Discovery Cove, would you...........

[HoneyPooh]

give up a day of Disney on a 5 day trip to do this? I helped out a friend of mine and in return she is taking my 15 yo DS and I on an all expense paid trip to WDW (yippee!). She offered to take us to DC for a day off from WDW (she has a friend who works there and can get her a discount). My DS has never been to WDW so we will be trying to fit in a bunch of things he wants to do but he really would love to swim with a dolphin. It sounds wonderful but will it be worth it for DS to give up a day at WDW?

 

[SEVANS2208]

Yes, definately! Do Discovery Cove - I don't think there's anyone who doesn't like it!! We're going again in a couple of weeks time.

 

[robvia]

Yes, give up the day and go, especially if your friend can get you a discount.

 

[HoneyPooh]

Will the weather in late October be a factor? By the information I have read about DC the water in the dolphin lagoon is cold all the time, will we freeze in October? My son and I would be doing this for free so I'm swaying more towards yes but if it's very very cold in that water I'm not so sure! Brrrrr!!! I guess when you get something like that for free you shouldn't quibble, huh? We're really lucky to be getting this trip so I want to make it special for my son.

 

[lsh]

If you have the opportunity to go to Discovery Cove, 'dive' right in. Your son will love Discovery Cove. We loved every aspect of the day we spent there. The dolphin swim is obviously the highlight, but the snorkeling is awesome, too. I would definitely take a day from the parks to visit the dolphins at Discovery Cove especially if someone else is 'treating'. What a wonderful gift. You are very fortunate to be able to visit both WDW and Discovery Cove Go for it! It's an experience you'll never forget. Have fun!

 

[tmq2766]

I would go again in a heartbeat
Don't worry about the weather! My dd8 and I went last December and we were fine!!!! We wore full wet suits.

 

[piglet33]

Definitely do it! It will be an experience you will never forget. As for the water temps., we went in January and had no problems. You can wear a wet suit, if you're too cold. We just wore the vests and were fine. We spent the entire day there and had a blast. We're going back when my daughter is old enough to do the swim.

 

[vernon]

HELL YES !!!!!!!!!!! It's a truly memorable day. As your son is 15, you should be able to get through pretty much all of each of the WDW parks in the remaining time. At his age there are quite a few rides that are "optional" IMHO , so a little research with him before you go should help to work out which rides and attractions are "Must Do!!!" and which are "if we have time" .

Have a great day, I went with my daughter about that age and it was a special time to see that even as they grow up and think they are "adults" there are some things that can bring the child ,that you brought up and remember so well, back into their eyes. Swimming with dolphins is DEFINATELY one of those magical things.

 

[snookhams]

GO FOR IT !!!! we had a great day last August, but I would say it was cold in the water with the Dolphins even then, what I would recommend is that youget a full wet suit for the dolphin swim, and then just change it for a life vest for the rest of the day. We are hoping to return to DC next Aug. funds allowing but if not we will definatly return in 2005 with the children.

 

[HoneyPooh]

Hi Everyone! Thanks for the info Looks like we will definitely go to DC. Son is "stoked" (in his words) about the trip. We are very lucky for the opportunity so we are going to make the most of it Anyone know how much the pictures and video of the dolphin swim are?

 

[lsh]

You have your choice of individual pictures or packages. You can pretty much choose any combination you'd like. We were very uncertain at first about purchasing pictures because we were having some taken by family and we had someone videotaping as well, but the quality of the photos was excellent. The Discovery Cove photographers are right in the water with you and are allowed to get much closer than those watching the dolphin swims. They were fairly expensive - I know we spent over $100.00, but they were well worth it. They made excellent Christmas gifts. We had some put into frames that they offered with a back light. The affect is stunning. I don't know if they still offer those, but they were awesome. If you want additional prints, you can always call Discovery Cove and they can send them to you. We were so pleased with the photos and wanted more to give as gifts that we did order more. You also get a complimentary shot of your family or group upon entering the park. It was very good quality, as well. Hope this helps. I'm so glad you decided to go to Discovery Cove. You will love it!

 

[HoneyPooh]

I'm getting more and more excited about it all the time! I'm looking forward to the dolphin swim as much as my son is! Do they let you go out together or do we have to go one at a time? If we go together the cost of photos and video may be even more worth it. Thanks again!

 

[lsh]

You go out as a group and there may be a few others assigned with your group depending on size. We were a family of 3 and including us we had 5 in our group. We didn't see more than 5 in any group on any of the dolphin swims. They really try to give you all equal time with the dolphin, too. You will be able to go out with a dolphin and it's trainer 1-1 while the others in your group learn more about dolphins or interact with other dolphins. For example, in our group, one person would go out with a dolphin and it's trainers for individual time while the rest of us fed a younger dolphin. It happened to be the daughter of the dolphin being used in our group and they were acclimating her to humans so that she could someday lead her own swim group. There are several dolphin swims with different groups going on at the same time, but it's not crowded at all. At the end of the swim you will go out to the center of the swim area with other groups that had been swimming with dolphins and the trainers will have all the dolphins do tricks under, around and above you. That was so much fun! You're right about pictures. They will have some of your whole group and individual shots of you while you are interacting 1:1 with the dolphin.

 

[georgina]

We had 7 in our group - our family of five, and two people who were doing the dolphin swim on their own. The only things we did individually with the dolphin were the kiss and the ride to shore. We didn't have that thing at the end going out to the center and having the dolphins do tricks under, around, and above us - the dolphins all just did a few jumps together in the center. We enjoyed our day, but our dolphin experience seems much less than that of lsh.