Discovery Cove

[teabag]

Planning on booking for early May, I know only 1,000 admissions but has anyone been on a Sunday or Saturday - is there such a thing as a quieter day or are the weekends the same? Thanks for your knowledge everyone, my son is soooo excited:spin:

[Bruce]

As you say they are restricted to 1000 guests a day, and are usually sold out, so no, there is no better day to go.
However, it may be best to go on one of the 'Disney / Universal' busy days, as this way, you will be in a quiet park whilst the others are busy. Early May should be quiet in general, so in this case I would book DC for a weekend.

Hope this makes sense and helps.

[wilma-bride]

We booked DC for a Saturday, figuring it would be a day when we wouldn't really want to brave one of the other parks. It wasn't particularly crowded and it's not like the other parks where there are rides and things you have to queue for. Even when we went to get lunch, we had no wait at all. I would definitely recommend going on a day when you are unlikely to want to go to one of the main parks because of crowds.

[teabag]

Thank you very much for that - will definately go at the weekend, can't wait!

[floridanuts]

we went in 04 worth every penny . get there as early as you can the day will just dissapear this is proberbly the only attraction in orlando which is better than disney.

[mackem]

Sorry to barge in on this thread but I am very interested in opinions re Discovery Cove. DH would like to go but I cannot stand swimming in the sea where there are little fish swimming around my feet - completely freaks me out if one comes near me SOOOOO bearing this in mind will it be a waste of money us going to DC. I don't think swimming with the dolphins will freak me out but there is no way I could do the snorkel swim thing with the fish etc.
Also I hate birds so the avairy is out as well!! Sorry to sound a wimp but birds and fish just freak me out!! Is it worth the money just to swim with the dolphins?
Thanks

[Bruce]

Sorry to barge in on this thread but I am very interested in opinions re Discovery Cove. DH would like to go but I cannot stand swimming in the sea where there are little fish swimming around my feet - completely freaks me out if one comes near me SOOOOO bearing this in mind will it be a waste of money us going to DC. I don't think swimming with the dolphins will freak me out but there is no way I could do the snorkel swim thing with the fish etc.
Also I hate birds so the avairy is out as well!! Sorry to sound a wimp but birds and fish just freak me out!! Is it worth the money just to swim with the dolphins?
Thanks

It is a lot of money upfront, but you have to take into account that the ticket price also covers your breakfast, lunch, drinks, parking, and entrance to Seaworld for 7 days (or Seaworld & Busch Gardens for 14). If you do not want to do all the other activities, you will have all the time in the world to just lay back and relax.

Sorry, but only you can answer if this is worth the cost. All I can say is that I have not heard a bad report yet, and if you do decide to go, book it now!

[sharon]

:spin: Hi everyone, booked DC yesterday opted for a Monday, something relaxing to look forward to after a hectic weekend. DC is a treat Dad is paying for the kids for their birthday!! they are sooooo excited and we dont go until June :spin:

Sharon

[Sue]

Sorry to barge in on this thread but I am very interested in opinions re Discovery Cove. DH would like to go but I cannot stand swimming in the sea where there are little fish swimming around my feet - completely freaks me out if one comes near me SOOOOO bearing this in mind will it be a waste of money us going to DC. I don't think swimming with the dolphins will freak me out but there is no way I could do the snorkel swim thing with the fish etc.
Also I hate birds so the avairy is out as well!! Sorry to sound a wimp but birds and fish just freak me out!! Is it worth the money just to swim with the dolphins?
Thanks

There is a fresh/chlorinated water pool area and a not so lazy river thing that goes around the perimeter of the park that is very enjoyable and no fish:thumbs-up It does brush right close to the aviary though, so you'll have to swim fast at that point:d:
I would definitely go for the totally relaxing atmosphere, the everything included package and the dolphin swim. It is such a lovely day and an oasis of calm in what can be a busy holiday........:)

[debbiehr220763]

:wave: Hello,
We have booked to go on Easter Monday:d:
:wavey: Debbie

[spincandy]

I would go just to swim with the dolphins and eat the lovely meal!!! Last time I went I was under Doctor's orders not to get my ear wet due to an infection- so didn't do the dolphin swim or any snorkelling, but still had an amazing time. Personally I think the whole atmosphere of DC is worth the admission price! It's such a relaxing day that time absolutely flies by.. we've done it 3 times now and just booked our 4th and 5th- never gets boring!!!

xx

[kirstielou]

