discovery cove

[Frankt]

anyone been to discovery cove? is it worth the money?

[florida]

The whole experience was worth every penny.:D You just have to control how much you spend on the photographs and video, 9 5x7 photos and a video cost us $195.00 in 2001, no doubt its more expensive now

[timmy]

We thought Discovery Cove was our best day out in Orlando and we've done all the Theme Parks. Out of a party of 12 all thought it was the best attraction - age ranges from 10, to lots of teenagers, to middle agers. It was worth the money - it is such a unique experience.

[dannib]

My visit to discovery cove was by far the best day of my holiday, and worth every penny (and more)

We had a group of ten, ranging from 5 year old to 60 year old and every single one of us loved it!

It is one day that I shall not forget for the rest of my life, to swim with the dolphins was amazing, to be able to kiss them, stroke them, fed them and for them to pull you along to me is worth the world to me.

The staff are ever so friendly and helpful, you actually feel like you're a V.I.P or something the way they treat you.

The food is of very high quality, and nice choices aswell.
And then of course once you've done your dolphin swim you get to spend the rest of the day there, snorkling through the fishes, going to the aviary to see the tropical birds, and just relaxing on their beach is wonderful.

I would definately go back and do this again.

[WhaleChild]

Hi everyone, I wanted to let you in on alittle secret about Discovery Cove. it is not all that you thought it was. This report is by Helen O' Barry.
Discovery Cove is SeaWorld Orlando's second marine park. It opened in July 2000 and admits 1,000 guests daily. Daily admission has been set at $179 per person and as high as $199 per person from March 1, 2001 throughout December 2001.

This is more than three times the cost of other Orlando parks.

Anheuser-Bush -- brewer of Budweiser Beer and owner of SeaWorld -- allegedly spent $100 million building Discovery Cove where the main attraction is the captive dolphin swim program. According to Anheuser-Bush, Discovery Cove is “an exclusive, reservations-only paradise adjacent to SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida, designed to offer guests the ultimate experience through once-in-a-lifetime, up-close encounters with dolphins and other exotic sea life.”

The captive dolphin encounter at Discovery Cove lasts about 45-minutes, 30 of which are spent in the water.

Discovery Cove has 28 bottlenose dolphins. The dolphins are detained in concrete tanks that are disguised as natural coves. According to Discovery Cove’s own information these dolphins have been “specially selected and trained for guest interaction.”

Many of the dolphins at Discovery Cove -- we do not have the exact figure as the Marine Mammal Inventory Report (MMIR) registers all SeaWorld’s dolphins on one single list -- are the result of SeaWorld’s captive dolphin breeding program. Breeding dolphins in captivity is used by the dolphin captivity industry worldwide to sanitize the confinement of dolphins, as if these dolphins do not possess the same physiological needs as their wild co-species and are therefore suitable for lifelong confinement in an unnatural environment.

But dolphins that are born in captivity are born with the exact same physiological characteristics as those of their wild co-species. Confinement in a tank violates a dolphin’s most fundamental behavioral requirements, regardless of whether the dolphin was captured from the wild or born in captivity.

Just one example:

Dolphins are sound oriented. They communicate producing a large spectrum of sounds in the form of clicks and whistles. Furthermore, they constantly send out bursts of sounds of many different frequencies to explore their ocean environment. With reflected sound, called echolocation or sonar, dolphins can "see" elements that are invisible for other animals -- including humans -- that are sight oriented, depending on reflected light for vision. This is how dolphins searching for food can easily detect a fish that is hiding under the sand. The use of sonar is as important to dolphins as eyesight to humans, and in nature they rely on their sensitive sensory sense in almost every aspect of their daily lives.

Dolphins in a tank are severely restricted in using their sonar. They can't use it to catch live fish, as they are fed dead fish as food rewards. Neither can they put it to full use to explore their underwater world, because there isn't much to explore in a barren, concrete tank.

Sensory deprivation is one of the most damaging aspects of keeping dolphins in a concrete tank. It's like forcing a person to wear a blindfold for the rest of his life. This is true whether the dolphin was captured from the wild or born in captivity.

“Educational” is the buzzword most frequently used by SeaWorld to justify captive dolphin swim programs. Many of the dolphins at Discovery Cove have been confined within the walls of a concrete tank all their lives. They will never swim in a straight line for as long as they desire; nor will they ever be able to use their speed, intelligence, sonar, and sense of cooperation to catch live fish. By human design these sonic, free-ranging marine mammals, who would normally swim up to 40 miles a day, are confined to a very small space where, for the rest of their lives, they will have to satisfy a never-ending line of people deman

[Kickstart]

I would be interested in hearing any other views about Discovery Cove, obviously Whale Child has strong opinions.

My children would love to do this, is it worth the cost?

[Gillian-B]

Apart from Discovery Cove itself (which is a great day out), you get a week pass to SeaWorld. If you go to SeaWorld at a couple of times, it definately makes it worthwhile.