Discovery Cove

[Claire M]

Hi

I have a few questions about Discovery Cove, that I would like answering if possible........

1. When you swim with the Dolphins, how deep is the water?

2. Is there anything for a 3 year old (very busy) boy to do who cant swim?

3. Is it worth the expense?

4. What do you actually do with the dolphins? (yes I know you swim)

5. Would it be suitable for a 6 year old girl who can swim, but only if she can touch the floor.

6. When they say meal included, what choices do you have?

7. How long are you normally there?

Thanks in advance.

Claire

[hamptonlakes]

You may what a look at there website www.discoverycove.com [msnsmile2]

[DMC]

Hi Claire

When we went 3 years ago, it was the highlight of the holiday and well worth doing.

To answer your questions in order.

1. The pool is deep however it slopes and therefore you go in up to your waist and then when you swim with them you go out into slightly deeper water, but the trainer is with you all the time.

2. I have to say that there is not a huge amount for a non swimmer to do, but there are a few walks and there is a man made beach so the little one can build sand castles to his hearts content.

3. It is a cost, but we felt that is was worth the money and don't forget you do get admission into Seaworld included within the DC ticket price.

4. You spend around 30 - 40 minutes in the water with the dolphins but this is with approx 10 other people, so one on one time is a little limited.

You do get up close to them and get them to perform tricks for you etc, you also get "towed" around by holding onto the dolphin etc.

5. Knowing Discovery Cove they will "tailor" the experiance to suit the swimmer, so she should be ok.

6. When we went we had a great choice of meal, it was like a buffet, in fact it was about the best "Park Meal" that we had during our trip, so we were happy with it.

7. You can stay as long as you like, you can pre book the time of your dolphin swimm and the rest of the day is yours. We booked for mid morning, that way the dolphins haven't gotten too fed up with all the attention and then the rest of the day was our own.

We spent the time swiming in the reef and on the lazy river and then sitting on the beach area just watching the world go by and relaxing.

Everything is provided for you, mask and lifejacket etc, you have locker which you can store your personal items in for the day.

The number entering the Park are restricted to around 100 per day so it never feels very busy.

I am sure you will have a great time.

[wrpac00]

Just a couple of things to clarify what DMC said.

There is normally a maximum of 8 people per dolphin.

The park caters for 1000 people per day not 100 - I think DMC forgot to put on the extra zero.

It is one of the best experiences we have ever had (done it twice) but I personally would say that I would not go with a 3 & 6 year old. It is a lot of money and you really need for them to be able to fully participate and enjoy it or it is going to be a bit of a waste of money.

Only my opinion though.

Paul

[Ana]

On my last trip to DC my youngest was 6 and my friend had a 2 year old. The 6 year old (not a confident swimmer by any means) loved the whole thing. They let him feed the dolphin rather than swimming (as he was nervous about doing this) The 2 year old was very happy just playing in the sand and splashing in the pools, as well as seeing the fish & birds. The trainers were very obliging when my friend asked at the end of the day if the 2 year old could see a dolphin up close. They brought one right up to the shallows and got the photographer to take photo's of us all as a group with the dolphin.
With young children it's a good idea to rent a Cabana for the day, as it's nice to be able to get out of the sun if you need to. It cost us $50 to hire one for the whole day.

I would go here with children of any age!

[hamptonlakes]

I was going to do this year but i am going to wait until my little biy is next year, so i guess wewill have to wait till next year [msncry] but it will be worth it[msnsmile2]

[Kickstart]

We have just got back from Florida and went to DC for the first time. It was a lot better than I was expecting, I was prepared to be disappointed but we all really enjoyed it. I would wait for your children to get a little older though, it helps if they are confident swimmers.

I wasn't mad about the way they pressured you into buying a bunch of pictures as soon as you come off the dolphin swim. Considering how expensive it is I would have thought they could let you pick one picture for free, not just the one when you come in.

My only other comment was that the life guards were really miserable, and there seemed to be so many of them. All day they just told people not to do stuff, 'don't touch the rock pool', 'don't walk/stand there', and when you asked them something they didn't answer.

[Ruth]

I took 8, 6 and 3 year olds at Christmas. Both the older girls are very confident swimmers, were nervous in the water with the dolphins to begin with, but did relax by the end. The 3 year old (a lively boy) was a little bored while we were doing the swim but still enjoyed the day and can't wait to be 6 so he can do the swim himself

[Herbie]

Went last summer and had a great time. We found all the park staff friendly but you have to accept that there are certain rules to obey when you're in the water with real fish! The food was very good with the usual large portions and very filling and yes, the photo's are expensive but if you allow for it within the overall cost then it's well worth the investment as the quality of the photo's is superb and a wonderful reminder. As it was a (so far) once in a lifetime experience We also splashed out on the video footage.

The fact that they only allow 1000 per day makes the whole area seem very spacious but it's well worth getting there early so you can get an earlyish dolphin swim and certainly swim before the meal otherwise you'll just sink - even with the lifejacket!

Herbie

[amy]

Been and swam with the Dolphins, it was the best experience of the holiday, well worth the expense.
One thing to be aware of you have to be 6 years old to swim with the dolphins and also places are limit and sell out quick, you are better booking online before you go. www.discoverycove.com you will find all you need and be able to book aswell
hope this helps