Discovery Cove - your experiences?

[kitton]

Hi,

We are considering doing Discovery Cove this year (we visit in May/June). Would anybody mind posting their experiences of the Dolphin Swim? My perception is that you enter the dolphin pool and the dolphins swim around you and perhaps you get to touch them a little? Those that have visited please could you post your experiences of the Dolphin Swim. Thanks so much

 

[Kath2003]

Hi,

We are considering doing Discovery Cove this year (we visit in May/June). Would anybody mind posting their experiences of the Dolphin Swim? My perception is that you enter the dolphin pool and the dolphins swim around you and perhaps you get to touch them a little? Those that have visited please could you post your experiences of the Dolphin Swim. Thanks so much

That's basically it. When I went, we got to give the dolphin hand signals for her to do certain actions, feel her (fins and back) and at the end we swam about 10m out and held onto her fin whilst she pulled us back in (some people chose not to do this; others chose not to go out of their depth but still have the "ride"). That was pretty much it. The whole thing lasted 20-30 minutes.

 

[jtlover]

It is more than that. Every person in the group, no more usually than 8, each have a turn to swim back, pulled by the dolphin and they do tricks. Usually lasts about 40 minutes - it is amazing.

We have been twice 2003 and 2010 and it improved so much in 2010 that we stayed the whole day. We especially love the avairies with the birds.

Snacks are available all day and it is a very relaxing day. Lunch is lovely so is breakfast. Definitely worth the money if you aim to stay all day.

ours included a ticket to Seaworld which was good

 

[DISWolves]

We are making our 5th visit in August
As said in a previous post, the dolphin encounter lasts approx 40 mins.
Interaction includes stroking kissing and feeding them as well as giving signals. The 'swim' involves a fin tow back to the trainer.
Official photographs / video can be a bit hit and miss which I thought were on the expensive side, but if you reckon on only ever doing one visit, it may be worth purchasing one of the packages.
The food on offer is good, together with snacks and drinks throughout the day.
I would suggested to get there from 07:40 onwards to check-in. This will get you an early time slot for the dolphin encounter, leaving the rest of the day to chill out.
By far, my favourite relaxing day in Orlando

 

[Girlsontour]

Its worth the money for the chocolate cake alone!!!

We have been in total 3 times, this year we are going and not even swimming with the dolphins...it is the most relaxing day of our Orlando trip and i couldn't imagine going to Florida and not visiting DC

 

[JulieSharp]

We went in 2005 and to be honest the cold weather and heavy rain put a dampener on our day.

I do like DC but I disagree with their pricing system that can increase at different times of the year, it should be one fixed price.
I also would prefer rather than having to choose one other park for 14 days, to have Sea World and Busch Gardens for 7 days each - I know you can get the Ultimate ticket, naturally you have to pay extra for that!

 

[Tinks1984]

Another DC lover here, myself and DF have been twice now and I would go again no problem. We took my parents and brother last time and they adored it.

The dolphin swim is fantastic, our dolphin was Jenny. You're given a safety briefing before entering the pool and then in small groups you'll enter with two trainers. It lasts around 40 mins as others have said and you'll get to touch your dolphin, ask questions, feed them fish/ice cubes and learn some of the basic hand signals. Then you do the 'drag' back from deep. That's just you on your own and the dolphin.

It's all filmed and photographed so you can buy them afterwards if you like. There are different packages available. Even if you're not buying a package, remember to collect your free photo (taken at the start of the day) before you leave.

As others have said, there's plenty more going on too, there's the stingray lagoon, tropical reef and bird aviary. Oh, and the warm pool, which you can snorkel around. The food alone is amazing too, you can get breakfast, lunch and tea there during the day. They have a wide range on the menu too.

We're fans of the place, it's very well done and if you get the right ticket, you can gain entry to SeaWorld, Busch and Aquatica at other times during your stay too.

 

[Rohais]

Can you go and NOT do the dolphin swim? Or does at least one member of your party have to do it?

TIA

 

[Tinks1984]

I believe all your party can go and not do the swim.

There's plenty other things to do even if not swimming. It's great for a relaxation day.

You are able to sit and watch others swim too, so you can still see what's going on.

 

[kitton]

Thanks for all your replies. We've decided to give it a go.

 

[ChipnDaleRule]

Great decision. We have done it twice swimming with Yoshi and Cindy.So relaxing, you will NOT regret it
PS Use plenty of sun cream especially around the shoulders. The wet suit always rubs it off quickly, we always burn on the shoulders

 

[jtlover]

Great decision. We have done it twice swimming with Yoshi and Cindy.So relaxing, you will NOT regret it
PS Use plenty of sun cream especially around the shoulders. The wet suit always rubs it off quickly, we always burn on the shoulders

They will provide you with suncream that is friendly to the fish and dolphins as you are not allowed to use your own

 

[Tinkerbell1989]

DBF and I did DC in December 2010, as Christmas presents to each other, and it was AMAZING!
It's something I'd love to do again, but not sure whether we'd have the money too... we got there early in the morning and did our dolphin swim first and chilled out for the rest of the day!

It's in a bit more detail in my TR (post #8 if you wanna skip straight to it!)
xxx

 

[skelfbsfb]

Although my kids loved the dolphin swim I personnally didnt think it was worth the money, I really expected to spend alot more time with the dolphins and more interactions. The day was made for me with all the other activites you can do. Plenty of food and drinks whenever you want.

 

[wayneg]

Done it twice, wouldn't hesitate to do again. We considered it again this year as they are offering AP holders really low rates (swim $169+tax, non-swim $69+tax) but we felt we had enough planned both trips.
Personally I don't mind about the dolphin swim, I prefer the fish lagoon, aviary, rays, lazy river, food etc, so $69+tax is a bargain for me. but for DW & DS its the dolphin swim that makes their day.

 

[Ware Bears]

We did it on our first trip and for all of us it was the highlight of our holiday. We got there early and got an early dolphin swim and did have our names down for a double dip in the afternoon but when the time came we were having so much fun snorkelling that we decided not to bother. I think the main reason we've not gone again on our other Florida trips is because we had such a fantastic time we're afraid of it not being as good but I will go back one day.