Swimming with the dolphins

[Phil Cirrone]

Has anybody swam with the dolphins? Is it worth the money
Lisa

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

I haven't swam with the Dolphins yet. We won't do that until our October trip but I can tell you without ever having done it...it HAS TO BE WORTH IT!! How can it not be? You get to be up close and personal with real live Dolphins. I can't wait!! From what I understand each person gets to be PULLED through the water by the Dolphins dorsal fin for 15 or 20 feet.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

We swam with the dolphins in December 2011. While it was fun and we're glad we did it, we both feel like once was enough. We're going to Discovery Cove twice on our next trip, but only doing the non-dolphin swim for both visits. The park is so beautiful and relaxing that there's enough to do without it.

The dolphin interaction is over quickly. Keep in mind that the 30 minutes is not being in the water for the 30 minutes. You meet at a cabana with a bunch of other people and you fill out waivers, watch a video, and talk to a trainer. Then you're led in 6-10 person groups down to the sand/water and we stood there for a few minutes waiting for them to get everyone sorted and walk into the water. You stand in about waist deep water and they bring a dolphin over and let you touch its sides. Then you do different hand gestures as a group to have the dolphin do different things. Our group was 8 of us. Then you each get to kiss the dolphin's nose so you wait a few minutes for each person to have their turn (they have photographers taking pictures of this and the dolphin pull). Then the trainer asks who wants to go in deeper water to have the dolphin pull you (you can do a shallow swim if you're afraid of deeper water or can't swim). You have to tread water while the dolphin pulls the other people (approx. 20-30 seconds each). Then you all do one more hand gesture as a group that sends the dolphin with all the other dolphins jumping in and out of the water in the distance. And that's it.

Sorry for the play-by-play . It was fun, but I don't know if it was worth such a huge price difference. If it is something you've been dying to do your whole life, then you should definitely do it.

 

[Phil Cirrone]

Thank you so much Kimberly,
I loved the play by play it was realy very helpful. How did you remember everything LOL. They're are six of us so it really is a big expense so I'll have to think about it.

Lisa

We swam with the dolphins in December 2011. While it was fun and we're glad we did it, we both feel like once was enough. We're going to Discovery Cove twice on our next trip, but only doing the non-dolphin swim for both visits. The park is so beautiful and relaxing that there's enough to do without it.

The dolphin interaction is over quickly. Keep in mind that the 30 minutes is not being in the water for the 30 minutes. You meet at a cabana with a bunch of other people and you fill out waivers, watch a video, and talk to a trainer. Then you're led in 6-10 person groups down to the sand/water and we stood there for a few minutes waiting for them to get everyone sorted and walk into the water. You stand in about waist deep water and they bring a dolphin over and let you touch its sides. Then you do different hand gestures as a group to have the dolphin do different things. Our group was 8 of us. Then you each get to kiss the dolphin's nose so you wait a few minutes for each person to have their turn (they have photographers taking pictures of this and the dolphin pull). Then the trainer asks who wants to go in deeper water to have the dolphin pull you (you can do a shallow swim if you're afraid of deeper water or can't swim). You have to tread water while the dolphin pulls the other people (approx. 20-30 seconds each). Then you all do one more hand gesture as a group that sends the dolphin with all the other dolphins jumping in and out of the water in the distance. And that's it.

Sorry for the play-by-play . It was fun, but I don't know if it was worth such a huge price difference. If it is something you've been dying to do your whole life, then you should definitely do it.

 

[greenclan67]

We loved it the first time as well. We have made two more return visits without the dolphin swim, and enjoyed it just as much! My daughter always wanted to swim with dolphins, it was just that a "once in a lifetime" experience. I wouldn't do it again for that kind of money, but love, love, love the park. It is very relaxing, and we are booked to go again in March!

 

[everylastbreath]

Not to hijack your thread, but thinking of going in May with my GS (6), what else is there to do at this park that makes it worth going without the dolphin swim???? Is it an all day thing?

