So what about Discovery Cove?

[tripletvan]

I was wondering if Discovery Cove is really worth it as we have 5 in our family and the admission would be about $1,000. Is there anywhere to get a discount? What have the reviews been like?

 

[mouseclick1]

You might want to jump over to the SeaWorld/Discovery Cove boards and check out some posts. I have a trip report posted there regarding our visit 2 weeks ago.

 

[Cindy B]

Ok, first off there is a Sea World/Discovery Cove forum here. You will find all sorts of opinions, and answers to your questions.

I went last year, in August 2001.

It was fabulous! Yes, it was expensive, but it was well worth it.

The trip reports are also on that board as well.

Considering what was included, the dolphin swim, free parking, free very nice lunch, snorkeling, free use of equipment, free potrait at the entrance, bird aviary, the coral reef, the stingrays, it was amazing. On top of that, the seven day FREE entrance to Sea World as well, just made it worth our while.

I've heard about some discounts with one of the Anheisher Busch Annual Passes, but I am uncertain of the type so I don't quote me on that.


You can bring the cost down a little bit, by having some of your party only doing the non dolphin swim, and maybe only one doing the actual dolphin swim.

We got our monies worth. We went to Sea World 4/5 times, and also the day at Discovery Cove. It was the highlight of my ten year wedding anniversary!

It may be a once in a lifetime thing, but I am so glad I did it.

 

[BigBlue]

Definately

 

[FLParadisevilla]

Worth every penny and then some! I think we got 7 days admission to Sea World with our Discovery Cove ticket as well!!

 

[MouseGirl]

We just booked a day at DC for March 2007 - depending on when you are going, there is currently a 10% discount being offered on the DC website for visits up to and including March 10, 2007 that are made at least 60 days in advance. I'm not sure when you will be travelling, but you might want to look into that if you'll be there early in the new year - it added up to a nice savings for our family of four!

 

[MiaSRN62]

Considering what was included, the dolphin swim, free parking, free very nice lunch, snorkeling, free use of equipment, free potrait at the entrance, bird aviary, the coral reef, the stingrays, it was amazing. On top of that, the seven day FREE entrance to Sea World as well, just made it worth our while.

We were there in Aug 2003. We are glad we did it at least once. Yes, alot is included, but keep in mind, that the actual time in the water with the dolphin is maybe about 30 min out of the entire day and you are assigned a specific time. Just wanted to give u a head's up on that in case it was a factor in your decision. We had a great day there.

 

[Sandra22]

We went to Discovery Cove in 2004 and had an awesome time!
It is one of those things we knew we would probably only do once and were glad that we did it. We spent the whole day there and never once questioned whether or not it was worth the $$$.
If you go to tripadvisor.com there are some reviews there also regarding Discovery Cove.



Sandra

 

[Katies Dad]

We had a great time when we went in 2003, it was so good we are booking to go again next summer (said we would only do it once because of the cost!! but it is a fantastic day) you won`t regret going.

 

[HopperFan]

Took my DS in Sept at @ half price via our AAA. Special Offer. It included parking, photo, towels, locker, wetsuit/vest, snorkel (you kept), goggles, breakfast, lunch, all the drinks and snacks we wanted all day long.....With our discount and all the perks it was less than a day at Disney.

Was very intimate, wonderful snorkeling, great (warm water) resort swim area with lazy river, ray pool, aviary (was nothing special), lots of seating some with umbrellas in different areas, showers, just a beautiful place. Felt like another world ! We did not do dolphin because I wasn't sure if he (is disabled) would enjoy it. We did watch it however from the beach, and after I was glad I did not do it. He would not have gotten anything from the class and the water time was not long. When I return with the entire family will probably allow other kids to do it......but I am going to check some other places to compare water time with prices. We want to combine that trip with a visit to Gulf Coast and have our 7day pass for Busch Gardens.

 

[UKDEB]

BigBlue - you registered yesterday and your entire 10 posts have been resurrecting old Discovery Cove posts. What's all that about?

 

[suzyk]

I'm with the worth it crowd.

 

[maiyasgram]

DH and I did this in 2004. Although it seemed pricey at the time we are very glad we did it. We had a great day and worth every $$$.

 

[aviva5675]

We did this in Dec 02 and it was great. My DD then 10 says its her favorite memory of our trip which was actually mostly all Disney. We lucked out in a mostly bad weather week of a nice mild sunny day and it was well worth the price, which was definitely lower then (99?). Anyway, its a once in a lifetime kind of thing, more than likely, so worth it!

 

[DisneyMarathon]

The snorkeling is excellent. However, the encounter with the dolphin is less desirable. It is crowded and the encounter time with the dolphin is very limited. I have done dolphin swims at other places and I find that the dolphin swim at Discovery Cove is the most expensive and less interaction.