Discovery Cove experiences or other dolphin swims?

[mermaidwannabe]

So I'm trying to come up with other vacations besides Disney and Discovery Cove seems amazing (albeit expensive). Has anyone done this? We would have to go mid-June and I read that you have to have a wetsuit. Would we all be dying from the heat walking around in wetsuits? Are there other dolphin swims that are better? I saw some in Key Largo, which we wouldn't be near most likely and one near St. Augustine which would allow for a beach vacation with that as a day trip.

Any thoughts? Thank you!

 

[uk_wildcat]

We have been to Discovery Cove twice. Most recently, we were there in November. We have not yet done the dolphin swim, but would like to once our youngest son is old enough.
As for being hot in a wet suit, they have 2 styles - long and short. Also, the water where the dolphins are kept is quite cold because it has to be for the dolphins. When we were there in November, the temps outside were a bit cool and the only water we were comfortable in was the lazy river. The Grand Reef was too cold for me and it is kept warmer than the dolphin water.

 

[java]

The dolphin experience is brief at Discovery Cove- but oh so fun. It's group interaction. Then a one on one- moment where the dolphin pulls you about 15 feet. It was so very cool. Our dolphin was so gentle. And as brief as it was, we loved it!
There is so much more there than just the Dolphin Experience. It was one of my best park days ever. It's not crowded. And maybe I loved it so much because I got to spend the day with one of my kids. Just one on one time. A photo I have of him on the dolphin-

 

[mdrob214]

We went in September a few years ago. We didn't have to wear full wetsuits, but wore vests instead. They were included, required, and easy to unzip when walking around. HTH!

 

[mhsjax]

LOved Discovery Cove, And that water is COLD. If you are going in the summer I would opt for the vest. Not only cooler, but those darn wetsuits are hard to get out off when you have to go.

 

[pinkxray]

Discovery Cove is amazing. We were there last May so we haven't seen the new Grand Reef yet, but even before that it was great experience. Our DD was 6 at the time and when you ask her about her favorite part of our last 3 vacations at Disney and a trip on Disney Dream her answer is always swimming with the dolphins at Discovery Cove.

We spent the entire day there and it was such a nice, relaxing break from park days. They only let in a certain amount of people so you don't have to worry about finding a spot or the water being too crowded. It is also pretty compact and doesn't involve too much walking so it was a nice break from touring the parks.

We have gone twice in May and always go with the vest. The water in thedolphn area is a bit chilly but you get used to it pretty quickly. I have only seen a few people choose the full wetsuits and they don't look very comfortable.

Highly recommend it

 

[mermaidwannabe]

Thank you! Nice to know we can wear vests! I've tried getting into a wetsuit before to waterski in Montana, and it was pathetic, lol.

It's expensive, but it looks worth it if we can swing it. It's really been a dream of mine to be in the water with a dolphin too, but my kids would love it. My youngest probably wouldn't be able to snorkel (just turned 9) but maybe she would get the swing of it.

I remember when we went to FL two years ago, there was an amazing code that made each day $199. Wish we would have done then!! I would wait for some codes, but since it seems to be popular I don't want to risk not getting a day.

Have you all added on the Aquatica and Busch Gardens? We've been to SeaWorld in San Diego. Is the one in Orlando different?

 

[canadianjovigirl]

We did Discovery Cove as well and it was one our favorite days in Florida and we spent 25 days there!!! We all still talk about it and yes the price seemed high, but we bought the package that included Busch Gardens, Sea World and Aquatica so when i divided the cost by 4 days it seemed more reasonable and we enjoyed the other parks as well.

It reminded us of being back at a all inclusive resort in Mexico (which my family loves) and was so nice to do as much or as little as you wanted...........

Go and enjoy yourself, i doubt you would regret it

 

[SnowWhite607]

We did it this past June and wore the wetsuits - that water was FREEZING!!! Did not get hot the rest of the day though.......they took so many pix at the dolphin swim that I had one made into our Christmas card!

I did the DC day and added on the Aquatica, Seaworld and Busch Gardens tickets (BG is in Tampa, if you drive, its only about an hour........we had our car so I dont know what to do if you dont have a vehicle). I thought for all that, the price was worth it. Stayed at Blue Heron Lake condos, got a nice 2BR, 2 ba condo with kitchen, had a wonderful vacation. For our Disney fix, we visited some resorts and went to Downtown Disney.

I think we did 2 days at BG, 1 day at Aquatica, 1 day at DC and 2 days at SW.

 

[TifffanyD]

BG is in Tampa, if you drive, its only about an hour........we had our car so I dont know what to do if you dont have a vehicle.

There is a shuttle between Seaworld and Busch for those with multi-day multi-park tickets

 

[mermaidwannabe]

Oh, good to know about the shuttle. We will probably get a car, but still might be nice not to drive. And thank you for telling me where you stayed. That is my next thing to look into to see if this is doable. I remember people also saying Windsor Hills was nice but will see. This all depends on airfare, but Bozeman to Orlando is usually better than to other Florida cities. The wetsuits would probably be musts for my DDs, since they get cold easily in the water. I have a little more of a layer than them.

