Discovery Cove?

[ShookieJones]

Anybody ever done Discovery Cove Dolphin Swim?

I'm thinking of taking a day from our yearly May WDW trip and surprising my wife. She's been asking about it for the last 3 years.

Also - I see they give a free day pass to Sea World or Bush Gardens.
Which would you recommend?

 

[ScoutN]

Done it. Not worth it. It felt as if it was more a glorified overpriced photoshoot than a dolphin swim. I also used SWP&E employee discount. It still was not worth it.

 

[Lexi]

When I was 16 my mom bribed me to go on vacation with the family down to Florida with a trip to Discovery Cove, since I love dolphins. I didn't pay for it and I would still say it wasn't worth it. You are in the water with a group of people so your actual interaction time with the dolphins is not as long as they advertise, not even a full half hour, if I remember correctly. The place is nice but definitely worth the price.

 

[CaptainShortty]

I went in 2005 with my family and absolutely loved it. Yes, I do wish you could have had a more in depth interaction with the dolphins but the entire atmosphere of the day I really, really enjoyed. It's a different sense of a park because they only let 5,000 (I believe) people into the park at once. So there's no wrestling for a lounge chair or having to wait and quickly grab a table to eat lunch (which was delicious). I highly recommend it.

 

[crazydaveh]

I have been to DC many times, the first to swim with the dolphins, the other dozen times to just chill and drink beer.

The dolphin swim can be taken many ways as you have read. You are in a large group of between 8-12 people and it's designed for you to have a SeaWorld camera take your picture at several times with the dolphin. You can't take pictures yourself in the dolphin pools. You get to "swim" with the dolphin for about 30 seconds for a total of 20-25 yards. The rest of the time you're watching everyone else in your group do the same interactions that you did. The trainers do seem to spend more time with young children than adults (my opinion). Some people love the adventure, others, not so much.

DC has recently opened their new reef with a new underwater adventure which is getting a lot of rave reviews. It's an add on cost as well, but you actually walk on the bottom and get an up close and "personal" view of marine life at the bottom. You wear special helmets that provide air and communication. It lasts for about 45 minutes I've read.

Other than those two things, DC is awesome. You honestly forget you're in the tourist area of Otown while there. It's all inclusive food, snacks, and beer (though it's Anheiser Busch crappy beer) and a few mixed/frozen drinks. The reef alone is where I usually spend several hours a day just swimming with all the animals. It's really fun.

They do only allow 1,000 people in a day, if it's not the week before or after Christmas, there won't even be 500 people during the week, so it's not like being in the hustle of a theme park.

As for the ticket into Busch Gardens or SeaWorld, it's a good deal in that you don't have to shell out more money to get in another park! It all depends on what type of park you want to go to. If you want to see more marine life with a few attractions, go see Shamu. If you want more thrills with great animal exhibits and the newest coaster in town, head down I4 to Busch Gardens which honestly takes about 75-90 minutes to get to from the theme park area.

I hope this helps. If you decide to go, have fun!

 

[Journey_On]

I have done the dolphin swim and would recommend it!

crazydaveh summed it up really well. You get plenty of opportunities to pet the dolphin you are interacting with and learn about these awesome animals. It is an experience like no other.

The earlier you arrive at DC, the earlier your dolphin swim time will be.

I LOVE the Grand Reef, esp. being around the stingrays!!

As far as the 14-day pass to either SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, or Aquatica....crazydaveh summed that up really well, too. I personally got the pass to SeaWorld, as it is one of my favorite parks. You will have to pay for parking each time you visit either of these parks (I'm not sure if Aquatica has a parking fee, though). So if you are staying within walking distance of DC, a small benefit of getting the SeaWorld pass is that you wouldn't have to pay for parking (if you were to walk, that is).

 

[ShookieJones]

Thanks to everyone who replied with their opinions and valuable first-hand info.

I will take all this into consideration when making my decision.
It's a lot of money for 1 day and of course I want to make sure it's worth it!!

 

[FLORIDA_PHIL]

Hi All
I have booked DC for oct 2012 and am looking forward to it i paid an extra £30 and got aquatica , bush and seaworld tickets for 14 days so good deal me thinks as for the swim i did key largo in 08 which was fab but my wife thought the water was a little deep etc so i think it will be better for her i for one am looking forward to it food n drinks aqnd not alot people about just chillin v v nice

 

[Silver Figment]

I believe my friend and his family did it and they all liked it. I haven't ever done it, not sure i'd want to shell out the money for it.