Discovery Cove- Worth the money?

[dididave]

DD 2 will be six by the time we are going to Florida (Xmas 09). Anyhow, thnking about Discovery Cove as she will be old enough for it then but is it worth the money as obviously it is a huge chunk of what would otherwise be spends? Is it really a once in a lifetime experience or would you not recommend it?

There would be six of us BTW, two adults and kids aged 17, 14, 11 and 6

[helengiles]

Can't really answer your question is it worth the money as we do not go till August.

Our thoughts were the same as you it is a once in a lifetime experience and we wanted to do something different on this trip.

From people I have spoken to who have been they all say it is definately worth the money.

Helen

[buddicle]

In my opinion its worth the money. I 'justified' the price by breaking it down, ie food/drinks, dolphin interaction, swimming, their insurance etc. (made me feel better about the price and i will be booking to go again next year!!!

[sparrow]

I would definately say worth the money especially considering it also now includes entrance to aquatica seaworld and busch gardens. You wouldnt get that value for anything over here.

[derynifan]

There have been a couple of threads about this on here recently. I'd say the majority really like DC, but there is a significant minority (including me) of maybe 15-20% who didn't rate it that highly and wouldn't return. Unfortunately, like most things, there is no way of knowing which side of the fence you will come down on without doing it. Not much help, really, am I? LOL

[carol-ann2806]

In my opinion its worth the money. I 'justified' the price by breaking it down, ie food/drinks, dolphin interaction, swimming, their insurance etc. (made me feel better about the price and i will be booking to go again next year!!!

Thinking about it myself.How much does it cost?

[sparrow]

We have paid tcd £179 each for above mentioned ticket but suspect you may be able to get cheaper direct with DC. We are also going August which is probably high season.

[buddicle]

Thinking about it myself.How much does it cost?

Depends when you want to go! Discovery Cove reservations (https://www.discoverycove.com/reservations/scripts/res_step_1.aspx?shopperID=2e8fd847e3064e5e87e57fda 9687de1d) If you put your details in it'll give you a price. Can also be booked through various ticket agencies but not sure who the best deal is with at the moment!

[peter pan's mum]

We thought it was worth the money. Our kids 8 and 12 at the time. They still talk about it being their best day.:grin::grin::grin:



http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b29/PeterPansMum/M072007_00_5031-1.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b29/PeterPansMum/M072007_00_4985-2.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b29/PeterPansMum/CONVAR179.jpg

[tinacooper]

there always lotsof threads on this read the recent titled any one not like it. i am one who did not rate it that much but i am in the minority we all have different tastes but it is a lot of money for what it is. the place is not that big and it is is all man made. it was lovely to see the dolphins but the dolphin pool at sea world is better i think. we had a much better experience in the keys which is much more natural.we are going again soonbut not doing discovery cove.

[Adele]

We went last year and had a wonderful time and thought it was well worth the money as we also went to bush gardens and 2 visits to seaworld included in the price too so 4 days of fun. My little boy who was 7 then totally loved it. It was worth the money just to see the joy on his face. If you think about what you actually get for the money it is not that bad..........the food is lovely too.

[Elsie]

I've not been able to justify the outlay as it'd cost us the best part of a grand and for a single day, that's too much.

[simon and marcie]

I think it is well worth the money as we got busch gardens and seaworld inc in price. We had a fantastic relaxing day and didnt want to leave. Everyone from adults to the youngest 4yrs loved it as there was something for everyone to do Kids loved snorkelling and were fantastic and really suprised me.

I think until you try it you wont know as it is diff to ppls tastes.

You must try it once if it is in your budget




Marcie

[KES]

Our DD was just 6 when we did DC & she loved it. Even down to the snorkalling (sp?) which we didn't think that she would manage as she couldn't swim very well!

She goes on and on about it & we had to buy a cuddly dolphin & call it Natasha after the dolphin we swam with.

Well worth it to see the kids faces!

[Giggles1]

I did this on on first trip and it was really good, but I wouldn't rush back. Both kids loved it but they didn't mention going back there on our next trip. I was thinking if funds allowed going again on our next trip in December, but wondered what do you do when it is dark at 5pm. Went before in May and stayed all day so I thought it was worth it more.

[Harry]

We are going for 3 weeks in may and I told my daughter that we would swim with the dolphins and do DC but the more I think about it I am not sure I can justify nearly £600-00 for the three of us...

We are going to be spending 5 days down in the Florida Keys so after reading about the Dolphin experiences down there (longer interaction/more natural surroundings etc) I think we will save ourselves a good few hundered pounds and do that.