 

[NeverlandClub23]

I certainly can't speak for anyone else, but our day felt like it flew by at Discovery Cove. We arrived about 9 a.m. and checked in. It takes a few minutes to check in and get your Discovery Cove ID's and lanyards. Then you take a complimentary photo on your way into the park.

After that, you're kind of on your own to do whatever you want. We stopped at the restaurant to enjoy a leisurely breakfast (breakfast ended at 10:30). Then made our way to the wetsuit and locker area. After changing and stowing our stuff in the lockers, we made our way to the Grand Reef (where you swim with rays and other tropical fish). We took our time exploring the shallow areas and then put our snorkels/face masks on to go swim around in the deeper areas. We were probably here for about 2 hours, but it felt like no time at all.

Next, we grabbed some lounge chairs and a drink and just soaked in the warmth of the sunshine (it was about 60-65 degrees that day and the water in the Grand Reef is pretty chilly). After that, we went for another lap around the Grand Reef.

At about 12:45 we made our way to get some lunch. They had a calypso/steel drum type band playing in the eating area so we sat there for awhile just eating our lunch and relaxing.

Our dolphin swim time was at 1:45, but even with removing that 30 minutes of time we could have just spent longer at the other things we did.

After the dolphin swim, we made our way over to Serenity Bay and picked up a couple floating noodles to float around Wind Away River. It was soooooooooo warm and felt soooooooo good (probably not warm during the summer ). A full lap around (they had Discovery Cove people taking pictures and we knew we wanted to buy the CD so we stopped for some of them, one was even underwater ) takes awhile (wasn't sure how long as we didn't have a watch and I relied on the clock near the eating area to know what time it was).

After splashing around Serenity Bay, there's a drink/snack place right there so we got out and got a drink and some ice cream. We hung out on the chairs for a few minutes before heading over to the Aviary. The food for the birds is free so we had a great time feeding the birds and just walking around the beautiful, lush Aviary.

We decided to take another lap around the Wind Away River. We stopped at a few of the waterfalls and thought it was fun to "dive" under the water and check out the "artifacts". My fiance really wanted to go back to Grand Reef for a little bit, but it was already almost 4 at this point so we didn't have a lot of time there (the park closed at 5:30 and we wanted to get the photos). We went for a quick lap around the Grand Reef before heading to the bathrooms to take a nice, hot shower and change. We then went to the photo area (which was packed as they said it would be), ordered our photo CD (which takes a few minutes to get), and went to the gift shops until it was ready.

Once we picked up our photo CD (and the prints and frame that came with it), we grabbed one last soda and a snack and made our way out. It was right at 5:20.

Freshwater Oasis is opening this year so I can't imagine trying to fit even more in. We also wanted to find the hammocks this year and relax in those for a bit. If you have children that like to play in the sand, they even have sand toys for the kids to play with. Even though Discovery Cove only has a few areas, it's easy to underestimate the amount of time to really enjoy each area. If you're looking to just rush through something to get to the next thing, Discovery Cove wouldn't be your kind of a park. But to just relax and take it slow, Discovery Cove is amazing!

 

[everylastbreath]

I certainly can't speak for anyone else, but our day felt like it flew by at Discovery Cove. We arrived about 9 a.m. and checked in. It takes a few minutes to check in and get your Discovery Cove ID's and lanyards. Then you take a complimentary photo on your way into the park.

After that, you're kind of on your own to do whatever you want. We stopped at the restaurant to enjoy a leisurely breakfast (breakfast ended at 10:30). Then made our way to the wetsuit and locker area. After changing and stowing our stuff in the lockers, we made our way to the Grand Reef (where you swim with rays and other tropical fish). We took our time exploring the shallow areas and then put our snorkels/face masks on to go swim around in the deeper areas. We were probably here for about 2 hours, but it felt like no time at all.

Next, we grabbed some lounge chairs and a drink and just soaked in the warmth of the sunshine (it was about 60-65 degrees that day and the water in the Grand Reef is pretty chilly). After that, we went for another lap around the Grand Reef.

