Tell me about the Dolphins in Depth at Epcot

[WDWSuperFan]

Was this something you enjoyed and would recommend?
What is the minimun age for participating? I read about this in Birnbaum's guide and looks like something my family would enjoy. I would love to hear about your experience.

 

[MNRMommy]

It has been a few years since we did it but it is one of our best Disney World memories. I totally recommend it. DH was not at all sure about it because he is not too comfortable in water but they have you on what I believe is a roof of one of the viewing areas downstairs in seabase alpha. You don wet suits and walk out on this roof and sit on a little bench while they show you some dolphin signals and you all get to try one. Mine made the dolphin rise up on his tail and swim back wards while about 3/4 of the way out of the water. After the introductory phase we all got a chance to "hold" the dolphin. He was the sweetest creature. I think he actually had a sense of humor because he would lean into you like a little hug and then as he would swim off he would splash you and I swear he was smiling. They say that they never force the dolphins to interact if they don't want to but they also said in all the years they had been doing it they had never had a dolphin not want to. They also gave us a tour of the behind the scenes facility a bit. According to the official DW website it says you have to be at least 13 to participate and if you are under 18 you have to have a parent or gaurdian.

 

[Iggipolka]

We just got back and did this tour while we were at Epcot. OMG DO IT! It is amazing. We had about an hour of class room instruction on basic dolphin antomy and conservation type stuff. Then we got into websuits and booties (provided) in the locker rooms. Bring or wear your swim suit. They provider lockers for your stuff. Be sure and remove all jjewlery. I coudln't get my wedding ring off and they did provide water proof tape to go over my ring, but it was pretty uncomfortable.

We got to watch a dolphin training session and then got to get into the water with the dolphins. You sit/stand on a ledge that slopes down into the tank. The water wasn't that deep where we were, maybe up to my waist (I"m 5'2") at the deepest part. We got to pet the dolphin and then learn different hand signals that they use in training. We also got an individual picture with the dolphin and a t-shirt.

Touching and intereacting with the dolphin was an amazing experience. I highly recommend it. It was a highlight of our trip.