Is Discovery Cove Worth The Cost?

[Cinderella]

DD 11 wants to do the Dolphin swim experience at discovery cove. She's wanted to swim with the dolphins for a few years but I wanted to wait until she was old enough to remember doing it.

But the prices for four of us make Disney park tickets look cheap. Do you get much interaction with the Dolphins and is it worth it? Are the dolphins well looked after and were they born there, as opposed to being taken from there natural habitat?

 

[dolphingirl47]

I have been to Discovery Cove 6 times and have done the dolphin swim twice and Trainer for a Day four times. To me it is worth every cent. The dolphin interaction is great. In a typical interaction you get to give the dolphin plenty of rub downs, get a kiss, might get a flipper shake or a dance, get to give hand signals to the dolphins to do various behaviours and you get the dorsal tow from the deeper part of the lagoon back into the shallows.
Apart from the dolphin interaction, there are three interconnected aviaries that we love to spend time in, the coral reef, where you can snorkel amongst loads of tropical fish, the tropical river and the stingray lagoon. The beach is beautiful and continental breakfast, lunch and snacks and drinks are all included. You also get a two week pass for either Seaworld or Busch Gardens. Or for an extra fee you can have a ticket that is valid in all three parks (Seaworld, Busch Gardens and Aquatica).
As to the dolphins, they are probably the most spoiled animals in captivity. They are looked after very well and they participate in the interactions completely voluntarily. If a dolphin does not feel like taking part in the interactions, they just let the dolphin return to the back area and ask another dolphin to do the interaction. Not many dolphins where actually born at Discovery Cove (maybe up to 10), but most dolphins were born in the various Seaworld parks. They have some very old dolphins as well (in their fourties) which were caught in the wild in the the early 1970s. One of them is a real character. He is called Capricorn and is their oldest and largest dolphin. He is also extremely sociable and just loves being with people. They have three dolphin lagoons at Discovery Cove that are next to each other, but not linked. They used to do an evening programme that included a shallow water interaction. For that they would only use one of the lagoons. Capricorn was at the lagoon at one end and the interaction took place at the lagoon that was furthest away. Capricorn realised that there was something going on in one of the other lagoons. He actually jumped over the partitions of two lagoons and suddenly turned up next to the trainer and decided to take part in the interaction.

dolphingirl47

 

[Freaky]

DD 11 wants to do the Dolphin swim experience at discovery cove. She's wanted to swim with the dolphins for a few years but I wanted to wait until she was old enough to remember doing it.

But the prices for four of us make Disney park tickets look cheap. Do you get much interaction with the Dolphins and is it worth it? Are the dolphins well looked after and were they born there, as opposed to being taken from there natural habitat?

We have been considering this too but as you say the price for a family of 4 is substantial. I keep reading great reports, in fact haven't seen a bad review so perhaps we will reduce the other parks this year and go for the dolphin experience.

 

[Cinderella]

Thanks DolphinGirl - It does sound awesome. Maybe we could skip Seaworld and do this instead to save on the other tickets.

@ Freaky - I'm thinking the same as you. It is expensive for a whole family. But it does sound awesome doesn't it. And the rest of Discovery Cove looks lovely too.

 

[Freaky]

Yeah the whole day experience just seems fabulous. Our DD13 is really keen, DS9 I think will enjoy it more than he thinks DH & I have just been discussing this and perhaps we will only do a few days at our favourite Disney parks, so not all of them. We could buy the US Magic Your Way passes but with the $ rate not as good now it may still work out better to go for the UK 7 or 10 day pass. Decisions, decisions............but at least we have another few months to make the decision on that as we don't go to the end of June.

Discovery Cove I think is going to happen for us this year (Recession or not )

Tracey

 

[johnsonet]

DD and I went in July 2005 and it was the most wonderful experience! You will not regret it. To save money I would not buy all the pics and DVDs. I spent tons of $$$ on that and have never even looked at them! The park is beautiful and immaculately clean. You will relax and enjoy yourselves and want to return again and again! I highly recommend it.
Get there early, swim with the dolphins early (this is brief, I will warn you) and then relax! We got beach chairs right in front of the dolphin swim area and I LOVED watching others swim with the dolphins all day long... Good luck!