At about 12:45 we made our way to get some lunch. They had a calypso/steel drum type band playing in the eating area so we sat there for awhile just eating our lunch and relaxing.

Our dolphin swim time was at 1:45, but even with removing that 30 minutes of time we could have just spent longer at the other things we did.

After the dolphin swim, we made our way over to Serenity Bay and picked up a couple floating noodles to float around Wind Away River. It was soooooooooo warm and felt soooooooo good (probably not warm during the summer ). A full lap around (they had Discovery Cove people taking pictures and we knew we wanted to buy the CD so we stopped for some of them, one was even underwater ) takes awhile (wasn't sure how long as we didn't have a watch and I relied on the clock near the eating area to know what time it was).

After splashing around Serenity Bay, there's a drink/snack place right there so we got out and got a drink and some ice cream. We hung out on the chairs for a few minutes before heading over to the Aviary. The food for the birds is free so we had a great time feeding the birds and just walking around the beautiful, lush Aviary.

We decided to take another lap around the Wind Away River. We stopped at a few of the waterfalls and thought it was fun to "dive" under the water and check out the "artifacts". My fiance really wanted to go back to Grand Reef for a little bit, but it was already almost 4 at this point so we didn't have a lot of time there (the park closed at 5:30 and we wanted to get the photos). We went for a quick lap around the Grand Reef before heading to the bathrooms to take a nice, hot shower and change. We then went to the photo area (which was packed as they said it would be), ordered our photo CD (which takes a few minutes to get), and went to the gift shops until it was ready.

Once we picked up our photo CD (and the prints and frame that came with it), we grabbed one last soda and a snack and made our way out. It was right at 5:20.

Freshwater Oasis is opening this year so I can't imagine trying to fit even more in. We also wanted to find the hammocks this year and relax in those for a bit. If you have children that like to play in the sand, they even have sand toys for the kids to play with. Even though Discovery Cove only has a few areas, it's easy to underestimate the amount of time to really enjoy each area. If you're looking to just rush through something to get to the next thing, Discovery Cove wouldn't be your kind of a park. But to just relax and take it slow, Discovery Cove is amazing!

Thanks for the description! Sounds so relaxing! & for this exact reason, we have decieded to postpone DC until next visit, we have waaaay too much already planned for this visit and I seriously don't want to rush thru this so we have deceided to next visit skip one of the parks completely and substitute DC & Seaworld in it's place, sounds WONDERFUL!!! Next visit, too $$ to rush thru.

 

[ccgirl]

We went Dec 2010. My DH and DD8 did the Dolphin swim while myself and my DS3 did everything else.

We are going back in May and DD and DH will probably do the dolphin swim again but I don't want to pay the extra $$. My DD says it is the "best thing she has ever done in her life."

Breakfast,lunch, snacks, and drinks are all included in the price (including beer and wine). They have little tiki huts around where you just walk up and grab a snack and drink. You can also go to the restaurant during breakfast/lunch and get whatever you want. The food is very good. I had salmon for lunch.

My son LOVED the string ray pool. The ray's were HUGE. The snorkeling was amazing as well. While he was too little, my DD loved it. There is also a bird aviary, which both of my children loved. The bird food was free. The lazy river was great....the pools were amazing as well. I was sad when the day was over.

Remember, if you pay for Discovery Cove, you also get admission to one of either Aquatica, Sea World or Busch Gardens.

Can't wait to go back!

 

[meggiebeth]

We went to Discovery Cove in August- my dad, mum, brother (13) brother (6) and myself (15). We paid about £1000 for all five of us which is pretty expensive. I LOVED the dolphin swim- it was an amazing experience. I was speechless throughout it. My family also loved it, although my father did not think it was worth the money. My 6 year old brother didn't enjoy it because of the cold water... which was a bit frustrating.

I would say, for us, DC isn't worth it unless you do the dolphin swim. While swimming with stingrays and tropical fish was awesome- the highlight was the dolphin swim. It is definately an experience everyone should do once.