has anyone had kids get scared at DC?

[IHaveAFatCat]

I really want to get tickets for DC. I am not exactly sure how my kids will do, though. I'll be so sad if I pay all that money and they don't even want to get wet.

Is the staff and all the orientation stuff good at making kids feel comfortable?

Their ages are 7, 7 and 9. They are good swimmers and at other beaches they are into picking up crabs or snails at tide pools. They get easily cold though, and often say it's too cold to swim in our own pool (Massachusetts - what do you expect??). They've been fine petting animals at other petting zoos, etc. There is a park near us where birds will land on you and they've been fine with that. My daughter can sometimes get spooked by large dogs she doesn't know.

What have others experienced with their kids?

thanks in advance!

 

[gillybeaaan]

Have you asked your kids if they would like to do it? Obviously i know you cant do this if you're planning a surprise trip but maybe you could talk them through it a little bit.

If possible find videos of the different experiences and ask their opinions on it just to find out if it's something they would be interested in. Maybe then they would be a little bit more prepared if they decide it's something they would like to. This might just reassure you a little bit that they wont be too freaked out!

I've never been to Discovery Cove ( ) so i can't comment on water temperatures or if they'll get cold quickly!

Hope you all decide what to do and enjoy everything in whatever decision you make

 

[IHaveAFatCat]

funny! I was doing that today, finding youtube videos and saying, hypothetically, if we ever went to a place like this, do you think you'd want to try this??

 

[Cest_la_vie]

The only thing kids really get afraid of are the stingrays, and that's just because they're big, close and they've heard about Steve Irwin. But the animal trainers are all fairly used to and good at reassuring kids they'll be ok.

If cold water is an issue there are wetsuits available, but they'll still have to put up with a few minutes of cold water until it warms up. If you know how wetsuits work teach them beforehand so they understand and don't go running when it's not immediately warm. Also if you go in the winter the water feels warmer than in the summer since it's temperature controlled and is warmer than the air temperature.

 

[LockShockBarrel]

Not to be a Debbie Downer but I say this may be a bad idea. Dolphins are big and strong, more than you realize until you're in the water right next to them. The rays are pretty sizable in the Ray Pool and down right big in the Coral Reef. The ones in the reef pretty much stay on the bottom but the ones in the ray pool will be around your legs and feet. There are large birds in the aviary, and remember they have sharp claws. Any pools that have animals in them are kept at a temperature that's comfortable to them, and can be cool or cold depending on the time of day and time of year.

I obviously don't know your kids, but if any of this would freak them out, I'd probably avoid DC. The trainers will reassure you to a point, but they'll also remind you that when dealing with live animals, you can't always predict what will happen. I agree that showing them videos may be a good gauge as so how they'd react. They could watch the videos and say "Oh that looks so cool! I want to do it!" but you should know best if they really mean it. They might get there and be so amazed by the animals that they forget to be scared.

I'm just thinking if there's any chance of them freaking out to the point of potentially hurting an animal (kicking at a ray that gets to close or something like that), it's a no go.

 

[coastergirls]

Did DC with kids 2 years ago when 11,9 & 7 and had no problems. However this year had huge problem with DD3 who is now 9. She absolutely hated the stingrays she was petrified. No amount of coaxing or explaining would help. Last time when we were in the reef with her the rays were never a problem. She didn't join in when we went to ray pool and they didn't bother her when we snorkled. She didn't like them flapping against her. she has feed them everywhere at Tampa Zoo and at Seaworld on numerous occasions but was freaked by them this time at new reef.

 

[kimisabella]

We were at DC two weeks ago. It was the highlight of our vacation. Worth every penny. My younger daughter (7) was very afraid of the stingrays. Some of them in the grand reef are huge. They don't bother you, just either swim past you or lie on the bottom. The aviary is nice, but large birds do swoop down and latch onto your arm, head, etc.. My daughters did great w/the dolphin swim. The water is cold, 70 degrees to be exact, in the dolphin lagoon and grand reef, and we were there on a 96 degree day...Staff is wonderful, you really feel pampered when you go there.

