Discovery Cove - An Average Day Out ?

[Rascal1003]

For fear of being shot to pieces, I wondered if anyone else was a bit emotionless about their day in Discovery Cove ?

We went in September, the day after our wedding and spent most of the day there, and despite the many, many posts here stating how truly marvellous the place is, I thought it was a very average day out and would struggle to justify going back.

The place is quite nicely laid out and all, but it is a bit of a tourtist trap. How many photo's do they think you need to buy ?
I was expecting so much more, but with only 2 or 3 places to swim, I found it a little limited in terms of all-day entertainment.

I swam around in the Reef pool for a couple of hours but eventually had seen enough of the fish. We spent another hour or more in the lazy river, but it is quite a dull circuit.

The dolphin swim was also hyped up beyond it's worth. We were in the water for a very short period of time and I don't think we had true interaction with the dolphins. Yes, we got dragged 20 yard, but the rest was a brief show of tricks combined with a bit of stroking the dolphin.

I know that there are going to be people rushing to defend the park, but please notice that I am not saying it is bad, I would just encourage people to think very hard about it before going there. It is a very expensive day out, especially if you have a family.

It is one of those things that looks great on the surface, but is not totally what I expected. Perhaps I felt as though there would have been a lot more adventure and interaction with the sea life, other than just the coral reef pool.

However, if you are passionate about Dolphins then I am sure the rest of the day would be a blur.

I didn't have a bad day, I just think I might have been able to enjoy myself more with that money elsewhere.

 

[robvia]

Agree, picture prices are insane, that's what most complain about. Someone who works in the parks chimed in and said the photos are handled by a 3rd party company and that's the reason why.

Did you feed the birdies? That's fun to have a bird land on your arm and take food from a cup.

There are always things that can go wrong on a trip which can ruin it.
Most of the time, it's a bad hotel room, or rowdy guests in the park. I try not to let any of this bother me, and expect that things will go wrong.

I've never been to Emiril's, I think it's overhyped, yet many make reservations and go raving about it.

So yeah, just about any situation can be ruined if you are not in the right mood.

 

[Rascal1003]

Hi Robvia,
It was nothing to do with mood, nor was the day spoiled, I just think that there isn't as much to DC as is claimed. I just think it needs a bit more to get close to being value for money. It just lacks pizazz if you know what I mean (not in the theme park sense, but just a general Wow Factor).

as for the birdies, no thanks, I shall leave that to the bid lovers. I thought it was a marine wildlife environment.

All that said, if it does really make people's day going to DC, then they must be doing a good job and that is what we pay all the money for to travel to Florida, to experience that magical holiday.

Please don't get me wrong, I adore Florida and keep going back, so there are plenty of things there that I love. DC is not really one of them. (and I knew that there would be plenty of people out there who would passionately disagree with me - I just thought there might be one or two who agreed).

Best regards and Merry Christmas to all.
Russ

 

[aloysius1992]

We haven't been because the price seems too high for the experience. We had friends who did go, a family of 4 so it added up even without the dolphin swim. The mom said it was their favorite day of the whole WDW vacation, because it was relaxing rather than rushing around the parks.
I don't need relaxing on a vacation, i want to do something.

 

[Rascal1003]

Hi Aloysius,
IMHO if you were to look at it as a day to relax, save the $200, spend it on a hotel upgrade [so you have a great poolside area] and laze by the pool. Doesn't come much more relaxing than that. Combine that with a dau at Seaworld and you will have seen enough.
If you can't sit still, then back to the theme parks it is then ! LOL

 

[Principessa1284]

My mom and I went to Discovery Cove this past October, and we really enjoyed it! I agree - It was way overpriced (but honestly, what isn't it Orlando?) and we could have had more time with the dolphins. I bought the (also, astronomically overpriced) birthday package, and my mom was surprised to have a personalized bouey (though, with a sharpie) brought to her by a dolphin. Just the look on her face was worth the price and holy crap was that water cold!

 

[UnderTheMistletoe]

We got engaged there last June, so my opinion is partial, at best.

Not flaming... maybe you were expecting too much? I have never known what the expenditure was on our day there because he handled it all with the Special Occasions Dept. I'm sure if I did (heck, I didn't even know where we were going... I was blindfolded), I would probably have a better sense of what my own expectations were. For me, it was all so sudden and a huge surprise. We really enjoyed our day there... but we also got special treatment and other perks...including a cabana, a "free" video, and a bunch of photos we didn't have to pay for.

 

[disney kid at heart]

My DH and I took 2 of our grandkids to dc 2yrs ago and it was an experience none of us will ever forget. I am disabled and was on my scooter the whole day, but just watching the jumping and laughing from the kids including the biggest kid (my DH) was priceless. The kids have their pics framed with them kissing Tyler and are still talking about it at school. We stayed from 8am til they closed and it was a trip of a lifetime. I know we will never get a chance like that again. Expensive but soooooooo worth it.