What's a good way to "give" DC as a Christmas present?

[moopdog]

My son has been DYING to go to Discovery Cove on our upcoming Feb trip. Because I know Feb weather can be unpredictable, I have been really torn about moving forward and getting the tickets early. My daughter has Raynaud's and she loses circulation (completely) in cool water so I've been considering a Zipline Tour instead of a day at DC.

But....my DS12 wants to snorkel so badly that my heart is giving in to his pleas. I think I'm going to buy the tickets (will I physically have them by 12/25?) and somehow surprise him Christmas morning. Any ideas for how to pull that off??

And any words of encouragement...."do DC, do DC, do DC" will help me feel better about taking a chance on weather!!!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

If you are wondering if the benefits and enjoyment will live up to the cost, rest assured..........DC is awesome. Amazing. Incredible. And worth every cent. A little piece of Florida paradise. We have gone twice this year alone and absolutely considered adding it on again for our Christmas holiday (but opted for the Orlando Magic/Toronto Raptors game instead........but man, was it a tough choice.........).

You will get e-tickets when you make your purchase, so you can easily print them off and have something "in hand" for wrapping.

I would do a little "gift basket" kind of thing. Get to your local dollar store, and pick up a pair of sunglasses and a small photo album. Head to Walmart and purchase a bottle of sunscreen and an inexpensive waterproof camera. Add a pair of watershoes or flipflops (if you can't get them locally, might be time to order an inexpensive pair online?) or a new pair of swim trunks. Or maybe even a book on dolphins? Put the tickets in an envelope and decorate it with fish or beach stickers. Assemble them everything in a large sand pail (I think our dollar stores have them out most of the year) or a beach bag. Then just sit back and watch his reaction.

We went for the first time on January 1st and had incredible weather. Hopefully your February date will be as wonderfully warm!

 

[Lynne G]

My son has been DYING to go to Discovery Cove on our upcoming Feb trip. Because I know Feb weather can be unpredictable, I have been really torn about moving forward and getting the tickets early. My daughter has Raynaud's and she loses circulation (completely) in cool water so I've been considering a Zipline Tour instead of a day at DC.

But....my DS12 wants to snorkel so badly that my heart is giving in to his pleas. I think I'm going to buy the tickets (will I physically have them by 12/25?) and somehow surprise him Christmas morning. Any ideas for how to pull that off??

And any words of encouragement...."do DC, do DC, do DC" will help me feel better about taking a chance on weather!!!

DC is wonderful. I couldn't get my kids out of the snorkling area. The big rays are something to see.

For your DD, she could just do the day pass, and not the dolphin encounter, which is a cheaper ticket. I thought the river was warm water, though you may want to call DC to see what temperature the river is in February. They also give you short or full wetsuits, so that will help with some of the coldness of the water.

The grounds are beautiful and the food is good. Beaches are nice and the water was clean. My kids also enjoyed feeding the birds. And my DD still talks about the dolphin she met when we went 2 years ago.

I hope you have a great time whatever you decide.

 

[MrRomance]

My son has been DYING to go to Discovery Cove on our upcoming Feb trip. Because I know Feb weather can be unpredictable, I have been really torn about moving forward and getting the tickets early. My daughter has Raynaud's and she loses circulation (completely) in cool water so I've been considering a Zipline Tour instead of a day at DC.

But....my DS12 wants to snorkel so badly that my heart is giving in to his pleas. I think I'm going to buy the tickets (will I physically have them by 12/25?) and somehow surprise him Christmas morning. Any ideas for how to pull that off??

And any words of encouragement...."do DC, do DC, do DC" will help me feel better about taking a chance on weather!!!

First and foremost...DO DC!!!! Honestly, you will not regret it. Like you, I only went because my daughter wanted to swim with a dolphin. I had no desire to go and saw it as an unnecessary expense that would be a "one off". How wrong I was! It was the most amazing day, absolutely LOVED every second of it and we're going back on our trip this year. Probably won't do the dolphin swim again, but we'll definitely go to DC.

So we were there on Presidents Day this year, so the exact time you are considering going. For the first hour it was a little chilly but we had a private cabana (a surprise Elite package for my wife because we renewed our wedding vows at WDW) and the cabanas have little heaters so we were fine, but to be honest, that was the time most people were eating breakfast anyway!

An hour after we arrived, it warmed up to a perfect temperature (around 80). The dolphin swim was cold but it's cold regardless of what time of year you go because the dolphin pool is set to the same temperature regardless. Obviously, there is no guarantees with the weather on any day, but I don't think you should worry that Feb weather may not be suitable.

You can print your e-ticket out straight away.

GO DC! You won't regret it!

 

[Belle & Ariel]

I really hate to be the downer here, but if DD doesn't deal well with cold, I would not reserve for February because it could be a huge disappointment.
We had Disney annual passes in February 2010 and I remember getting up each morning only to go back to bed another hour because we did not want to go to the theme parks when temps were in the 30's. I think it warmed up to the low 50's but we still wore coats. I really could not imagine being in water even in the wet suits, and not till mid afternoon when it get into the 50's. Walking around with wet hair would be uncomfortable.
Last year in mid January we left Sea World early because we were so cold--definitely not swimming weather.
Maybe wait till you are there and see the forecast to book. We booked on a Tuesday for a Saturday swim Thanksgiving weekend and I would guess it is more crowded then than in February.
Our family loved Discovery Cove and will definitely go back but not when it is too cold to enjoy.
Disney closes each of its waterparks a couple months in winter and there are always days each year when they do not open the other one because it's so cold they know they won't get enough people in to make it worthwhile to be open.

 

[luckycharliegirl]

If you do get the tickets, find a stuffed animal- tropical fish or otter, and tie the confirmation letter on it with a bow!

 

[Belle & Ariel]

I don't know if you got the tickets yet, but we were down this past weekend. Saturday we decided to see if Discovery Cove had openings for Sunday and we booked it about noon for the next day so you might be able to watch the weather while you are there and choose a warm day.
The overnight low Saturday into Sunday was in the high 30s. It was 43 when we got there about 9 am.
We like everyone else ate breatfast in our clothes before changing into wetsuits. The workers handing out wetsuits recommended the short ones over the long ones saying they actually kept you warmer because your exposed leg and arm would dry.
My feet were cold from the cold sidewalk but otherwise I was comfortable and the walkways warmed by noon so feet were good too.
One benefit of the cold was it was not very crowded. We were told Christmas Day had 1300 reservations. Our day had 800 and past ones had 300-400.
The Grand Reef was not shockingly cold as it was warmer than the air temp. The Oasis felt like bathwater. We had a great time.
Hope this helps.

 

[AuroraRora]

Is there anyway you can split for the day, and have someone in your party take your DS to Discovery Cove while someone else takes your DD ziplining? I'm not sure if you'll have other adults with you or not, but I agree with a PP that Feb might be tough if your DD can't handle the cold.

Maybe read through some reviews (there's tons on here and on Trip Advisor) and look for ones where the people were visiting around Feb, and see what they say about the temperatures?