Discovery Cove is AWESOME!

[starfishdsb]

Ive seen several posts about the cost of this dolphin experience....let me tell you, we coughed it up and it was the best day of our 7 day stay for WDW. Granted the dolphin swim is only 30 minutes of your day, but you can layout on the sugary white sand beach and watch the dolphins all day if you want. The only thing we missed was walking through the aviary. We were so caught up by the coral reef, stingray lagoon, lazy river, white beaches and no crowds (and the park was at capacity)that we didnt make it there. My husband was never a fan of snorkeling, and actually grumbled about having to go with me, he is now CONVERTED!! LOL
The lunch had 8 vegetarian choices, 7 meat choices, salad, dessert, beverage, and the food was really good. (You can purchase beer) You have three choices of flotation, either a swimvest, shortie wetsuit or full wetsuit. A mask and snorkel is provided, you keep the snorkel after use. Lockers are provided in cost of entrance.
Our trainers were great! I could go on and on....what a wonderful experience!!!!

 

[Winston112]

Thanks for the review. I'm still trying to decide whether to do DC with my 6 yo DS. I am not a very good swimmer.

 

[starfishdsb]

The life vests will keep you afloat, and in alot of places, it is 2-3 ft deep... Im sure you could notify the staff that you "cant swim" and YOUR dolphin encounter could be right where you stand, and you wouldnt have to swim out for the remainder of your part. For the amount of money invested, the trainers will do what they can to accomodate you.

 

[disneyholic family]

we did it the first year it was open....was that last year or the year before? (sorry...senility)...
in any case, we felt it was incredibly overpriced....
and the time with the dolphins is laughable...
you have a half hour swim time, but you're in a group of about 15 people......so of that half hour you get about 1 minute of personal time with the dolphin (mostly to get a posed picture)...

considering the dolphin swim costs how much?....over $150 for sure.....that's a lot of money for one minute up close and personal...

granted i'm jaded by the dolphin place we live near, where we can swim and scuba dive with the dolphins to our hearts content....(and for a LOT less than discovery cove)...

we had a very early swim time (i think around 9)....
then we did the lazy river or whatever it's called and fed the stingrays (my daugher was bitten by one of the stingrays and the first aid people came right away)....
then came lunch...
then we left.....
(i should add that we're water people, but by noon we'd had enough...)

i asked the kids if they want to do it again this summer and they said NO......

 

[The Hunt]

We felt it was worth every penny, and it was also a highlight of our trip