discovery cove

[sunbeam]

hi all its been a while since i last posted but i am on here regulary reding the post ,hope you dont mind me asking if anyone has done the discovery cove and swam with dolphins we havent booked it yet but would like some info on if its a good day, i am a little nervous about doing it thanks for any advice x

 

[emily1982]

It is an excellent day! We did the birthday package and the service and the experience was amazing! The park only lets a certain amount of guests in, so it never looks busy. When you go in, you have your picture taken which is your ID, they give you your time for a swim we asked for a morning swim because of lunch etc. You meet at a hut at your time with other guests, there are about 4 different groups with about 5-8 guests in each group and then you go out. A video person and photographer is also in the water which you can view after. Theres loads of other things to do and lots of little beaches etc

In the birthday package i got a birthday bouy, cake, camera and t.shirt. It was really good.

 

[laalaa]

I have done the dolphin swim too.

Many thoughts went through my head when and after I booked. Was i mad for paying so much for one day? Would i be disappointed? Would i be scared? (i cant swim very well)

Anyway, me and my boyfriend done it and i think that it was worth every penny. It was amazing. I didnt feel rushed or that the actual hands on experience was over too quickly. The instructors were amazing and let me just go out to chest high water and held my hand whilst i made my way out there. The food that is included in your admission price is sooo good. Alot to choose from, well made. We bought a picture package which was around $65 if i remember rightly which was for 3 photos (around 6"x8"), two key ring photos and a spare wallet sized photo. I dont think that "65 dollars is excessive, considering it captured the best monent of my holiday and something I'll remember for the rest of my life.

Dolphins are such amazing creatures.

We were there for 8 o clock, and had a 10.30 swim. We didnt stay the whole day and left about 2pm. Even though we were only there for 6 hours we still think it was worth it.

So as you can see i loved it.

Any questions you wanna ask just fire away

Oh by the way, if you are doing it, book directly with discovery cove on their website, it is usually much cheaper than thru a travel agent plus i think they still have their 10% off offer on just now

 

[wayneg]

We have done it twice. Even considered doing it again last Wednesday but decided to leave it until next year.
There is something for everyone there, DS loves the aviary and birds sitting on him, I prefer the lagoon, swimming with all the fish and DW is a Dolphin fan.
All the food, snacks and drink you can consume included. We dont drink alcohol thru the day but its there if you do.
Only thing I didn't like was the photography, I love my photography and spend £1000's of camera equipment. To be honest the quality and standards are not very good. You could be lucky and get the odd good pic but I prefer to take my own.
Depending on time of year you visit its also worth considering buying AP's to Seaworld, first time we went in Oct we got $100/person off with AP(its only $95 to buy the AP or 2 years for $145). August we only got $30 off(this is the minimum they give I believe)
DC is probably one of the most enjoyably days possible in Florida.

 

[disneyholic family]

we also very much enjoyed it there.
I think we went the very first year they opened (whenever that was).
We scheduled our dolphin swim for very early in the morning and arrived at the park pretty much at opening.

We had to pay in advance (when i made the reservations), but on the day we arrived, my daughter couldn't do the swim, and they refunded the dolphin swim charge immediately without question and were very sweet about it.

On our swim, one of the women in the group didn't know how to swim and they were able to work around that. So not swimming isn't an issue for the dolphin swim part.
Also, as i recall, they gave everyone a scuba-diving swimvest to wear, which helps with buoyancy.

We also didn't stay the whole day. We stayed through lunch and then left (we never hang around any waterpark for long - we live on the mediteranean, so we tend to try to avoid the sun rather than seek it out).

in addition to the dolphin swim, we very much enjoyed their version of a lazy river as well as the shallow bay area where the stingrays are (when we were there you could feed them, i don't know if you still can or not).

It's really a beatiful place, and the fact that they limit the number of guests makes it all that more wonderful.

Our ticket included entrance to Sea World (i think for several days). So we went to Sea World, which we didn't like at all, so we didn't make use of the multiple day aspect of that ticket.
But Discovery Cove all on its own is definitely worth the price of entrance. And the dolphin swim was very nice (and in advance of the swim there was a very interesting prepartory lecture about them).

One side note that was interesting to us. When we were on the dolphin swim, one of the workers suddenly came up to us to ask us where we'd gone to university - it turns out we all went together. He's one of the scientists at DC (he has a PhD in marine biology). How he recognized us after 25 years is beyond me. In any case, he explained that there are many high level scientists working there, so it's not just another waterpark. They actually are involved in research as well.

 

[DISWolves]

We were there last week for out third visit. It is a great 'chill-out' day away from the parks. We usually arrive around 7:30am and manage to get an 8:30 swim. It is all inclusive, so breakfast, lunch, drinks and snacks are always available. If you have a person in your party who will not be doing the swim - get them to take your video / photos from the pools side, as the DC packages can work out quite expensive. One tip for your photos / videos, is that DC will arrange your group with your backs to the shore, so arrange for your person with the camera to be on the opposite side of the pool

 

[JohnnySharp2]

It is only worth it if you can make the most of the 'all inclusive' benefits and take advantage of the breakfast/lunch etc

Our visit in March 2005 was hampered by the weather, we were delayed by a 2 hour thunderstorm and the weather was on the cool side also.
Josh was a bit fed up by the time our slot eventually arrived.

It is a lovely place and the bonus of the 7 days at Sea World makes it more appealing , personally I am not all that keen on parts of the Dolphin swim but that's just my opinion.

If you want an early swim make sure you get there very early.

 

[Jakey Rowling]

have you considered the Epcot alternative detailed here

I haven't tried it but it gets quite a good report from what I've heard and I think you get more time with the dolphins.

We're considering this so if anybody can provide a first hand report I'd be interested.

 

[disneyholic family]

have you considered the Epcot alternative detailed here

I haven't tried it but it gets quite a good report from what I've heard and I think you get more time with the dolphins.

We're considering this so if anybody can provide a first hand report I'd be interested.

we've also been thinking about doing this one....i've only heard good things about it as well....however, it's a very different experience from DC, which is a kind of full day, vacation adventure sort of thing...

 

[LaraB]

I would definitely recommend doing discovery cove. We went in 2003 and was amazed by the whole day. We swam with the dolphins - had to go with a group of other people cos there was only 2 of us - which was slightly weird but as we were all new to the experience it was ok. Loved the other lagoons with tropical fish and stingrays, and also the relaxed nature of being able to sit on the beach too. Went with mum who was a non swimmer, and she enjoyed it just as much. A bit of paradise that you should try and experience at least once.

We're thinking about booking again for next year, and would have loved to do it without a dolphin swim, but DC won't let you do that, at least one person must swim with the dolphins. We're also considering getting the ultimate pass because you get 14 days at Seaworld, Busch and the new Aquatica which will be open when we go.

 

[Claire L]

Yes we have been three times, twice for the normal swim and once we did Trainer For A Day. All 3 times have been excellent.

Claire