Discovery Cove

[torsie24]

A good few Qs so I'll do them in bullet points:

• How far in advance should I book?
• Where is the best place to get tickets from?
• Any idea how much a cab from the Boardwalk to DC is?
• Can we walk to DC from SW? (e.g. if we got the Lynx bus that stops at SW)
• Any other hints and tips for a DC virgin?

 

[wilma-bride]

The only one I know the definitive answer to is the walking from Sea world one. If you get to Sea World, there is a complimentary phone there where you can call Discovery Cove and they will come and collect you from Sea world. So, if you were going to get the Lynx bus, that would be a good option.

We booked direct with DC whne we went but I have no idea if that's cheaper/more expensive than booking with anyone else.

 

[luke]

Never done it but would love to one day!
As you're there for your wedding/honeymoon, have you looked into some of the special private cabanas they do?
Some are costly but could be worth thinking about

http://www.discoverycove.com/Purchase/Services.aspx

 

[DCLMan]

We booked our 25/08/10 through www.travelrepublic.co.uk.

For 3 dolphin swims and 1 non dolphin swim cost £545 which included 14 days entry to Busch Gardens. I've just priced them up again and the price is the same as I paid.

 

[torsie24]

Awesome, thanks.

I wonder what a cabana costs.

I don't want the personalised buoy and all that jazz...

 

[DCLMan]

Awesome, thanks.

I wonder what a cabana costs.

I don't want the personalised buoy and all that jazz...

I wonder if a personalised girl is cheaper?

 

[torsie24]

I wonder if a personalised girl is cheaper?

Are you someone's Dad by any chance?

Only a Dad could come up with that one!

 

[DCLMan]

I have a son and a daughter. Neither are cheap to keep!

 

[OrlandoMagic]

A good few Qs so I'll do them in bullet points:

• How far in advance should I book?
  
  The sooner the better, especially if you have a specific date in mind! We booked ours about 8 months in advance, better safe than sorry!
  
  
• Where is the best place to get tickets from?
  
  I would say shop around, prices seem to change all the time. We got a really good deal with Charter Travel last year and a lot cheaper than booking direct with DC. Also, if you are thinking of visiting BG, SW and Aquatica it if well worth it getting the DC Ultimate Swim ticket.
  
  
• Any idea how much a cab from the Boardwalk to DC is?
  
  I think it's about $25-$30 each way.
  
  
• Can we walk to DC from SW? (e.g. if we got the Lynx bus that stops at SW)
  
  As Joh said you can get free transportation from SW to DC (this is useful if you are using the Lynx/Iride Trolly) but if your getting a taxi you may as well get dropped off at DC.
  
  
• Any other hints and tips for a DC virgin?
  
  Get there as early as possible if you want an early dolphin swim which I reccomend as it means you can chill out and relax for the rest of the day with out clock watching! Check-in begins at 8:00am
  
  
  And most importantly... have a great time! We have done it twice now and it's one of the best days of the holiday!
  

 

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

Ohh you will LOVE it - we have been there 3 times!

We have always booked direct - the last couple of times we got an early booking discount of 10% - think it was if you booked more than 6 months in advance, but I could be wrong.

Tips - definitely get there early as someone else said. The earlier you get there the earlier your dolphin swim - I can never settle until we have got that out of the way, I'm too worried about missing it!

Don't bother going to the avery - we spent half an hour in there trying to get those birds to eat from us, and they were all to lazy or over fed to bother. Never again will I put a maggot in my hand for nothing!!!!!

Bag a sunbed early . . . though there is loads to do and you don't want to waste any time sunning yourself, once you have got that big lunch in you you will appreciate somewhere to lay for half an hour!!

Water shoes - the bottom of the tropical river (not sure if that's what it was called, I'm talking about the one you mooch around, not the one with fish in) can be quite rough. Its also unexpectedly deep in places if you are a bit of a nervous swimmer - I was way out of my depth at times.

Go to the shop early if you want to buy / collect video or photo packages. Everyone leaves it until they are on the way out!

ETA - If I remember correctly you need to take all your jewelery off for the dolphin swim part as well! Best to do it at the start of the day, otherwise you have to sprint off and do it when you are supposed to be in your pre-swim briefing!!!

 

[kevin harrison]

I love the place, expensive, but worth it for us.

I am going to book for my daughters 10th Birthday as a surprise, she loved it last time.

My best advice get there early and stay until the end. At the end of the day you can really see the dolphins playing in the training pool, I have some amazing footage of them jumping out of the pool.

The food is great, not cheap rubbish, but very nice and a good selection is on offer.

I don't agree about the aviary, my daughter loved it last time and again, we have a lot of footage of birds sitting on my daughter.

My favourite thing to do there is snorkling, especially around the large lazy river, which indeed does get very deep.

We got a 14 day pass to Aquatica included, which we used three times.

The place is large and because they only let in a 1000 guests feels empty a lot of the time.

 

[torsie24]

Am I doing the right thing booking for a weekend?

We're visiting at a busy time, so I figure use DC as a chance to still achieve something on a day that'll be busy elsewhere...

 

[meldud]

How far in advance should I book?

I am also a DC virgin, but did quite a lot of shopping around online to get the best price.
I ended up booking direct as at the time it was the best deal. It also included the 14 day pass to SW, BG, Aquatica, etc with the ultimate ticket.

 

[kevin harrison]

Am I doing the right thing booking for a weekend?

We're visiting at a busy time, so I figure use DC as a chance to still achieve something on a day that'll be busy elsewhere...

We have always visited on a Saturday for that reason, it just never feels crowded.

 

[stba2006]

Am I doing the right thing booking for a weekend?

We're visiting at a busy time, so I figure use DC as a chance to still achieve something on a day that'll be busy elsewhere...

I personally think that booking for a weejend day is a good idead. We did that and it seemed to make sense.

As some-one else said they only let in limited numbers and these tent to get booked up so there is mostly the same number of people at DC whichever day you go.

By going to DC you don't have to go to on of the other parks which could be busier at weekends because of locals etc

Thats what we figured and it seemed to work just fine xx

 

[scottishgirl87]

Don't forget they only let so many people into DC a day so it's never over-crowded! It used to be 1000 but not sure if that's changed since I went.

We also booked direct with DC at the time but Travel Republic have had some really good offers for it recently!

 

[brer_rabbit]

I'm sure you'll both love Discovery Cove!

I thought the aviery was really good - I made quite few "friends" including one little sparrow-thing which fell asleep on me

I wasn't so keen on the lazy river, just seemed a bit boring.

The friends I went with did the dolphin swim and found it quite helpful to watch some of the other groups first to know what to expect as they were a bit nervous.

Oh and don't forget to buy a disposable underwater camera - they do them in Walmart for about $8, much more expensive in DC.

As other posters have said, I don't think it matters what day you go as they limit the number of people. We booked ours through Travel Republic which had the best deal for paying in pounds.

 

[matt1902]

Some excellent advice here

Could I ask - are you able to use your allowance to Busch, Aquatica and SeaWorld on days BEFORE you go to DC?

 

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

Some excellent advice here

Could I ask - are you able to use your allowance to Busch, Aquatica and SeaWorld on days BEFORE you go to DC?

Welcome to the Dis!

Yes you are - just show them the confirmation at the gate / guest services and they will sort you out! When you get to Discovery Cove they will usually ask you how you enjoyed the other park so its all joined up on their system.