One question... if you do go to Discovery Code can you take your OWN photo's and video's or do you have to have the severly overpriced ones that Sea World cater for?

[Adele]

you can take your own photos but obviously not while swimming with the dolphins, they do not allow u to take anything in the lagoon with them but you can take them from the water side if you are not doing the swim. we used underwater camera, video camera etc in all other areas of the park.

[robwilliams71]

I hope its is - as I've forked out for my wife and her sister to do it for her 40th birthday.

It does look / sound a great day out mind.

[MrB]

Thinking about this but it really does come down to what else we want to do. If Aquatica and SW can be included in the price then it may make the cost more palatable for what is in reallity a tow to near shore by a Dolphin from what I can gather

[Lesley_Perschky]

Would love to go to DC again, but would not do the Dolphin Swim. Once you done it thats it, there are lots of other things to see there.

[Harry]

The way I am looking at it is I can get the 21 day Disney Ticket for virtually the same price (and cheaper for a child) as a one day pass at Discovery Cove.

As I said we are taking 5 days down in the Keys I think we'll pop along there.

[scottishmum]

The thing is a lot of people just think this price is a basic pull of 20feet from a dolphin and thats it and cost a bomb, Unless you have actually been there and experienced it, yes the swim isnt that long but you do get to do lots of other things, having the whole day in the park, food included etc, and not forgetting for £165 we havent just gotten the swim, or "the pull to the shore" with the dolphin but have the full day to do other things and 14 days unlimited to seaworld, busch gardens and aquatica too. :d:

[2waterford]

we did it in December and it was the highlight of our holiday and hope to do it again in November of Next year along with the 14 day pass to SW, BG & Aquatica

[craigstacey]

We too did DC in December, Boxing Day, and without doubt the best day of our holiday! Would certainly do it again :d: it's much more than a 20ft Dolphin tow!
Particularly good at Christmas time as everywhere else was so busy.

[Gaz]

We have been and loved every second of it.

Yes it can be expensive, but it includes food and drink throughout the day.

But as for worth its money, it really depends upon your budget. would this be a huge % of your allowance, if so i am sure you could spend this money on something else.

It will be a hard decision but to help you it is truly a magical day out, leaving you with great memories.

If you do decide to go, get it booked up as early as you can as the dates go quick, especially in the summer months

[pinkypominnie]

Definitely worth every penny, the food and drink, the dolphin interaction, the 14-day passes to Seaworld, Busch and Aquatica, the snorkelling, the aviary.............there is soooo much more to the price than the dolphin swim!

It was the best day of my entire life and it is a beautiful park, we went twice on our trip in June and will be going twice again on our honeymoon :) xx

[SugarPlumFairy]

We did this park and totally loved it. I did'nt actually pay for it as it was a competition win through a travel company I used to work for.

However, I would definatly pay to go. I think the park is totally beautiful, so laid back and easy going, I also think if you go to the other parks which are linked with Discovery Cove, this justifies the price, we went to Sea World twice on the DC ticket.

Like mentioned though, you never know what you like until you try, but for me, big thumbs up! :wavey:

[RSSPENCE]

Been to DC three times now, dolphin swim twice. It is well worth the money, you just need to break it down differently. SW included, also Aquatica, plus Busch Gardens all for $339, all unlimited entry for 14 days. Free food and drinks all day including all Budweiser beers. Excellent lunch, go up twice if you want.
DC is also a very relaxing day, like an all inclusive resort,use it as a 'day off'.

[JudyC]

It was the best day of our holiday when we went. I'd love to do it again, but this next holiday plan on doing a couple of the park tours and also want tickets for the Blue Man group so can't justify paying for DC as well.

I'm sure we will return though, we loved the snorkelling even more than the dolphin interaction.

[DJT75]

Definitely worth every penny, the food and drink, the dolphin interaction, the 14-day passes to Seaworld, Busch and Aquatica, the snorkelling, the aviary.............there is soooo much more to the price than the dolphin swim!

It was the best day of my entire life and it is a beautiful park, we went twice on our trip in June and will be going twice again on our honeymoon :) xx

Exactly...

Put it this way - The ticket with Busch & Seaworld chucked in costs the same as 4 days at disney parks. I'd rather have 3-4 days at those parks than 4 at Disney ones anyday.

Did it last week, absolutely superb day....

£150 DS + BG + SW + now Aquatica Passes
£140 Disney Passes
£45 Universal Passes

The only bit I felt ripped off by was Disney - but then I found the majority of their parks disappointing - especially MK.

[scooterdevil]

Just been looking and American attraction are doing Ultimate ticket for £163 not sure the cost of postage.That was the cheapest and Attraction tickets direct wer the dearest at £175