Discovery Cove review

[diswedwish]

So on our last day of our SW half of the trip we ventured to DC. We used our free switch day since the first week of Jan. it was pretty cold. The day we went it was in the high 60s low 70s but much better than the 50s of the scheduled day we were to go!

We took the I-trolley to the SW stop, then used the shuttle from SW to DC. We were in the DC lobby by 8:20ish. We checked in quickly and got our pictures taken. I don't know why, but we thought we weren't supposed to wear any make-up. Everyone else did, and I wished I would've. Bad enough to wear the ultra flattering wet suit, but then no make-up lol, I got over that once we were out of the building.

We got our quick overview of the layout of the park and were told where our lockers would be. We decided to grab breakfast before we changed since our dolphin swim time was at 9:55, and we would just have a stroll around and get oriented before that. We enjoyed breakfast - we'd been eating at the IHOP by the hotel the past few mornings and this was a nice change of pace. My mom was happy with the smoking areas here as she was with the ones at SW. Here she could even smoke right after she ate as there was a smoking area where you eat. Goody for me too but then just call me Polly Pure .

Anyway, after breakfast we changed into our lovely wetsuits, stuffed our lockers and walked over to the ray lagoon. Nobody was there yet so we waded in and had fun there. Then we looked into the aviary briefly before trying to find the Sand Dollar Cabana. We had to wait here for a while - our time started about 10 min. late for some reason.

We were with Tyler and he was a tad distracted by the other dolphins in the pool and didn't do everything we asked. That was okay, we had a good time anyway . I'd done dolphins in depth at Disney, as had my mom, and a lot of the things you did here were similar. You do have a bit more time in the pool, and there are the posed pictures and the swim of course. I loved the kiss and the swim. Although I counted on the DVD and it lasts 8 seconds. Oh well, it was fun, and we thought it was worth doing at least once anyway.

We didn't bother looking at the pictures, since we knew we were going to buy the package at the end of the day. So we headed off to change into half wet suits. I grabbed a hot chocolate and my mom grabbed a cigarette. It took a while to peel ourselves out of the suits, and my mom needed help getting into the suit. I suggested she get a larger size. She smacked me . For the record, she is a few sizes smaller than me.

We headed for the ray lagoon next and had fun there. Then we headed back to the aviary and fed some birds. Each place I snagged a photographer, explained that we were going to get the package, and would they mind taking some pictures? So that was fun. We went into the coral reef for a brief time before lunch. I started to get concerned that my mom would tire out - we were pretty active, and it's not like she's that old, but she only does a mile on the treadmill a day and we were in and out of the water quite a bit...

We had lunch and it was tasty. We didn't partake in any of the free beer. Both of us thought that if we did that, we'd end up getting sick... Plus we don't like beer so that helped too After lunch we changed again into the vests and went into the tropical river and did one circuit of that. When we got out we made it just in time for a ray feeding which was a lot of fun! We went into the coral reef again and went all the way around. We were in there for a long time. If you stay away from loud people and stay very still, the rays come close enough to brush your hands - the spotted eagle rays, the really big ones .

After a while in there we got out and decided that maybe we should look at our pictures - it was around 2, 2:30. I think it was around this time (could've been earlier) that they had a sloth out to touch. Anyway, we picked our pictures and checked out the gift shop and bought a shirt and a few other things. We did another circuit of the river and my mom was tired after the first turn and asked for a life vest. I felt bad about wearing her out...

By that time our pictures were ready. I realized that the ray feeding pictures weren't on the CD, so they added those with no problems at all. We gathered all of our things and put them in our locker. We were surprised to see people leaving already. Although even when we were getting lunch we had seen people leaving for the day!

We went back to the coral reef and spent even more time there with the rays and fish. My mom stayed so long in one spot and was right below a life guard. The life guard asked her if she was alright . She was right over a bunch of the rays and was watching them. When we got out this time it was raining a bit. We went back to the rays and decided to change into our clothes and go to the aviary to finish our day. No way we were leaving before 5

I intended to shower, but the line was pretty long, so I decided to just stink until I got back to the hotel. My mom had previously decided to smell, so that wasn't a new decision for her We could shower when we couldn't do cool things. Showering didn't fit into the "cool" category... So we went into the aviary and fed the birds some more, and then had tea at one of the snack stands. On our way out we took some pictures and left at almost exactly 5. We were very happy that we had purchased our pictures earlier and didn't have to wait in any lines to do that!

