KingKong
01-06-2003, 00:52
If anyone is thinking of going on a Dolphin swim at Key Largo at the Dolphin Plus then in one word from me 'DONT'.
My wife and i paid 160 dollars each for a swim and it sucked the place is just a money factory.
The dolphins, 10 of them are kept in pens 50 metres square and 12 feet deep and that is there life.
They place is called ' Dolphin Plus,A marine mammel research and education center'.
What this means is its a glorified ZOO.
Seeing the dolphins in such tiny enclosures was quite depressing its like a large back yard of someones house.
The day before we made this mistake ,we drove into the town Key Largo staying in a hotel (Howard Johnson 2star basic needs a refit) and swam for free with the manatees in the ocean.The experience of seeing these magnificant creatures and swimming with them for free was far better then going to what is basically a ZOO at Dolphin Plus.
We arrived exited at the dolphin center 40 mins early(as you would do wouldnt you).
The dolphin trip started with the German/American owner telling my wife and i that we was too early and asked if we wanted to go away and come back later???
We declined this warm offer and sat in the reception and waited.Then she (the receptionist/owner)went back in time and gave us a history lesson of the place.Apparently her son or husband(cant remember now )used to capture wild dolphins and send them around the world to zoo,s and fun parks before they decided to settle down in Florida and set up camp.
On hearing all this we was not getting the kinda good vibes one expects before meeting such magnificant creatures and that was just the start.
The trainer finally greeted us and walked us to the educational briefing area.
This was 1 hour of listening to a 20 year old woman screeching like an hysterical idiot about nothing. She must have thought we was 5 years old(we are both 35)I truly thought she was on some kinda medication over the top happy pill.
After this ordeal we finally got to swim with the dolphins this lasted all of 15 minutes with the screecher blowing her whistle and throwing fish.
On reflection we regretted everything.
Dolphins belong free in the ocean.
My wife and i paid 160 dollars each for a swim and it sucked the place is just a money factory.
The dolphins, 10 of them are kept in pens 50 metres square and 12 feet deep and that is there life.
They place is called ' Dolphin Plus,A marine mammel research and education center'.
What this means is its a glorified ZOO.
Seeing the dolphins in such tiny enclosures was quite depressing its like a large back yard of someones house.
The day before we made this mistake ,we drove into the town Key Largo staying in a hotel (Howard Johnson 2star basic needs a refit) and swam for free with the manatees in the ocean.The experience of seeing these magnificant creatures and swimming with them for free was far better then going to what is basically a ZOO at Dolphin Plus.
We arrived exited at the dolphin center 40 mins early(as you would do wouldnt you).
The dolphin trip started with the German/American owner telling my wife and i that we was too early and asked if we wanted to go away and come back later???
We declined this warm offer and sat in the reception and waited.Then she (the receptionist/owner)went back in time and gave us a history lesson of the place.Apparently her son or husband(cant remember now )used to capture wild dolphins and send them around the world to zoo,s and fun parks before they decided to settle down in Florida and set up camp.
On hearing all this we was not getting the kinda good vibes one expects before meeting such magnificant creatures and that was just the start.
The trainer finally greeted us and walked us to the educational briefing area.
This was 1 hour of listening to a 20 year old woman screeching like an hysterical idiot about nothing. She must have thought we was 5 years old(we are both 35)I truly thought she was on some kinda medication over the top happy pill.
After this ordeal we finally got to swim with the dolphins this lasted all of 15 minutes with the screecher blowing her whistle and throwing fish.
On reflection we regretted everything.
Dolphins belong free in the ocean.