Is Discovery Cove Really Worth It?

[jhaig]

Never been there, so I'm just wondering from those that have been there - is it worth the $300 bucks a person to spend 30 minutes swimming with the dolphins? Do you still get SW admission free along with your admission to DC? My DD11 says it would be really cool to do. So does Dad shell out a grand to make it happen for the three of us?

 

[SmallWorld71]

We just went in August - the best day of our trip! We all loved it. We got there at 8 and stayed until 5:30. The dolphins were our favorites, but we also loved the snorkeling lagoon and the aviary.

I don't know if there are any discounts out there right now. But, we were able to get the $50 off per person, AMEX discount which brought our ticket prices from $229 a person to $179. The tickets included admission to Sea World for 14 days (or Aquatica or BG if we had chosen them) and we ended up spending two full days at SW as well. Add into that the breakfast, lunch, drinks and snacks that were included with our admission and we didn't feel it was much more expensive than anything else in Orlando.

 

[JLR]

It was the best day of our trip in April. We adored it. A couple of other things to consider:

1. Make sure you stay there ALL day - don't get fooled that it doesn't seem that much to do. We missed all the educational things we wanted to do (in the education cabana) because we were doing all the main activities. Show up at 8 am so you can be registered, suited up, fed and ready by the 9 am "opening time"

2. They will feed and hydrate you all day. The food is good but not great, but remember, you would be spending money on food, drinks, and snacks elsewhere.

3. One of the big expenses there is adventure photo - they take beautiful photos and an OK video. I would recommend getting the CD of your photos (not prints) (I can't recall how much this was maybe someone else remembers, maybe $75) + the video if you want it. Then make sure they take lots and lots of photos of your family - not just during your swim, but in the aviary and around the park. Be assertive in finding them.

4. Take advantage of the free admission to Sea World, Aquatica, or Busch Gardens - this could "earn back" half of what you pay.

I wasn't planning on going back until my twins become old enough to appreciate the dolphin swim, but with the new reef opening in June (when I will be in Orlando for a conference) I am seriously considering returning..... decisions, decisions.

I don't think you will regret it if you like animals. Just my opinion.

 

[kathy884]

It's a nice day, but it's awfully expensive and I didn't think it was worth the price. If you will be going somewhere else that offers a dolphin swim in the near future I'd do that instead. The Dolphin swim time in particular is very short at Discovery Cove. We're done dolphin experiences in Puerto Vallarta, Jamacia, and Key West and these three were all much less expensive and in my opinion more enjoyable than Discovery Cove and included WAY more dolphin time.

This question has been asked a lot on the Tripadvisor Orlando forum too. From posts I've read there I saw others who agree with me, but we are definately in the minority. Most people rave about their day at this park and think it is worth the price.

I let my 15 year old plan our upcoming March spring break Orlando trip, and he originally put Discovery Cove on the schedule. I showed him the price and asked him what he thought. And he said, "You've go to be kidding mom. It's definately not worth that and he picked something else to do." He too agreed that the dolphin experiences at the other places we've been were much better. He's not exactly deprived for dolphin experiences, though, as next summer he'll be going to the High School Sea World Career Camp in Orlando for five days and will get to visit Discovery Cove then. Here's it's included with the camp price, so is actually a pretty good deal.

The camp is a great experience if you have a child who loves marine mammals. They will have the time of their lives. The only downside is that you might have to make that camp part of your annual summer camp budget, as they will want to go back again.

 

[edamethyst]

Alot of times when we're at the parks someone will say they're tired, they want to go back to the room, they're feet hurt, or something along those lines...never once did anyone say anything even close to that during the day we spent at DC. It was a great day and well worth the money. It was like walking into paradise. We enjoyed every second and spent alot on the pictures and video but they are so worth it too. We love throwing it on here and there and watching it. I wish they offered a vacation package to spend a week there!!!

 

[Stryker412]

We're leaving for Disney tomorrow. My wife is three months pregnant so she can't do a lot of the rides at Disney, so I thought maybe taking her to DC one day as an alternative. Right now it's a $120/per ticket difference between the normal ticket and dolphin swim. My question is, having never been on a dolphin swim is it worth $240 for us to do it?

 

[ILoveMyGirls]

we went in Sept and it was 199.00 each. some got it for 149.00 with their American Express Card.

IMO it is worth it worth doing once. In addition, there is so much to do that we spent the entire day there after our dolphin swim.

We're leaving for Disney tomorrow. My wife is three months pregnant so she can't do a lot of the rides at Disney, so I thought maybe taking her to DC one day as an alternative. Right now it's a $120/per ticket difference between the normal ticket and dolphin swim. My question is, having never been on a dolphin swim is it worth $240 for us to do it?

 

[ILoveMyGirls]

also, what is awesome is that the dolphin will be able to hear the baby, it is amazing. the dolphin will know your wife is preg. when we were there the trainer told us that some of the women that work there found out they were preg. from the dolphins they were training.

 

[SPBendersky]

$300 is steep, but may be worth it depending on the program. We spent $200 a peson in Cancun a few years back and spent a full hour in the water with them. :30 educational also it was a great program. At the end they would push you. All in all youwant a good amount of face time for the money.

 

[yfchen22]

We've been to Discovery Cove three times so far. Yes, it is quite expensive if you opt for Dolphin swim. Last time we went in June, there was a discount of $100 off and free admission to another park and only one person signed up for dolphin swim. Dolphin swim was ok, not sure if it's worth the extra money. We actually enjoyed rest of the parks a lot more like feeding stingrays and birds. It was worth $500 we spend for family of four.

 

[twinmomplus2new]

We did it in August. The kids and I loved it. However they actually enjoyed the Lazy river thing the most out of the entire day. I was very disapointed in the phots. The only photos we had taken of us were the Dolphin swim.
We would go back but opt for the Non Dolhin swim this time.