want a cabana, photo package or any extras. Our cost all told for a family of three is pretty scary BUT I figured that if we were going to do DC we were going to do DC and I didn't want to have any regrets about it...cutting out something to save money then ending up wishing that I had done it.

So I'm not help...but I can get back to you after our trip and let you know if I thought it was worth it. You can call me Mrs Krabbs (ala SpongeBob) and I'll let you know if it was worth me money .

 

[disneynewbee]

Thanks I would love to hear back after your trip. We are staying at Disney and were going to use the Magical Express. I thought about renting a car but we were going to do SW on our 1st full day of our trip and DC towards the end of our trip so that would be a long time to have the car. I'll have to look at rental car prices. We are going to SW with my sister and then saving DC until after they leave or else I would just schedule them closer together and rent the car for a shorter time period. We do plan to get the ultimate photo package since if I'm paying all that money I want the pictures and video. No cabana since my kids never sit still anyway. It's just going to be so expensive. I am sending my oldest daughter to Disney after her college graduation in May 2015 since she has missed our last trips because of her schedule and I just keep thinking this one day could cover that whole trip.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We do plan to get the ultimate photo package since if I'm paying all that money I want the pictures and video.

A good idea . The in-water photographers capture some great shots, and IMHO those photos are the best souvenir you can buy.