Dolphin Encounter vs. Stingray City- Nassau

[chasbos]

My family and I are debating which excursion to do in Nassau. I think the Stingray City looks cool - the rest of the family thinks the dolphin encounter is the way to go.

We are a family of 6 with 4 DD - 13, 11, 9, & 6.

Has anyone done the encounter and is it enough interaction with the dolphins?

The Stingray City excursions seems to be more relaxing and less regimented for time.

Any thoughts would be great - I only 8 more days to decide!

Also, how do you book your shore excursions - call Disney direct or are there forms to fill out (and if so - where do I get them?)

 

[dancermom]

We did the dolphin encounter when vacationing at the Atlantis this summer, and enjoyed it, but my girls who were 5 and 11 at the time would have liked the dophin swim more. You are waist high with the dolphins with 5 people in the water at a time. We did get about 20 minutes with the dolphins, but my DD's wanted to do the foot push with the dolphins but my 5 year old was too young. We will be returning this year and I promised they can do the swim. I don't think Disney will schedule the swim, you would need to do that on your own. It depends on how comfortable your DD's are about being in the water with the dolphins, I thought it was a good first experience, but the encounter might be too tame for them.

 

[ThreeSmiths]

We did the encounter on our 9/11/04 Magic trip. We were in waist-deep water with about 6 other people. Your group gets about 20 minutes of interaction with the dolphin, including petting, hugging, "dancing" and a kiss. The dolphin will swim around and splash everyone with it's tail and do some other tricks as well. I thought it was an incredible experience. We would have done the swim, but DD is not a strong swimmer. As far as I know, Disney does not book the swim, but if you book the encounter through Disney, you can upgrade to the swim once you get to the Dolphin Encounter place. You can call Disney and book your excursion on the phone. I would suggest that because it is a very popular excursion and seems to sell out fast. DH did not originally want to go to the Dolphin Encounter. He changed his mind and went to the shore excursion desk the morning of the excursion and was told that it was sold out, so he could not go with us.

 

[Dreamer04]

As far as upgrading to the swim once you get there, I tried toi this past August, and they were sold out. If this is something you want to do, check out their website www.dolphinencounters.com.