Its a wonderful day no matter what you do. The lazy river is wonderful. Check out the videos here: http://www.discoverycove.com/ex_featattract_tropicalriver.aspx

On the day you WILL say to yourslf "Why on earth did I consider not coming here"

[freckles]

I went and didn'tdo the dolphin swim - I decided I would get more pleasure out of watching my kids doing it!
I would agree that you can still have a great day, and don't worry, there is one beach pool with no fish, as the poster above mentions, also the lazy river.
The pools with fish in are very cool anyway, but my DH enjoyed snorkelling in there!!
The whole place is very relaxing, the food is lovely and it's a really nice change from the bustle everywhere else.
I would agree that there aren't any really quiet days - it's always booked to capacity- but it still never feels busy, there's plenty of room in and around all the lagoons and everyone has a scheduled time for their dolphin swim, so there's no queuing or rushing. I think the only waiting around was to get fitted for wetsuits.
One tip - they allocate your dolphin swim slot on arrival, so those who get there first get to swim earlier. But that depends on how you want the day to be, my children were so excited about the dolphins that we were pleased they could do that early on (we got about 10.30am) but if you get a later time you get to look forward to it!!
Even if you aren't swimming with the dolphins, you can go to the pre-swim talk with the rest of your party, and of course tag along to the actual swim, where you have to watch from the shore and can take pictures/video.
You'll have a lovely day.

[mackem]

Thanks everyone for your tips and advice. I'm in agreement that it would be nice to have a relaxing day for a change!! Love the bit about having to swim fast past the avairy though!! :d: I take it that you can watch others swimming with the fish without getting in the water, so DH could do it and I could watch? Anyone know how far in advance you have to book - we go in Sept for 3 weeks, can we book when we get there or should we book before we leave the UK?

Thanks again everyone

[Big button]

[Could you tell me how you booked your DC tickets. I would like to book for October.
Thanks Nina:spin:

[Hoosier]

Mackem,
If going in September, you can book now. In fact I would advice you strongly to book now. That way you can have a choice of dates. It is nearly always booked up in advance, you could be lucky and pick up some returned tickets once you are over there, but if it is something you really want to do book it now. We're going in August and booked in Dec 05 to make sure it was on DD birthday. Enjoy!

[Alvin]

Thanks everyone for your tips and advice. I'm in agreement that it would be nice to have a relaxing day for a change!! Love the bit about having to swim fast past the avairy though!! :d: I take it that you can watch others swimming with the fish without getting in the water, so DH could do it and I could watch? Anyone know how far in advance you have to book - we go in Sept for 3 weeks, can we book when we get there or should we book before we leave the UK?

Thanks again everyone

We loved every minute of Discovery Cove (except the rain that ended our day a little early) It does seem a shame to not be able to swim amongst the tropical fish and the huge rays as I enjoyed that part even more than the Dolphin swim. However if you really cant bring yourself to do it then you can still get up close and enjoy watching the kids while you relax on the beach. The place is never overcrowded due to the limited numbers, Im sure you will have a great day out but you should definitely book well in advance as it can be sold out several months before, especially in peak times.

[james weir]

If you go to the DC website,you can make your booking and pay the
deposit using a credit card,the balance is taken from your card 28 days
before your date.Would advise you to get watershoes,$ 7 approx from
walmart,the dolphin pools are very rocky.

[Alvin]

the dolphin pools are very rocky.

You forgot to mention VERY COLD:confused2 :grin:

[spincandy]

You forgot to mention VERY COLD:confused2 :grin:

But lovely in summer!!!

Mackem, book NOW!!! DC is getting very popular and gets booked up really fast in advance especially at that time of year. Plus, it's nice to be able to choose a date to go.

If setting a date is a problem and you need to change the date nearer the time, DC let you do it once for free- as long as the date you want is available.

xx

[chodwobbler]

Sorry to barge in on this thread but I am very interested in opinions re Discovery Cove. DH would like to go but I cannot stand swimming in the sea where there are little fish swimming around my feet - completely freaks me out if one comes near me SOOOOO bearing this in mind will it be a waste of money us going to DC. I don't think swimming with the dolphins will freak me out but there is no way I could do the snorkel swim thing with the fish etc.
Also I hate birds so the avairy is out as well!! Sorry to sound a wimp but birds and fish just freak me out!! Is it worth the money just to swim with the dolphins?
Thanks
Don't think you need to worry about little fish swimming round you!!!!!:confused2

[debs1505]

Book ASAP. ;)