Discovery Cove from a British perspective?

[Barnsey]

Hey.

Just looking into Discovery Cove as a surprise for my g/f who has been through some tough times recently. I noticed it's very expensive and need some convincing as I really shouldn't be forking out the extra dosh.

If anyone has been and would like to share their day at DC then I would be most appreciative, it looks great but does it warrant paying nearly £300 for the day?

Also, I realise it includes 7 days admission to Sea World but at best we would only get to visit the park for an evening or morning.

Many thanks for your help!

 

[diddldonna]

Personally my family loved it and i did a review on Ciao about our day. It was the highlight of our trip. I would say to make the most of your day arrive at opening and stay until closing. I hope my review helps abit.

http://travel.ciao.co.uk/Discovery_Cove_Orlando__Review_5593631

 

[HelenSB]

Hi there,
We've been twice now & loved it both times. It really is worth every penny. It's all very well organised, like checking in to a luxury hotel for the day. The setting is lovely, all very clean & uncrowded, plenty of sunbeds/hammocks etc, and the food is above average as well. Definately get there early & spend all day!! Would go again in a heartbeat.

 

[wicket2005]

We all enjoyed it a couple of years ago when we went for our 20th wedding anniversary. Personally I think it was nice saving it for a special day. It is expensive and also remember you can buy dvds/videos, photos, keyrings, etc taken during your interaction with the dolphin which also adds to the cost.

It depends what your financial situation is, if you have money to blast do it but if not and plan to go in the future save it for a special time. It does a make a day you will never ever forget and for me I will always remember exactly where we were on our 20th anniversary.

I would say also it depends on what your girlfriend likes, if she likes dolphins and sea creatures obviously it is a good thing to do. You have a short and about 1/2 hour interaction with a dolphin which is absolute class. Then the rest of the day is spent relaxing, swimming and snorkeling.

We went in the summer but even so the fish pool is quite cold. I know people have said they have felt cold more when they have gone in the winter months.

 

[wayneg]

We have done it twice but we are AP holders for SW so first time we got $100 each discount then second time we got $30 each discount. First time we all did the dolphin swim but I was not impressed with quality of the photography so 2nd time DW and DS did the swim and I took some great shots from the rocks in the middle along with videoing inbetween.
Personally I prefer the fish Lagoon and Aviary to the Dolphins.
You can eat and drink all day.
I can't really think of anything they could improve on, some people say dolphin interaction is not long enough but apart from that I would say its just about the perfect day.

 

[Minniespal]

I've done it once before and doing it again in November.

I loved the day that I spent at DC It was a lifetime ambilition of mine to swim with dolphins and the day did not disappoint.

Food was lovely and it was such a relaxing alternative to the busier parks.

I would certainly recommend it

 

[musketeer]

We had a fantastic time last november, i found it to be quite a relaxing day the food was nice as well hoping to go and do this again on our next visit.

 

[wils]

I thought it was heaven on earth and like Florence it ticked one of my ambitions off the list.

DH and DD (2 at the time) did not swim but really enjoyed the day. We bought a couple of photos but that was it.

Having said that it is a lot of money and not something we will be able to do again for the foreseeable future (especially as we only had to pay for DH and myself last time). I think we will now wait until all of us can swim (better start saving now!) and then consider buying the video etc.

So, In summary, if your G/F is mad on dolphins it would be a great surprise but you'd need a full day to enjoy it.

 

[Ware Bears]

We did this back in 2004 and we all loved it.

 

[Claire L]

We have been three times! First time was 2002, then 2004 with DMIL and finally 2005 when we did the Trainer For A Day package. So as you can see we enjoy it

Discovery Cove 2004

Claire

 

[clairelly]

We did it as a family 2 years ago.......so, so worth the money. The park is beautiful, so clean and relaxing. We obviously enjoyed the dolphin experience but would do it again without as we all really enjoyed swimming around the lagoon. Excellent food and service. Def. book it!

 

[Shane]

Once again, we really loved it . The trainer for a day was fantastic, not only do you get to go behind the scenes and do the extras but you have a guide most of the day what I thought helped us get the most out of the day. Worth every penny

 

[Tinks1984]

Hi all,

I've booked our Discovery Cove package today

I've gone for the 'Discovery Cove Ultimate Tickets' booked via Virgin Holidays. We've paid £180 each, which gets us our day dolphin swim at DC and also, 14 consecutive days to SeaWorld and Busch, along with the NEW Aquatica waterpark, which is due to open March 2008. They also supply us with a shuttle bus to Busch Gardens.

Don't think we've done too badly with the price really, and I have to say I'm really looking forward to doing this now it's booked, even though it's ages 'til we go!! My BF can't wait to get in the reef and swim alongside the sharks!!

I think you're GF will love this experience, so I'd say go for it, it's a once in a lifetime oppertunity, and I'm sure it'll be one she'll appriciate and not forget!

 

[Debbied]

We went to D/C on our 10th wedding anniversary in 2003 and loved it,
DH was dubious about the cost but said it was well worth the money!
I have just booked again (direct with D/C) for our holiday this year and it cost 278 pounds (sorry pounds sign not typing) 140 ish PP. When you take into account that your meals and drinks are included, also a free pass to either seaworld or busch gardens, this brings it down to approx 85 skwid pp. Not too bad for a full day at a park with dolphin interaction. If you can push to spend that kind of money - go for it, I personally would aim to book for the latter part of your holiday, as after you have spent a week/2 in the middle of theme park Heaven/Hell ( busy,busy lets spend loads of money) you cannot believe how relaxing and tranquil this place is, you can easily forget you are in Orlando, like most people say "you need a holiday to get over Orlando".. this helps the wind down......In my opinion worth every penny!

 

[lgp1]

Hey.

Just looking into Discovery Cove as a surprise for my g/f who has been through some tough times recently. I noticed it's very expensive and need some convincing as I really shouldn't be forking out the extra dosh.

If anyone has been and would like to share their day at DC then I would be most appreciative, it looks great but does it warrant paying nearly £300 for the day?

I booked it for my children in 2001 and they loved it.
If it's going to make your g/f happy after the tough times shes been through, then it has to be worth it.