Discovery Cove - disappointed!!!

[aodompa]

I know everyone likes to hear good news but I feel compelled to write about my recent experience to DC.

Let me start by saying that this was my second trip to DC. I took my son (age 7) last year shortly after it opened and was just amazed. We had so much fun that I was sure that we would go every year (we visit family in Florida every year). The service was tremendous and I felt like Sea World had really outdone themselves.

OK, for the bad news... We arrived at DC and had a nice check in procedure - no complaints here. The park looked just as beautiful as I remembered it. The first thing I noticed was that they were not very friendly when it came to asking for wetsuits (Last year we found out how cold the water was and got wetsuits later in the day but had already missed part of the day swimming in the reef lagoon). So this trip we asked for them as soon as we got there. It was not that they were to the point of rude - just looked very inconvenienced. We got our equipment and noticed the new fish identification cards - nice addition. The snorkles were not as good a quality as last year.

We changed and started our day in the stingray lagoon. This was my son's favorite thing last year - spent hours and hours there. Was disappointed to learn that many of the rays had been moved to the reef lagoon and there is no feeding in the ray lagoon anymore. Maybe they did this for the protection of the animals - if so that is fine and I won't complain any more but my son sure did miss feeding them. We did not stay there long - he got bored with it very quickly.

We did our dolphin swims separately. His photographer was terrible. I noticed that most of the time she was looking at other groups of people (or the sky) and missed many photo opportunities. She even got out of the water at least 5 minutes (maybe more) before they were finished and missed everyone kissing the dolphin. Only got one decent picture of my son with his dolphin.

My dolphin swim was great!!! Got to swim with Natalie for the second time (she was just learning last year).

We had a nice lunch (in the rain) food just as good as last year. Not nearly enough tables to accomodate everyone. Many people sat on the ground to eat. Very little shelter from the rain for those without tables (some people sitting behind trash cans to stay dry). Had a bad storm over lunch. Was very cold (even in our wetsuits). Went to the bathroom and there were no towels - had to stand in the shower and pour hot water down our suits to stay warm. I realize that many towels were getting soaked on the beach but I just remembered clearly last year the over abundance of towels. They would replace them for you on the beach and then the bathrooms were stocked completely also. They started bringing a few (<5) in the bathroom at a time. My son and I shared a towel.

Storms over - time to go play. Went to the lazy river. Was very relaxing and wonderful. Was kind of sad to see all the repairs that had been done - many cracks filled with off color cement. I'm not complaining - just a shame to see how much deterioration had taken place in 1 year especially with as few people that visit each day.

My son hated the reef lagoon, again. The water is WAY to cold even with wetsuits. Spent about ten minutes here.

Overall it was a decent day - not great. I am not a complainer usually - I just wanted the same service and treatment that we got last year. People did not tend to be as friendly as last year. Maybe it was that some of the "newness" had worn off - I dont know. But for someone who said that we will DEFINATELY go back EVERY year to change and say that we will PROBABLY NEVER go back is quite a change.

My recommendations - take some towels of your own and put them in your locker to keep dry. GET A WET SUIT!!!! The water is horribly cold. It was very hot the day we visited (except when it rained) but we did not get too hot in our wetsuits. Enjoy! For those of you who have not visited DC maybe it will be as great for you as it was for us last year. I think my expectatins were just too high and I was constantly comparing this year to last.

Let me know if you have questions.

 

[goofy about mickey]

aodompa - Thank you for providing such a detailed and well balanced assessment of your repeat trip. My wife and I are visiting Discovery Cove in August and are wondering what to expect in terms of crowds. I've heard that they limit daily attendance to 1,000 but I'm not sure what that means for a park of this size.

Would you say that the overcrowding at the restaurant had to do with the storm or would you suggest that we choose our meal time to avoid the worst part of the "lunchtime crush"? Were there other areas of the park that you felt were overcrowded (such as the reef lagoon)? Were there enough beach chairs? Were the crowds about the same as your first trip?

Sorry for so many questions and I appreciate any answers that you give!

 

[Impulsive Puppy]

How do they clean the wetsuits? And are the clean when you get them?

 

[robvia]

Just got back from a July 4th visit. We had a great time, sorry to hear your second trip was not quite up to par. Posting your comments does help because now we know what things they are taking away.
I'll have a full trip report in a few days, waiting for pictures to be developed.

Yes, the water is cold, but once you get in, your body will adjust At first we wanted wet suits, but then skipped it because there was a long line at the mask station. You have to specifically ask for a wet suit and fins. They told us wet suits we're at another station, they must have thought we we're asking for a vest, so when we came back, there was a long line.