 

[kacaju]

I have not done it, but my brother and SIL took my niece and nephew a few weeks ago.
Niece is 9nephew is 6. They waited until my nephew was old enough to do and my SIL really didn't think he was going to like it. My niece was the one who wanted to go. They all LOVED it. Although they didn't like the stingrays at first

 

[Lynne G]

If your kids like the water and marine life, they will love, love DC. We went on August 29 for the first time, and my kids would have spent days there.

Anyway, the water in the dolphin pool is cool. It is 70 or so. Cold to us northern Atlantic dwellers. They do give you full wetsuits if you want one, and my DS (13) wore a shirt to help with the coldness. Also, we thought the reef water was much cooler than the river (also in the 70's I believe). In fact, the river felt like bath water to us. It was really warm.

My little DD (now 10) loved the bird feeding and didn't mind birds on her. If you think your kids won't like the birds on them, visit the birds later in the day. They are very hungry when DC first opens, but then they soon get their fill, and are not very eager to see you and you cannot feed them after the late morning. They are something to see though. Swim to it and enter from the river.

My kids also loved, loved, loved the reef as much as they did interacting with the dolphin. DS was scared of the Southern Rays (they are about 3 feet wide across) at first, but after a few hours, I could not get him out of the reef. DD is not scared of much and loved touching the rays (6 different kinds!). I thought the DC employees were very helpful and answered questions, and were nice to the kids. I thought the younger kids were much rougher with the rays then my kids. The rays and other fish didn't seem to care about the handling. I think what freaked out my DS was when he was not ready to explore the reef right away, he sat down in the water. Well, sure enough one of those really big Southern rays sat on top of his feet. I had this one big fish keep bumping into me, but most of the time the fish and rays get out of your way. I liked the reef alot too.

I hope you have a good experience if you decide to go.

 

[c3363]

I went a few weeks ago. The lifeguards are quick to reassure guests that the stingray's barbs have been trimmed and they cannot sting. They also mention that they rarely ever bite unless strongly provoked.

There were very few children at discovery cove on our trip (slow day in September). However, we saw several kids hysterically crying and screaming in the grand reef (and even some adults were screaming hysterically) when stingrays came near them. It was kind of funny because you could hear the screams through people's snorkels. The lifeguards really wasn't getting involved too much because they were busy watching the water from their posts. However, they are helpful if you approach them and ask them questions.

Discovery cove has eliminated the stingray lagoon. The stingray lagoon used to be a small shallow pool loaded with stingrays. The new grand reef now has all the stingrays inside it. Now when you enter the grand reef, you see the large rays on the bottom plus a whole bunch of small/medium rays swimming all around you.

Be especially careful while in the river. On our trip we saw several lifeguards and other guests jumping in an 8 ft. portion to get a child out who was sinking. There is no salt in the water so you use more effort to float and swim, plus there's the addition of the slight current and limited places to stand and rest. I personally think the river water is way too warm. It feels like hot tub water to me.

Another warning, don't feed the large peacocks. They were pretty mean and pecked several people in my group hard enough to leave a mark (just while holding the food cup near them).

The water was pretty cold in the Grand Reef. Similar to Northeastern lake water. I used a vest, but other people in my group needed a wetsuit and still found the water cold.

While the price does seem expensive, you do get unlimited breakfast and lunch (although we felt the quality of food at the restaurant went way down since our last trip) and unlimited snacks and beverages. They even have alcoholic beverages and frozen adult drinks which are complimentary. You also get Sea World, Aquatica or Bush Gardens admission for 14 days. Sea World's rate for ONE day is $82 adult $37 child. If you plan to visit one of the included parks and eat breakfast, lunch and snacks, it's really not too bad of a value even if your kids just end up hanging out at the edge or in the aviary.

I should also add that the new reef has shallow portions all throughout and deeper portions mixed in. It's possible for the kids to stand within arms reach of you while you are in an area that is much deeper. There are many places that drop off very suddenly, and a few trenches where you have a small thin area of deep water with shallow areas on both sides.

 

[LockShockBarrel]

If memory serves the peacocks aren't interested in the veggies/kibble in the cup you usually get, but the like the worms...I think....The peacocks could have just been irked you didn't have what they wanted.