Discovery Cove in January?

[JerseyBallerina]

I have heard great things about Discovery Cove and I liked what I saw on their website, especially the coral reef and swimming with the dolphins. But here's the problem; we will be there the second and third week of January. I have never been to Florida during this time so I don't know what to expect weather and temperature wise. Would it be a waste of time and money to go go Discovery Cove because it will be too cold? What about Sea World in general? Do you get wet on the rides/shows there?

 

[jdm]

We went two years in a row in Feb and had beautiful, warm weather both trips. The second time I didn't book until a couple of days before we left, so I could check the weather and choose the best day. Although I know some times of the year book months ahead of time, that time of year does not. In fact, the second time we were there Presidents weekend and still were able to book about 5 days out. Just keep an eye on the website and the availabiliy. We swam with dolphins the first time and just did the basic package the second time. A great day.
HTH
Jenn

 

[JudyS]

When I was in Orlando for a week in December 2003, only one day was warm enough for swimming. They weren't even checking ID at Stormalong Bay -- only a couple of hardy souls were swimming there! (And a bunch of ducks.)

Most days, it isn't that cold in Orlando. But, there are no guarantees. You may want to check whether Discovery Cove has a policy on bad weather. Also, you may want to find out how many of their areas have heated water.

 

[jdm]

The Lazy river is heated and blissful. The dolphin area and stingray area are not heated and the water temp is kept on the chilly side for the sea life. They have full body wet suits if you want to stay warm. I had been told ahead of time that it is extremely cold in the dophin water. Maybe because I was expecting it to seem sooo cold that it didn't seem cold to me. Also, at any time you can jump into the warm lazy river. Don't rule it out, it can be 80's that time of year also, and it is truly a great day. As I said, just keep an eye on the weather reports. To my knowledge, they don't have a policy on bad weather.
Jenn