Sea World, and Discovery Cove?...

[mike.munro]

Hi,

Sea World
Does anyone know if there is a 'behind the scenes' tour you can book at Sea World?, and if so it it good!...

Discovery Cove
Has anyone experianced this?... we are in two minds whether to book. Is it worth it?, any tips?...

Appreciate your help.

 

[karentan]

hi mike
for info on the backstage tour at seaworld, go to www.shamu.com
i havent done the one at seaworld orlando, but i did the one at seaworld san diego, i think it was well worth the money, we got to feed the dolphins, the penguin, the eels, and got to see all the backstage areas. its very interesting to see how they do everything. i'd recommend it
as for discovery cove, i havent been there yet but we're going in november. i've always wanted to swim with dolphins so it'll be a once in a lifetime experience for me. its up to you whether you want to spend that much money but i've never heard a bad thing about the place. check out the seaworld/discovery cove board for more info

hope this helps

 

[FloridaSam]

Hi Mike

We did the tour at Seaworld and went behind the scenes to see the Penguins! My son is a penguin freak and we absolutely loved the trip. Its well worth a visit.

Sam x

 

[Camac]

Hi Mike

don't know about the behind the scenes tours at SeaWorld but would also be interested in replies.

Discovery Cove is a wonderful experience. Yes, it is expensive but it was the best Christmas Day we have day. Thoroughly recommend it.

Camac

 

[cocinelle]

Discovery Cove is fabulous. One of the most fantastic places I have ever been lucky enough to visit (thanks again, Momma!!). It goes without saying that the dolphin encounter is unbelievable (anyone who has experienced Sea World will appreciate that the trainers and animals are unbelievable), but what I was most impressed with was the facilities of the rest of the park. Swimming with rays and tropical fish in the clearest water (no silt to be stirred and spoil the view!!)to feeding birds in the aviary, to floating through waterfalls on the laziest of rivers!! Best day ever, definitely worth the mulah (although there are ways to pre-empt the crazy spending fest when you get there..), if you can fit it in to your holiday DO IT!! You won't regret it!

cocinelle xx

ps- I do not work for Discovery Cove or for the Anheuser-Busch corporation!!

 

[debbyLL]

we had a fantastic time at dc but even better dh had arranged a suprise for our 10th anniversary he arranged for the dolphin to swim up with a buoy with a personal message on. they said they needed an adult to come forward to help with a trick it couldn't be done with a child in case the dolphin was too strong the dolphin swam underwater and then came up directly in front of me and i swear he presented me with this buoy, everbody clappin cheerin, i was crying and then if that not enough a member of staff was waiting at the beach and took us to a private cabana decorated with fresh flowers champagne in a bucket and chocs i felt we were on a desert island only prob two dd were with us ha ha. only downside the day was overcast in oct but a memorable day with or without the suprise

 

[FloridaSam]

Hi

Hopefully this link should take you to the details of the tours in Seaworld.

http://www.seaworld.org/education-programs/swf/tour/index.htm#pe

Sam xx

 

[steve_rob]

I'd recommend the Behind The Scenes : Polar Expedition tour at Seaworld. But don't just take my word for it - here's a whole DISBoards thread about it: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=225115

In fact, I've also been on the BTS : Predators tour as well and while this was also good, I though the Polar one was better (because of the penguins!)

Edit - take no notice of the $7 price quoted on the thread linked above; it was written about two years ago. It's now $15 for adults, $12 for children - but in SeaWorld's defence, they have made the tours longer now I understand, so it still is good value.

 

[Lisa Francis]

Hi,

Sea World
Does anyone know if there is a 'behind the scenes' tour you can book at Sea World?, and if so it it good!...

Discovery Cove
Has anyone experianced this?... we are in two minds whether to book. Is it worth it?, any tips?...

Appreciate your help.

We have booked Discovery Cove for june 1st. We had friends go out last October and said its the best day they have ever had..they had children aged 7 and 6. The youngest cannot swim herself yet but was helped by the dolphin person and managed to do everything.
Another set of our friends went in January and although weather was poor they again said it made their holiday. i believe they were on quite a tight budget and felt it well worth it. so hope this helps.

all the food is free but i believe you pay for drinks
.

 

[SimonG]

Hi,

On our last trip in May '04 swam with the dolphins at Discovery Cove,it was fabulous and well worth the money.You get to spend the whole day there, my daughter was 8 and spent most of the day in the pool with the stingrays I can honestly say that she enjoyed that experience as much as swimming with the dolphins!!! I got to stretch out on the sandy beach (man made of course) whilst my husband bobbed around discovery cove in the pool that goes around the place and takes you into the avary, a touch of paradise and an excellent way to relax and take a little time out.
We also did the dine with Shamu and the Polar expedition (you can pet a penguin!) in Seaworld and would definately recommend both.

 

[Chipnpin]

A group of 8 of us did Discovery Cove last year, with the children doing the dolphin swim - Absolutely magical, everyone loved it. The ray area is superb, you get to stand knee deep and feed them by hand - if you want to, and then there's a vast marine pool that you can snorkel in to your hearts content. Take or buy underwater cameras, the colour and size of some of the fish is fantastic. The food was superb - pet subject!! - and although I think you were only supposed to go in once for drinks, by accident more than design, we made several "rounds" between us. The only negative was the time it took us to sort out our photo packages, as there were two kids from our two families plus two other people in the dolphin swim group. It made for some complicated choices - thank heavens for the friendly staff. The photodisc was excellent, but the video was dissapointing, the video my friend & I took from the beach was to be honest, better. But that single small negative aside, I would recommend it to anyone. It's expensive, but really it's a once in a lifetime experience.