Our dolphin swim was at 12:20, so lunch for us was after that and the crowd was gone from the restaurant. I also saw what you we're talking about with the camera people, they just didn't seem to care. I think they've done it so many times, that they're slacking off. We did buy 5 pictures, I'll have to scan them and put them in my report. We swam with Hutch, a 5 year old, and Coral, the 8 month old baby. Coral even came up to me and nudged me on the hand while I was in the middle, she wanting to play. Basically, they we taking turns with Hutch and Coral on the beach and the middle area where you pet them, otherwise you work with one. It was a great time, but so short, it seemed to be over so fast.

The food was great, many choices, chicken pasta, fajitas, chicken fingers, salmon, garden salad, and deserts.

Yes, I was also wondering about feeding the sting rays. It was something I was looking forward too. It's a small lagoon, the rays swim in a school in a circle. They small brown ones like at Sea World. I asked the trainer if I could feed them and he said they do it in the reef lagoon at certain times. I was wondering to my self, huh? So basically what happens here is that you look at them in waist deep water, and they simply swim past you. The rays want nothing to do with humans, you're just in their way and they'll go around you, where you can then touch their wings as they pass.

Here is something that surprised me. The jacket that everyone has to wear make you float so well, that it's very hard to go underwater. In the main reef, it is practially impossible to go under, unless you have flippers on. So if you wanna touch a Southern Ray (big blue ones) on the bottom, you gotta kick real hard to get down to them. I did this a few times and touched them.

We fed the fish in the reef lagoon near the shore and a bunch of them come right up to you.

Fed the birds, that was cool.

Yes, the lazy river needs some new decorations on the bottom, it looks run down with rocks and that brown color.

I did see towels in the bathroom, and they gave us towels in our fin bag, so that wasn't a problem for us.

We waited half an hour to feed the rays in the reef pool. They do it on the far side near the welcome center at certain times. The trainer comes over with some fish, talks about the rays, then you feed them. They swarm over the area, many times you'll have 10 of them splashing with fish trying to steal the food. The trainers are used to it, they love it, but it can be intimadating for a first timer. They only have about 30 fish to feed, and then it's over, so you have to be waiting and then be sitting there if you wanna feed a ray. They'll keep swimming around for a few minutes after feeding, but then they'll gradually swim away as they circle. It's the same thing you can do at Sea World.

I dunno, I see what this person is saying about going back. We had a great time, but once you've done it, then it may not be as big as the first time, especially since they've changed the feeding of the sting rays and the dolphin time seems to fly by so fast.

My best piece of advice is to get there early, even if your swim is in the afternoon. Why? Because you gotta get your required life vest. It keeps you warm and makes you float. Some standard sizes like medium are gone if you don't get there in time. The place opens at 9am, but get there at 8am and you'll get a jump on the crowd. Plus a line forms at the mask station where everying picks up their snorkling gear.

More to come in a few days when my pics are developed.

 

[SpaceMountain_uk]

Is all the water cold or are there lagoons where the water is warmer?

 

[robvia]

The lazy river is warm, and has fresh water in it, rather than salt water. It starts off with a beach area that the kids can play in. There is a tunnel you can float thru with staglites falling from the ceiling. In front of this tunnel are a couple water falls you can swim under. The lazy river winds around to the bird averary. You pass under a water fall that keeps the birds from going out. Inside here, you walk up steps up a short path to a trainer who has cups of bird food. The birds land on your arms and shoulders and eat the food, then fly back up into the trees. Next you pass thru the exit side under another water fall. Now the river travels around back to the beach area. The water in this area feels like a hot tub after coming out of the coral reef lagoon.

The showers near the coral reef have warm fresh water coming out of them.

If you're into the excitement of the swim, then the cold water doesn't matter once you get your entire body in. The key is to get your shoulders under the water and look at the fish thru your mask, then you ignore the cold water. If you just accept that it's going to be chilly and deal with it, then everything will be fine.

Just warn your children and everyone with you that the water is going to be cold, and then they'll be ready for it.

 

[6_Time_Momma]

Gosh, after reading these posts, I am quite leary about making reservations!!

 

[aodompa]

I don't know if the overcrowding was because of the storm or not. We got there at 11:30 and I stood in line for a good 20-25 minutes. The storm did not start until I was half way through the line - then the line went out the door with people scrambling to get inside.

I agree with the viewer on getting there early. We got there at 8:40 and had to stand in line to get our passes.

If you think there is the slightest possibility you might want a wetsuit get it as soon as your tour is over (they give you a brief tour when you enter the park). The tour ends in front of the equipment station. Go there immediately and ask for a wetsuit and fins. You will have to ASK - because they will certainly not offer it to you.

Crowding on the beach did not seem to be a problem - actually did not ever sit down on the beach. Reserved a couple of chairs by putting our stuff on them but realized that we would never use them and took our stuff away.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you need any more information.