Discovery Cove - June 15, 2008

[DixieDolphin]

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Wow, fabulous pictures! You're quite the photog. Thanks for updating and making me look forward to our trip even more!

 

[d4est]

Can you swim in there? Looks very cool!

 

[bubba's mom]

Enjoyed your report and look forward to your pix.

Question, the menu you linked to the UK site that you said was out of date.... is it out of date so long ago that beverages/water/alcohol is not included? I was under the assumption all food and beverage was included w/ admission price

 

[d4est]

Good question! I'd like to find a current menu/inclusions...

 

[DixieDolphin]

Can you swim in there? Looks very cool!

Yup, you can swim there! The first photo is of the waterfall cavern in the Lagoon. It leads into the Tropical River. The second photo is the backside of the waterfall on the river that you swim under to enter the Aviary.

As for the menu, yes... unlimited water, drinks and beer are still included in your day. The changes to the menu are the food offered. No more stir fry, no more fajitas (foo, those were good!), etc.

I can't recall exactly what was on the menu other than what I mentioned I tried, but I do know it was considerably different from what they have listed on that British site. =)

 

[alabamagirl]

Wow! Great report. I hope to be able to do this one day. Unfortunately, DH can't swim. So I'm not sure he would enjoy it very much. But one day.....I'm going!!

 

[DixieDolphin]

It may sound odd, but you CAN do the day there even if not a strong swimmer.

You don't have to swim to do the 'swim with the dolphins,' as the deep water part is very, very limited (just a quick dorsal pull back to the wading area) and you're welcome to opt out of that part.

They also offer nice lifevests, which provide a ton of buoyancy and will keep anybody afloat. When I worked there, we'd see tons of guests (lots of the British ones, in particular) using those to float across the deeper water areas in the River and in the Reef. There's lifeguards everywhere, so no worries even if you have a problem.

The Aviary is accessible by both land and water, so weak swimmers can walk to it. The Stingray Lagoon is a wading exhibit (around three feet or so deep). And they offer complimentary snorkeling lessons if you need assistance, too.

So, strictly speaking, you don't have to be a strong swimmer to do a day at DC. =)

And also... shout out to my home state! I was born in Montgomery, but most of my family lives around Lake Martin or in Auburn. =)

 

[alabamagirl]

Thanks! I will make sure DH knows that he won't be required to actually swim in deep water. He's fine as long as he can touch and he is 6 ft. tall so, I think he would be fine. Now, I really want to go!

Cool you're from Alabama! I'm in Tuscaloosa. My DH is a die hard Auburn fan though!

 

[Dizneydaz]

Great TR! Makes me wish we were going again this year. We did it last year and loved it. DD8 and I had CH (the biter!) but he was great with us. We were there in Sept.

Here's DD with CJ.

Here's a picture I took of the menu then.

and the food display (part of)

I had the lobster salad which was really good.

Love your pictures in the aviary. We saw that deer too and unfortunately by the time we went there late in the day I had already gone through 4 rolls of film in my reloadable water cam so I didn't get any pix. I should have gone back before we left and taken some with my good camera.

I'm so jealous you got to work there!