Discovery Cove

[kev1000]

hi to all,
this is my first trip so we want to try and make the most of it. my partner and daughter want to do the Discovery Cove Dolphin Swim but i am a non swimmer i dont mind water but can't swim i would like to do it but how deep any infomation on this would be good.
thanks kev.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

We went in 2003 with my M-I-L who is a "not very confident" swimmer. She managed OK and allowances were made by the DC staff. There is actually very little swimming involved as 90% of the time is spent in waist deep water

 

[SallyShine]

I agree, not much swimming and you have to wear a life jacket. I remember the water where the dolphins were was verrrrry cold. I think Discovery Cove is well worth the hefty price of admission. The nice thing is that it isn't crowded as not many people want to shell out that much money (about $250/person). Also, the dolphin experience is better than one's in Hawaii and the Bahamas.

 

[kev1000]

waist deep water sounds ok to me i wil have to look into getting this booked.
thanks

 

[Every5years]

Shallow water and mandatory life vest

As another stated, you have to wear a life jacket and the water is waist deep mostly. The dolphin deal is disappointing though as its mostly an expensive, pressured photo shoot. The rest of the place is very cool.

 

[AkiraRaptor]

We did the Trainer for a Day program 5 years ago. It was wonderful. There was a non-swimmer in our group. (Still don't understand why a non-swimmer wanted to do a special program that had even more swimming in it), but they accomedated him during one of the Dolphin interactions. This would have been the "regular" interaction that you would get for a normal Dolphin swim.

They did everything at the beach with him, no deeper than waist like everyone said. He seemed to enjoy it, and it did not interfere with the experiance anyone had. Actually because it was close to shore, some of us got to spend a few extra min close to the Dolphin durning it.


And BTW, Discovery Cove's TFAD program is the top tour I've ever been on. It is the abosulty best thing we've ever done in Orlando. Not a single Disney tour has even come close, and I've been on most of them now.

Have fun!

 

[kev1000]

it will cost us about £450.00 it does seem alot of money .How long do you get with the Dolphins is it wort the cost?

it would be a good experiance so the daughter keeps telling me.

 

[AkiraRaptor]

For the Trainer For A Day program, we had three interactions with the Dolphins. The first was the normal Dolphin swim everyone can do.

The second was a short training session. You get into the water in the back of the lagoon, and help "train" a Dolphin. We had a Dolphin that was not fully trained, so they had us give her signals and get her to do the behaviours.

The third was a "fast swim". Back in the main lagoon, you basically hang on for dear life, as the Dolphin takes you accross on of the 3 lagoons. You will be going at a high volocity.

This is all in addtion to feeding birds, mamals, fish, and doing alot of behind the sceens stuff. It will take up most of the day, and it is very expensive. But like I said before, this is are #1 experiance at tours. And prpbebly one of our best days ever on a vacation.

And after doing the TFAD, there is no way we'd do DC any other way again. We are currently planning a trip to DC this year, our 10th anaversary. And at the new price of $449 a person, its over $100 more than it was 5 year ago. But it is one of those "one of a kind" kinda things.

Have fun!

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

it will cost us about £450.00 it does seem alot of money .How long do you get with the Dolphins is it wort the cost?

it would be a good experiance so the daughter keeps telling me.

Your daughter is correct - the experience is brilliant.

Yes, DC is expensive (£260 per person [assumes 2 swimmers] for a day) BUT look at the benefits -
1) the park is limited to a maximum attendance which means that it is never crowded
2) the meal is excellent and the choices are good.
3) Your day at Discovery Cove includes seven consecutive days admission to SeaWorld either before or after your visit (consider a days pass to SeaWorld is around £40, even if you only visit 2 or 3 times that means DC has effectively cost £140)
4) NOBODY forces you to do the photograph and video hard sell - although after such a memorable experience you'll want some reminders.
Finally, the actual swimming experience is short - a briefing session followed by the (approx) 30 minutes in the water in a group of upto 8 people.
We did it in 2003 and we've booked again for this August

Enjoy

 

[kev1000]

Thanks for the replys

it does sound a very good outing i am going to get it sorted for us.

this is our first time out there and want to make it a good one.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

this is our first time out there and want to make it a good one.

I'm pretty sure that you will