Discovery Cove without dolphin swim

[cmwheatley928]

My 2 daughters and I are going to DC in Oct. Since my youngest is only 5 I decided none of us will b doing the dolphin swim. My ? Is will my girls see the experience all day? As in is it easily viewed everytime we switch sides of the park? I know they will love everything else but I an worried they will be sad they cant do he dolphin swim like everyone else

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Think of the park as being roughly divided into thirds. After you enter, the first third has the FreshWater Oasis, Aviary, and WindAway River to the left, and the Laguna Grill/dining area to the right. The next third has the dolphin pools to the left (dolphin pool cabanas to the right), and the final third is the Grand Reef area.

You will have to walk past the dolphin pools to get to and from the Grand Reef. But....the pools are separated from the walkway by a wide sand beach, so they're not "right there", so to speak. And those people doing the dolphin interaction will have their backs to the people on shore.

Will your kids be sad that they can't take part in the dolphin interaction? Only you will know that. But I am guessing that being able to swim with the fish and rays in the Grand Reef, feed the birds in the aviary, see the monkeys and the otters in the Freshwater Oasis, snack without limits (its nice not to have to say no to any request....its all included!), make sandcastles on the beach, and play in the caves at the entrance to the lazy river (not to mention float around it) they won't miss that portion of the day at all. We have done DC before with just the day resort package (no dolphin interaction) and had a simply marvellous time.

If it makes them too sad, what about taking them for a trip to the gift shop and allowing them to pick out a stuffed dolphin to take home? (they're about $15 each for the medium sized ones) . You could always tell them that the stuffed dolphin will keep them company until they are old enough to swim with them on a future trip.

 

[mckelvey72]

It depends on your kids. My kids would have been sooooo mad at me. We waited until 2 weeks after my son's 6th birthday just so we could do it. You can see the people in the water doing the interactions so mine would have been severely disappointed.

Having said that, it is an amazing day. The dolphin interaction only takes up about an hour or so of your day from start to finish so it isn't a huge part. And the rest of the stuff is sooo cool. We want to go back and not do the dolphin swim but now they have already done it so it won't be a big deal.

I say wait another year.

 

[sympatico]

My grandkids (7 and 9 ) didn't care at all about not doing the dolphin swim. They had fun in the aviary and the reef. Snacking all day was good too.

 

[cmwheatley928]

Think of the park as being roughly divided into thirds. After you enter, the first third has the FreshWater Oasis, Aviary, and WindAway River to the left, and the Laguna Grill/dining area to the right. The next third has the dolphin pools to the left (dolphin pool cabanas to the right), and the final third is the Grand Reef area. You will have to walk past the dolphin pools to get to and from the Grand Reef. But....the pools are separated from the walkway by a wide sand beach, so they're not "right there", so to speak. And those people doing the dolphin interaction will have their backs to the people on shore. Will your kids be sad that they can't take part in the dolphin interaction? Only you will know that. But I am guessing that being able to swim with the fish and rays in the Grand Reef, feed the birds in the aviary, see the monkeys and the otters in the Freshwater Oasis, snack without limits (its nice not to have to say no to any request....its all included!), make sandcastles on the beach, and play in the caves at the entrance to the lazy river (not to mention float around it) they won't miss that portion of the day at all. We have done DC before with just the day resort package (no dolphin interaction) and had a simply marvellous time. If it makes them too sad, what about taking them for a trip to the gift shop and allowing them to pick out a stuffed dolphin to take home? (they're about $15 each for the medium sized ones) . You could always tell them that the stuffed dolphin will keep them company until they are old enough to swim with them on a future trip.

thanks so much for the info! We plan on doing a similar dolphin experience on a cruise soon so I dont think it will b too big of a deal especially with all the other super cool things to do. The dolphin idea is cute if it becomes an issue I will keep that in mind although my girls r fairly even tempered and for the most part appreciative of what they r given so I should be able to explain why we rnt doing it and all should be good! Ur visual is what I was looking for and it doesnt sound like the whole park is centered around/focused on the dolphin experience. Thanks again!!!!!

 

[cmwheatley928]

My grandkids (7 and 9 ) didn't care at all about not doing the dolphin swim. They had fun in the aviary and the reef. Snacking all day was good too.

I think the aviary and the reef will b highlights for us too! I am so excited tey have helped plan the rest of our agenda for this vacay but I saved this day as a surprise!!! Thanks

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

thanks so much for the info! We plan on doing a similar dolphin experience on a cruise soon so I dont think it will b too big of a deal especially with all the other super cool things to do. The dolphin idea is cute if it becomes an issue I will keep that in mind although my girls r fairly even tempered and for the most part appreciative of what they r given so I should be able to explain why we rnt doing it and all should be good! Ur visual is what I was looking for and it doesnt sound like the whole park is centered around/focused on the dolphin experience. Thanks again!!!!!

This map might help you, too :

http://www.discoverycove.com/Explore/ParkMap.aspx

 

[cmwheatley928]

Excellent thank you!!!!