Discovery Cove.............Advice Please!?!

[sue&and]

Hi everyone, my DS has been very ill over the last twelve months and was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease a few months ago. To cut a long story short he has now been awarded Disability Living Allowance and as we're going back to Florida next year I want to save it and do something really special for him. The question is this: is Discovery Cove worth the money and something he will always remember? He loves dolphins etc and thoroughly enjoyed Seaworld on our last visit (especially the rays).

TIA

Sue x

 

[carolfoy]

Hi Sue, I haven't done discovery cove as we've done a lot of other swim with dolphins trips, but I will say without a shadow of a doubt that it will probably be the most memorable day of your holiday! theres not one person who has disliked the experience or even said it was 'ok' they all say its amazing, there are other dolphin experiences you can do though in florida, ie the dolphin experience in EPCOT and the dolphin trip combining the everglades (search this thread) so it may be worth your while thoroughly investigating all options before deciding just to see if theres another option that gives a wider experience for you all.
hugs for your DS, I was born with this too but have thankfully never got it as bad as he obviously has.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Hi Sue - sorry to hear about your DS.

Our son is Autistic and receives DLA too.

We visited Discovery Cove in March, the weather was unusually cold and it totally ruined the day if I am honest. Furthermore we were delayed by a thunderstorm and heavy rain - everything stops at DC for this - by the time we got in the water Joshua was a bit fed up (he didn't really understand what it was all about) - by the time he came out of the water he was freezing cold.

I think you will probably get mixed reviews, certainly the staff were very helpful and understanding to our boy, they went out of their way to be patient and understanding.
Unfortunatley they couldn't change the weather though!

I would certainly recommend it and would not put anyone off going to DC, to a degree you really just have to go for it and make your own mind up.
It could be a magical experience. I thought there would be more activities there to be honest, but when it's pouring with rain it is harder to make an accurate assessment.

 

[disneyholic family]

Hi everyone, my DS has been very ill over the last twelve months and was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease a few months ago. To cut a long story short he has now been awarded Disability Living Allowance and as we're going back to Florida next year I want to save it and do something really special for him. The question is this: is Discovery Cove worth the money and something he will always remember? He loves dolphins etc and thoroughly enjoyed Seaworld on our last visit (especially the rays).

TIA

Sue x

does he swim? the dolphin encounter is in the water.....also the rest of discovery cove is pretty much in the water.....i think only the stingray pool is shallow (where you walk in among stingrays) .....

 

[sue&and]

Hi Beth, yes, he does swim and has always enjoyed snorkeling on family holidays so I'm sure he would love it. The hardest part is going to be keeping it from him and surprising him on the day!!

Sue

 

[disneyholic family]

Hi Beth, yes, he does swim and has always enjoyed snorkeling on family holidays so I'm sure he would love it. The hardest part is going to be keeping it from him and surprising him on the day!!

Sue

well if he swims it could be really nice for him..
we went in the summer and went first thing in the morning, in an attempt to avoid the thunderstorm problem...
we got there before opening and had an early dolphin time..

when you get there it's kind of like a beach...
hmm....i don't know quite how to describe it...
probably on the website it describes it...

the dolphin swim was nice.....very controlled and you have very limited contact, but you do have contact....each person gets to "kiss" the dolphin (they take your picture as you "kiss" it) and ride through the water, holding onto the fin, and i think that was all our group got to do....
we had a very large group of people....so you wait as each person takes their turn either kissing the dolphin or being pulled by the dolphin....
so while you're in the water for maybe a half hour , you have maybe one minute of personal time with the dolphin....but still it is very cool...
before you meet the dolphin you have a lecture about dolphins...

as for the rest of the park.....there's the stingray pool which is also very nice....you walk through the pool and the rays are all around you...
and there's a kind of lazy river that we enjoyed...

that's all i remember being there...plus a beach, plus you get lunch...

we only spent about 3 hours there......but we did enjoy it,.....but it is very expensive...

 

[Madjock]

is Discovery Cove worth the money and something he will always remember?

I would have to say yes! although a lot of money for a limited time with the dolphin it is a truly magical experience

 

[Camac]

Hi Sue,

Yes DC is an expensive day but it will give you memories that will last forever. We spent Christmas Day 2003 there. We arrived at 8.30am and were about the last to leave at 5.30pm.

The dolphine interaction is only half an hour but I was surprised at just how close you are to the dolphins the remainder of the time. We thorough enjoyed sitting on the water's edge just watching other people's interaction with them and when the dolphins were 'resting' they kept coming close to shore so we were able to get close up views of them all day.

The ray lagoon is available to you all day - no restricted amounts of time so your son would be able to swim or snorkel (snorkel provided by DC) amongst them and the other tropical pool with the brightly coloured fish as much as he wants.

We were lucky with the weather, no rain but a little chilly however we found the wetsuits they gave us kept us warm.

I will never forget that Christmas Day sitting on my sun lounger drinking hot chocolate watching the dolphins not ten feet away. Magical.

Do it, you will not regret it and you will have wonderful memories.

Caron

 

[cazzie]

I would say definately yes, it is one of the best things I have ever done. We got there early and had a morning swim. It was a truly magical day and after we had finished we watched others having there's. We are hoping to do it again next year.

 

[wicket2005]

Another definite yes. We went in July, arrived early and got a 9.30 am swim. We wanted an early swim so there was less chance of thunderstorms delaying it and also we didn't want to be clock watching all day.

It was a truly memorable day. We went on our 20th wedding anniversary so it will always stay in our minds.

I think your son will love it. There is also a small aviary where all the birds fly down at feeding times, and land on you. We enjoyed this experience too. Also when you go in you are greeted by a sloth which is one of the strangest creatures I have ever met. These are all extraordinary experiences which much be experienced if you can. Yes it is expensive but it is a priceless memory.

 

[sue&and]

Thank you for all of your advice and kind thoughts.......I don't think, after everything that's been said, that we can miss this and so I'll be booking shortly. I've read somewhere before that it's best to wait til the end of the group for your dolphin swim; what's the reason for this??

Once again thanks for all your help,

 

[wicket2005]

Never heard of that before.

The dolphin encounter consists of stroking, kissing, feeding and getting it to do tricks. You get towed back to shore which is the 'dolphin swim' bit then have more interaction with the dolphin, all the time the trainers are telling you about dolphins.

You get some one to one time (ie family to one dolphin) where a photographer takes photos, he also takes photos whilst you have your 'swim' and whilst kissing the dolphin. There is also someone taking a video of the whole experience. The video/photos are expensive to buy but if it is going to be a 'once in the lifetime' experience they are worth it. You can also buy magnets and keyrings, dvds, and various different sized photos as well as photos on a cd.

 

[orlando novice]

Just got back from Orlando and the Discovery Cove day was by far our best day. We have three children who thoroughly enjoyed it, they think of everything there, they have floats and swim vests so it doesn't matter if you arent a strong swimmer and the dolphin bit is fantastic, lots of hands on. It was a truly magical day......................

 

[loadsapixiedust]

We took our disabled DS and his big sister to DC on 4th July. It was a magical day and they both still talk about how great it was. Follow this link for a report with photos.
I'm sure your son would enjoy it and have lovely memories to bring home.
Yes it is expensive, but we thought it was worth it. The smiles we saw that day were priceless.

 

[Ware Bears]

I would also recommend it. It is truly a memorable day. I have framed our family photo with Tyler and hung it in our bathroom which is decorated in a dolphin theme. There is nothing more relaxing than soaking in the bath with a glass of wine and reminiscing about our day!