 

[Brian Noble]

Everyone I know has said the same thing. Lots of money, but worth every penny. Most would pass on most of the pictgures/videos/etc. if they had it to do over again.

 

[MomofCKJ]

We are contemplating this too so I am happy to find this thread. I am taking oldest DD to Disney in August for her 12th bday. She has asked to go to Discovery Cove one day. It is just so high. But I think we'll just stay at Pop Century (just got a quote from my TA and I had the 40% PIN) and maybe just do 3 days in the parks and one day at DC. I think it will be so memorable for her (and me too!).

Allyson

 

[mecllap]

Thanks DolphinGirl - It does sound awesome. Maybe we could skip Seaworld and do this instead to save on the other tickets.

@ Freaky - I'm thinking the same as you. It is expensive for a whole family. But it does sound awesome doesn't it. And the rest of Discovery Cove looks lovely too.

We went to DC eight years ago and had a lovely day. Only DD did the dolphin experience -- DGS was a baby and I stayed with him (so my ticket was less). We were looking into doing it this June but decided the cost is just too much, but I'm pretty sure the DC admission also includes going to SeaWorld (and it seems like it also included going to Busch Gardens in Tampa -- they have a shuttle bus). It's a wonderful relaxing break from the "hectic-ness" of the theme parks.

 

[Frothy]

Again I say do it. It's something special your DD has wanted to do and it's something you will look back at for years to come and is worth the cost. Life is short.

 

[Wishing on a star]

If your one daughter is the real dolphin lover, it really might be worth it!

If you could possibly consider just her and one of you adults doing the actual dolphin swim, and the other two could just pay general admission, then that could cut the cost quite a bit.

That is what we did.
I did the dolphiin swim with our son, while my husband stayed on the beach and took photos of it all.

 

[Freaky]

If your one daughter is the real dolphin lover, it really might be worth it!

If you could possibly consider just her and one of you adults doing the actual dolphin swim, and the other two could just pay general admission, then that could cut the cost quite a bit.

That is what we did.
I did the dolphiin swim with our son, while my husband stayed on the beach and took photos of it all.

That may be a good idea Only problem is DH & I will be arguing who wants to swim - but think I can win that one as he takes better photos

DH also has an annual pass for SW & BG from our last trip so that should get us some discount if we pay in $$ - once again that will depend on the exchange rate if it works out cheaper

 

[MAGGIED]

My DD and my niece and I did this a couple of years ago... we loved it.... worth every penny... at that time it did include admission to Seaworld.... we had such a wonderful day there...

 

[DonnaL]

To the poster who is considering Discovery Cove in June.....I wouldn't wait too long to make reservations. We were at SW two weeks ago and my son inquired about the Dolphin Swim...since he plans to do it on our next visit. The person in Customer Relations he spoke with told him during the busier times of year (summer, holidays, etc) you need to make reservations five or six months in advance.

 

[WDWMagicGirlie]

My family of 8 went two years ago. It was awesome! We did everything including the dolphin experience. It was so much fun. We didn't want the day to end. The park is clean and well-kept. All food was provided for the entire day-a meal/drinks/snacks (all you can eat)--although we spent almost all of our time snorkeling!

We are planning on going back in May--I highly recommend Discovery Cove.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Do bears poop in the woods?

 

[jpeppers]

Don't count on that AP doing anything for you, it will get you a discount for the AP holder but no one else. I finally booked with the $50 off on the web site for anyone and discount for everyone in party. I hung on to my AP for the last 6 months hoping for a discount but got nothing from it.

 

[DCinNs]

We went to DC last August and absolutely LOVED it. There was 3 in our family & 5 in our friends. It is very expensive and worth every cent! I would not return to Orlando withjout going....period! We found it good value when you look at what is included:

Parking
Admission to Seaworld
Dolphin Swim (if you decide to)
Breakfast, Lunch and all snacks.
Towels, suntan lotion, snorkle & mask
Some of the nicest staff available.

