Swimming with the dolphins

[Albertan mom]

Seaworld question here:

Is swimming with the dolphins worth $600+ ????

I really want us to do it, but can't imagine spending that much money on it! I know it will be lots of fun, but its so much money!!

Anyone do it?

How long is it, start to finish, the Dolphin Interaction?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks

 

[snoodledoo]

I did this 2 weeks ago for the first time. In my opinion, it was not worth the $. I thought the dolphin would take me for a lap around the pool, but there is no swimming involved. It was probably about an hour for the whole thing. We started with a little classroom time to learn the basic anatomy of the dolphin. We were informed of how a wetsuit works (this was good for me who was clueless). Then we went into a locker room and changed into our swimsuit & wet suit. (The locker room was very annoying to me because it was tiny and the floor was already wet). Then we were put into groups of 4 and given to our trainer. Each trainer did their own thing, so no group did the same exact stuff with the dolphin. The time with the dolphin was at most 30 min (shared between you and the others in your group). They also took photos for you that you could purchase. I got to take a leaf out of the dolphin's mouth, hug it (for the photo), we all splashed it and it splashed us. (That is the type of interaction we had). We saw other people actually swimming with the dolphins. They were doing a program that was 'trainer for a day' or something like that. I haven't looked into it, so I don't know how much it was, but I'm sure it was a lot more $. It looked very cool. Then we went back into the locker room, rinsed the salt water off and changed back into our clothes. (Again, had to put on socks & tennis shoes with wet feet. Ewww! Can you tell I'm a big baby?)

If you have any questions I didn't answer, just let me know.

 

[Albertan mom]

Thanks so much for your answer.
That is just what I was wondering, if you actually got to 'swim' and be pulled around by the dolphin.
It doesn't sound worth the $600+US.dollars to me!

 

[LucyKate]

Sounds like snoodledoo did the cheaper $150.000 dolphin interaction. The $600 trainer for a day lets you swim with the dolphins.

There's also a $35.00 option where you get to feed and train them but don't get into the water.

Personally, we were thrilled with the $5.00 feeding trays which let you feed and pat the dolphins. Because crowds were low when we were there (mid week, early december) we had 15-20 minutes to pat and feed them and take heaps of photos.

The different options are explained here - http://www.seaworld.com/seaworld/ca/special_programs_home.aspx