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

If you buy the all day ticket WITH the Dolphin swim it is $229 HOWEVER with that ticket you get 7 days worth of admission to Sea World or two other parks you get to choose from. You have to pick just one of the 3 parks to use your extra days on but you can get 7 entries into Sea World over a 14 day period with the $229 admission to DC. We plan on doing 2 days at Sea World when we go, so NOT having to buy a 2 day ticket for Sea World will save us over a hundred dollars per person, so it really brings down the cost of the DC ticket if you use the other park entries.

Also you can use your extra entry days BEFORE your Discovery Cove day. At Sea World there is a Discovery Cove booth/table thing to the left of the regular entry area where you go and take your DC tickets and they give you your entry tickets.

 

[SnowWhite607]

If you buy the all day ticket WITH the Dolphin swim it is $229 HOWEVER with that ticket you get 7 days worth of admission to Sea World or two other parks you get to choose from. You have to pick just one of the 3 parks to use your extra days on but you can get 7 entries into Sea World over a 14 day period with the $229 admission to DC. We plan on doing 2 days at Sea World when we go, so NOT having to buy a 2 day ticket for Sea World will save us over a hundred dollars per person, so it really brings down the cost of the DC ticket if you use the other park entries.

Also you can use your extra entry days BEFORE your Discovery Cove day. At Sea World there is a Discovery Cove booth/table thing to the left of the regular entry area where you go and take your DC tickets and they give you your entry tickets.

YES! We went on a Sunday and did BG first, then SW, then DC and then Aquatica. You have 14 days from start to finish to use unlimited admissions to any park (except DC - one time deal).

One thing we liked about DC was the free food and drinks - breakfast, lunch, snacks - all free. Everything just seemed so well organized also. Not having to pay for food should factor into the cost of the tickets as well.

Blue Heron Resort is lovely!! Nice pool, very spacious and there are bunkbeds in the hallway - I said 2BR but it was really 1 and the bunks.....couch folds out too so the condo can sleep a total of 6 and 2 full bathrooms were great to have!! And its not off the beaten trail so you can still find our way around very easily. Trust me, my husband is VERY directionally-challenged and we did not get lost once!

As you can see from my sig line, we are Disney people, but my DH wanted to try something different this past summer so okay........I could deal, but I still was not thrilled about it. I wanted to go to Disney!!! LOL! Well it was a FABULOUS vacation and we made so many memories, I would definitely do it again!

 

[mermaidwannabe]

YES! We went on a Sunday and did BG first, then SW, then DC and then Aquatica. You have 14 days from start to finish to use unlimited admissions to any park (except DC - one time deal).

One thing we liked about DC was the free food and drinks - breakfast, lunch, snacks - all free. Everything just seemed so well organized also. Not having to pay for food should factor into the cost of the tickets as well.

Blue Heron Resort is lovely!! Nice pool, very spacious and there are bunkbeds in the hallway - I said 2BR but it was really 1 and the bunks.....couch folds out too so the condo can sleep a total of 6 and 2 full bathrooms were great to have!! And its not off the beaten trail so you can still find our way around very easily. Trust me, my husband is VERY directionally-challenged and we did not get lost once!

As you can see from my sig line, we are Disney people, but my DH wanted to try something different this past summer so okay........I could deal, but I still was not thrilled about it. I wanted to go to Disney!!! LOL! Well it was a FABULOUS vacation and we made so many memories, I would definitely do it again!

OH, I thought you had to do DC first so good to know, thanks! I guess the meals and drinks would really add up, making the price not as bad. Just seeing that total in the checkout takes my breath away, lol, but it sounds incredible, and if I get good airfare, we are going to do it. I had another post going about not doing Disney this year so this sounds like such a neat option. I will have to look into the Blue Heron too, thanks.

 

[Jajone]

We went last summer and used a code I found here on the disboards. It was a one day special limited tickets avail, but we got it for $169pp and used it in July. We used the vests and were not cold at all. You quickly get used to the water. The code was an American Express getaway code.

 

[mermaidwannabe]

We went last summer and used a code I found here on the disboards. It was a one day special limited tickets avail, but we got it for $169pp and used it in July. We used the vests and were not cold at all. You quickly get used to the water. The code was an American Express getaway code.

Wow, would I love a code like that! I have an American Express - maybe another code will come out!

 

[mermaidwannabe]

Just found this online:

Daily Getaways, a promotion of the U.S. Travel Association sponsored by American Express, will run for a third time in the spring of 2012. Aimed at stimulating travel in time for summer, the promotion will once again offer incredible deals at up to 60 percent off product from leading travel companies and memorable experiences from popular destinations. The promotion is set to begin around the beginning of April 2012.

http://www.ustravel.org/marketing/daily-getaways