We found it to be a very relaxing day, our only problem was we went the second day of our vacation... and nothing else could live up to it...although Cirque de Solei came next.

 

[shaun&miranda]

I too would say definitely do it! I have been twice now, and it is an awesome day out.

Couple of useful things for you to know, beyond what others have said:

Your ticket is for a whole day's admission to Discovery Cove, which has a lot more than just dolphins.

Your dolphin interaction will last about 30 mins in the special lagoon area

When you arrive and check in at DC you will be told the time of your dolphin encounter. Not all your group HAVE to have the same time slot - indeed you can request different times if it helps with childcare etc or if you are a large group.

Other dolphin interactions will be going on around you at the same time - I seem to remember there are 3 lagoons, with I think 3/4 interaction groups of 6-8 people in each lagoon at one time

The dolphin trainers will supervise the whole experience to make it appropriate for you and will adjust the experience for poor swimmers and children to keep everyone safe and happy

You will be asked to wear a wetsuit jacket (waistcoat style) in summer, or a full wetsuit in winter for the whole day

You are directly, after the dolphin encounter, shown all the cool pictures of you with the dolphins. These are quite expensive and it is very tempting to buy them. I have to say we bought the photos both times and don't regret it for a second - I look at them on my wall every day!

Make sure to do the other things at the park - the stingray lagoon is really amazing, the "coral reef" is lovely, as is the nice (warmer!) swimming area and the aviary (bit scary if you don't like birds, but easy to avoid if that is the case).

The food is also very good indeed - snacks and main meals - and there are always plenty of sunbeds to set up camp on for the day and just take in some sunshine

Do remember that the price of admission does include your Seaworld or Busch Gardens ticket too - for us that made the price a bit easier to swallow!

It really is a very memorable day. You will feel like a VIP all day long! I hope you do decide to go and that you find this info helpful.

Miranda

 

[d4est]

We are going to DC in just a couple of weeks (Feb 15th). The admission definitely includes tickets to Sea World. Here's the list:

Amenities

Changing facilities, indoor and outdoor showers, Crabtree and Evelyn shampoo, conditioner, and soaps, as well as towels, lockers, lounge chairs, beach umbrellas and animal-safe children’s toys are provided.
All of your snacks and beverages throughout the evening, including a light continental breakfast, a freshly-prepared lunch and various Anheuser-Busch products (Since food and beverages are provided, please refrain from bringing food, beverages, and coolers.)
A personalized Discovery Cove identification card with In-Park Charging. This feature will allow you to use your ID card in association with your credit card to charge any additional purchases such as souvenirs and photos. In addition, it eliminates the need to carry a credit card or cash with you throughout the evening.
Unlimited admission to either SeaWorld Orlando or Busch Gardens Tampa Bay to be used during your vacation. The upgraded Ultimate package includes unlimited admission to SeaWorld Orlando, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and Aquatica to be used during your vacation. These Worlds of Discovery park passes must be used consecutively with your Discovery Cove visit -- either 14 days before, after, or a combination of both.
A come-and-go-as-you-please personalized ID card will serve as your ticket if you decide to visit your selected sister park(s) after your reservation date. However, if you plan on visiting SeaWorld or Busch Gardens prior to your Discovery Cove adventure, simply present your confirmation letter at their Guest Relations/Services window located at the front gate. At Aquatica, the process is the same should you visit there prior to Discovery Cove, however, the entry is located at the Big Kahuna Entrance just to the left of the turnstiles.
Discovery Cove offers special prescription masks in various strengths (near-sighted: -1 through -8 and far-sighted: 1 through 8) on a first come, first serve basis.
Discovery Cove can accommodate guests with disabilities who are able to maneuver themselves with limited assistance (or with the aid of a personal assistant) during their dolphin experience and in the various wading locations. Discovery Cove also offers specially-designed outdoor wheelchairs with oversized tires for easy maneuvering on the beach.

Because we booked more than 100 days out, we received a 10% discount. I have waited several years to do this and I am so excited! I will share info and pics when we get back!