We took the shuttle back to SW, then the I-trolley back to our stop and ate at... IHOP Then we went back to the hotel and showered - finally! We were getting picked up the next morning at 9:30 to go to WDW for 12 days on the Deluxe Dining Plan, we would eat good food then

I will post pictures for both DC and SW once I have time/figure out how to upload pics...

Oh, forgot to add that we would definitely do DC again in a heartbeat. Without the dolphin swim part though. I may do Trainer for a Day at some point, but for both of us we agreed that the dolphin part wouldn't be worth the extra $ for us to do again.

 

[Megan07]

Very nice report. Well done. I wish the swim wasn't so structured, but it's still a once and a lifetime experience.

 

[pjlla]

Thanks for sharing your day. We usually go to WDW in January, but postponed to April this year so that we wouldn't have a cold day at DC. Few quick questions, if you don't mind....

When/who do you tell about wanting to buy the photo package? Do you do it as soon as you arrive?? How much does it cost??

How do they identify people for the photos?? Is is like the Disney Photopass? (I really just want to make sure to get good photos of DD and DS with the dolphins.)

TIA.....................P

 

[Pokemom]

Perhaps I can answer your questions about the Photo Package. They have 2 packages. The Basic Package is $50 and includes 3 6x8 Photos. The Deluxe Package for $135 includes 5 6x8 Photos, a CD with all your photos from the day, and a couple of keychains. If you want the DVD from your Dolphin Swim, it is $50. The DVD is not part of either package. If you purchase a package, you can also order extra pictures at a lower price. There are photographers throughout the Park who take your picture (although they seemed easier to find in the morning than the afternoon). They ask you to pick one person in your party to have their ID scanned for photos. Everytime they take your picture they will scan that person's ID card (similar to Photopass at WDW). If you split up, you can use someone else's ID card, but it makes it easier to find your pictures at the end of the day if they are all together. After your Dolphin Swim they will take you to a cabana to view the pictures from the swim. You can let them know then if you want to order pictures or if you want the DVD. You can order them later in the day if you want to. The DVD takes about 1/2 hour to process, so if you think you might want it, you should tell them after your Dolphin swim. You can view the DVD when you pick it up and decide if you want to keep it or not. You can go to the Photo Center and view your pictures or place your order anytime. There is a bit of a line-up right at the end of the day, so if you can do it earlier, you may not feel so rushed.

 

[diswedwish]

Like what Pokemom said, they take a picture of your id card. They have photographers in the dolphin area, the ray lagoon, the aviary, and the tropical river. We got pictures everywhere except the river. When we went to look at our pics at 2ish they told us they were done for the day at that location.

We didn't even bother going into the cabana after our swim; I just told the lady who was leading the way that we intended to get the package and she explained what to do later. Each time we saw a photographer we walked up and asked if they'd take some pictures. Sure they weren't our best looking shots in the world, but we're glad we have them

And I didn't even realize that the DVD wasn't included - we just asked for everything. It was around $200. You can look at your individual pictures - that was the hardest decision for us, deciding what ones to pick for the 6x8s.

HTH

 

[jjk]

thanks for the review

 

[MandiMouse]

Me and my BF are going here in the first week of June. We were a little concerned about how expensive it was but the website and the reviews are just sooooo great, I think we are DEFINITELY going to do it! I am glad I know about that photo option package as well! That's wonderful!!! I hope they take a cute one of me smoochin' the dolphin! My BF was was asking me lastnight if they had beer lol, I am soooo glad they do...now I know he is going to be thrilled!!!

 

[Tinks1984]

Oh I'm getting them all, the Deluxe Package plus the DVD!

We live in the UK and it's not like we get to do this everyday, so I think in our case it'll be worth every penny! I've got enough money saved for this, so I might as well have a treat and get them for us, it'll be great to remember day by!

Thanks for all the info on the packages too, great help!