Dolphin Cove question inside Sea World

[Disneycrazy!!]

Does each person HAVE to buy a tray of fish to feed the dolphins? What is 1 member is afraid or doesn't want to feed them? I was planning on letting the 2 kids feed the fish to dolphins and I take pics and not feed dolphins. Is this allowed?

One more question..is strollers allowed in Dolphin Cove area?

 

[MouseLovinMom]

When we were there last September, you had to purchase a tray of fish for everyone who was going into the feeding area, even small children. I do seem to recall that strollers were ok. Since they limit the number of people in each feeding group, it's not terribly crowded. Each group goes in for about 5 minutes or so (I think). There is a separate area across the pool for picture taking.

 

[greenclan67]

Actually when we did it in March, we asked if a parent could go with them and do the same thing,(take pics) and they let 1 parent go with both kids, I stayed out and my hubby went with! Also, is you are a passholder you get a $1 off a tray off fish!

 

[finucane]

We just did this two weeks ago. It may be different if a parent is just supervising then they don't need a tray, but they wouldn't let me in without one so I hung back and my son and wife did it.

Now I wish I would have just plunked down the $7 to get in and let them use the fish so I could take pictures. There is no good spot on that side of the pool to take pictures from, but if you have a good zoom lens (200mm+) you could probably do ok from the far side viewing station near the entrance to the underwater viewing area. Where your party is is blocked by hedges, so unless they are first in the group, and get lined up near the exit, you are not likely to get any useful shots from the near side.

Here's a sample of what I could do.

My recommendation is spend the $7 it's one of the best experiences in the park, but be careful, that $7 can quickly turn in to $50 for Dolphins Up Close Tour like it did for us, or worse yet, Discovery Cove.

 

[CrazyDisneyMommy1]

We just did this two weeks ago. It may be different if a parent is just supervising then they don't need a tray, but they wouldn't let me in without one so I hung back and my son and wife did it.

Now I wish I would have just plunked down the $7 to get in and let them use the fish so I could take pictures. There is no good spot on that side of the pool to take pictures from, but if you have a good zoom lens (200mm+) you could probably do ok from the far side viewing station near the entrance to the underwater viewing area. Where your party is is blocked by hedges, so unless they are first in the group, and get lined up near the exit, you are not likely to get any useful shots from the near side.

Here's a sample of what I could do.

My recommendation is spend the $7 it's one of the best experiences in the park, but be careful, that $7 can quickly turn in to $50 for Dolphins Up Close Tour like it did for us, or worse yet, Discovery Cove.

you say $50 for Dolphins Up Close Tour or Discovery Cove, but were they worth it????

 

[finucane]

Yes, we were very happy with the tour. It's not the time, or financial, commitment that Discovery Cove is, but you still get to have an up close encounter with two dolphins. We did this on our 4th day at the park (we did half days mostly) so it was a really nice way to see, and do a little more, and to cap our trip to Seaworld.

We started out behind the scenes at Blue Horizons which was really cool because they were doing a training session with the false killer whale, and a few dolphins, that we got to watch up close. We then went back to where the new dolphins get brought in which is also where they take care of injured Manatee and Sea Turtles. Then we got broken up in to small groups to work with a trainer and got to get up close with the dolphins. We had plenty of chances to pet and give rub downs, and my son got to do the hand signals. I'm pretty sure the whole tour was about 30 minutes, but I'll tell you, in my mind it sure now seems longer than that. You just pack a lot in to that time I suppose.

It was certainly a highlight of our trip so the price did seem worth it. Although it'll cost us more in the long run since now my son and wife really want to do Discovery Cove on our next trip.

Here's a few samples of how up close we got.

The false killer whale

Backstage at Blue Horizons

The Up Close part of the Dolphin Tour. You work with two dolphins, but a few friends came over to say hello too.

 

[Disneymommy2006]

We fed the dolphins twice. We bought trays for everyone in our group and I took pictures. I shared my fish with our two boys! It was awesome but like the previous poster now my kids want to go to discovery cove. If I knew how to post it, I have awesome pictures and video!

 

[scubamouse]

We haven't been to Seaworld in a few years but is this new? I recall buying one or two trays of fish and 4 of us sharing them to feed the dolphins.

 

[tink too]

Scubamouse - It is quite new - I'm not sure when it started exactly, but now no tray of fish = no up-close time with the dolphins.

I remember when you could go right up to the edge of their enclosure without any fish at all!

 

[finucane]

I remember when you could go right up to the edge of their enclosure without any fish at all!

Oh, there is still half of the wall that you can go right up on without fish. Trouble is that the dolphins tend to find the people with the fish "more interesting."

 

[tink too]

Hey, they're not known as the smartest marine mammal for nothing!

 

[CooperPrincesses]

Thank you for confirming that this expereince will be great for my 4 year old. we've been twice in the past year and she has yet to feed the dolphins. We are starting off her 4th birthday trip to WDW in October with a half day at SW becuase of our annual passes. Now I know this will be the first thing that we do when we get to the park and start the trip of on the right foot, or fin.