Discovery Cove with a Cabana

[mjohnson96]

Well we made it to DC on June 5th and just loved it and wanted to share some expereinces with everyone.

First off we stayed at HGVC just down the road for 3 nights. We had a huge 1 BR King Suite with a pull out sofa, kitchen, enclosed balcony,etc for only $129 a night. It was an amazing resort and even my Dad, who had the same room type, loved it and he is picky! They have activities all day, live music, great outdoor bar area and a wonderful pool for the kids and adults.

We headed over to DC Sunday morning to check in, got there right around 8am and it took about 30 minutes to check in. The only issue we had with check in was I had requested that our our group be split up on the dolphin swim and they did not do it and if we changed it then we would not be able to go until late that day. Our swim time was for 11:30.

After a great breakfast we get escorted to our Cabana. Now I have seen lots of discussions around if you should or should not get one. For us it was the best money I spent. Since I had a 20 month old with me this gave us the ability to put her down and not worry about her taking off. She was able to play in the sand when we were in the Cabana and since it was shaded the sand was not scolding hot. The guy who took care of us was amazing and told us a few things that we would never had known if he was not there. The fridge was stocked with lots of bottle drinks and he offered to bring some adult drinks as well, but we did not need those. He came back several times througout the day and tidied up the area and chairs for us too which was very nice.

Our Dolphin swim was great! One of the things I did not know and was not told (but it could be somewhere online) is that they will babysit for you if you have little kids that cannot participate. This was one thing our Cabana Attendent informed me of Stacey was able to hang out and play in the sand with a nice lady there at DC near the dolphin pool so I could keep an eye on her too. We had a young dolphin, only 3 years old (can't remember her name) and she was a little skittish so DD 8 needed to stay calm, she did scare her once, but it was a wonderful experience.

I loved the Stingray pool area and even though most the fish were already moved to the new reef that experience was very thrilling. Going around the corner and seeing the huge StingRays made me scream a little

This was a wonderful expereince and my mom is already talking about going back since DH and my dad were not able to join us that day.

One of the other things I learned that I wish I would have known about earlier is pictures. We planned on getting the picture package but I did not know they had people out in the park that would take your picture outside the dolphin area so you can add it to your CD. This would have been a great nice to know since I was uable to get many with my own camera outside the dolphin area that day.

This place was amazing and I would go again. I think it is well worth the money and the new reef plus the plans for updating the old one gives me an excuse to have to go back.

 

[disneychix3]

Thanks for the information. I am heading to DC in a few weeks with an 18 month old and after reading your post I just added a cabana!

 

[bas71873]

What hotel is HGVC? Hilton Garden....something? We are planning a DC trip for next summer.

 

[mjohnson96]

Hilton Grand Vacations, it was AWESOME. It is a time share, but unless you want to you do not have to do any type of timeshare tour. They offered us a $100 American Express Gift Card but I did not want to take time to do it while we were there.

I also reccomend requesting a room by the pool. There are lots of buildings and we were in SMITH, which is the last building in the complex so our view was of some trees and the road/maintence buildings. But it was still a wonderful place to stay and I will stay there again when we go to DC next time.

 

[mjohnson96]

Thanks for the information. I am heading to DC in a few weeks with an 18 month old and after reading your post I just added a cabana!

That is great! I had read so many people who thought getting one was a waste of money that I wanted to post my experience with one. If you get one of the new ones then they have the fans from what I understand but I still think it was well worth the extra money.

 

[disgirl]

Would it be possible for you to tell me how much the cabana was? Thanks! I am so glad you and your family had a great trip!

 

[mjohnson96]

Would it be possible for you to tell me how much the cabana was? Thanks! I am so glad you and your family had a great trip!

This is the one we did....

Premium Package $229 ($95 savings versus purchasing items individually)*
For those who want more privacy, this package includes all of the amenities in the Celebration Package plus:
•Private cabana including table and chairs, chaise lounges, rolled towels, stocked refrigerator, and personal locker
•Underwater camera

Celebration Package $129 ($30 savings versus purchasing items individually)*
A perfect way to celebrate that special someone's birthday, a promotion at work or simply to enhance an already wonderful day. Includes:
•Personalized buoy
•Gift bag
•6x8 photo
•Photo frame or plush toy
•T-shirt
•25% off the Ultimate photo package

I think the cabana by itself might have been $159 but you can only book that 2 weeks prior to date vs the package where I was able to book it 4mo out.

 

[disgirl]

Thanks for all the information.

 

[SassyCat]

oooh so excited to hear about the cabana rental. Hubby and I are going to discovery cove later in the month, and he got us the elite cabana package (celebrating my birthday - very nice surprise!). The cabanas sound lovely! I love the idea of not having to fight for chairs, having shade, and having some sodas easily available.

Has anyone had this package? If so, what small mammal they had for the animal encounter?

Another question...we are not big breakfast eaters. Upon entry, instead of eating breakfast, can we go straight to the cabana?