Package Deals through Discovery Cove

[Dolphin_Rachel]

Hello Everyone. First and foremost, thank you for all of the information posted within this board, it has been tremendously helpful in planning an upcoming trip.

I have a couple of questions that I haven't seen covered and am hoping the experts here might have experience with.

1. When you book a package through DC you get a 10% off discount. Does this discount include photo packages like the SW Photo Key and DC dolphin swim packages?
2. If you buy the SW Photo Key does it include the pictures taken at the Animal Experiences? For example, the Dolphin Encounter description mentions pictures, will those be an additional charge or can they be included on the Photo Key?
3. Does the 10% discount apply to the animal experiences? I am wondering if I should go ahead and book online or if I should wait until I am at the park and could possibly take advantage of the 10% off.
4. The behind the scene's rescue tour included in the package, I have heard that availability could be limited. Should I be concerned that we may not be able to enjoy this experience? We plan to be at SW on 3 different days and am wondering if we will have an issue getting this scheduled.
5. The shuttles from the hotels, does anyone know how early they begin in the morning and how strict they are with scheduling? For instance, what if we schedule a 5:00 return trip to the hotel and decide to leave at 4:00. Is this going to be a problem or is there some flexibility?

Thank you in advance for your assistance and advice. It is greatly appreciated.

 

[mjhtvchick]

Hello Everyone. First and foremost, thank you for all of the information posted within this board, it has been tremendously helpful in planning an upcoming trip.

I have a couple of questions that I haven't seen covered and am hoping the experts here might have experience with.

1. When you book a package through DC you get a 10% off discount. Does this discount include photo packages like the SW Photo Key and DC dolphin swim packages?
2. If you buy the SW Photo Key does it include the pictures taken at the Animal Experiences? For example, the Dolphin Encounter description mentions pictures, will those be an additional charge or can they be included on the Photo Key?
3. Does the 10% discount apply to the animal experiences? I am wondering if I should go ahead and book online or if I should wait until I am at the park and could possibly take advantage of the 10% off.
4. The behind the scene's rescue tour included in the package, I have heard that availability could be limited. Should I be concerned that we may not be able to enjoy this experience? We plan to be at SW on 3 different days and am wondering if we will have an issue getting this scheduled.
5. The shuttles from the hotels, does anyone know how early they begin in the morning and how strict they are with scheduling? For instance, what if we schedule a 5:00 return trip to the hotel and decide to leave at 4:00. Is this going to be a problem or is there some flexibility?

Thank you in advance for your assistance and advice. It is greatly appreciated.

I will try my best to answer your questions but I don't have a lot of personal experience with the photo packages...

First, this page (https://discoverycove.com/en/vacations/benefits/) outlines the benefits and provides a comparison of booking a package with an "official Sea World hotel" vs. a "Sea World partner hotel"...there are some slight differences - most notably Quick Queue and the Behind the Scenes tour.

1) It says on that page that the 10% merchandise discount applies to the Discovery Photo Package at Discovery Cove®.

2) Based on the information on Sea World's site (https://seaworld.com/orlando/upgrades/photo-packages/), it looks like Discovery Cove photos are not included on the SW PhotoKey.

3) No, I don not believe the discount can be applied to animal experiences

4) It always depends on the time of year you are going, but if you are planning to be there on three separate days, I don't think you will have an issue.

5) I have no experience with this - we stayed at the Renaissance when we did our package a few years back and we just walked everywhere.