Discovery cove,Just back frst time, great experience

[cemeb4dk]

Well Just back from a quick WDW 5 day trip with a day at Discovery Cove thrown in. First off thanks to all the members and posts here on all the tips and advice.

My wife, daughter (8) and I just did had our first experience at Discovery Cove, Friday, June 6th. We did Elite package, with the Dolphin swim.

Cab ride from Old Key West, about 15 minutes and about $30 with tip.
Cab ride back, the cab company there has more town car/subraban vehicles and was a flat rate of $30 then the tip.

We got there about 7:30AM check in was quick, and all got our landyards and ID's. We got a Sand Dollar cabana and a 10:10 dolphin swim. So we ate breakfast then were shown to our cabana. The cabanas are very nice and our attendant was great. Even though we did not meet him til about 1pm cuze we were never at cabana. Once we got to our cabana, there were some trainers feeding the stingrays, and were very talkative and seemed eager to share information. No one is allowed in the water til 9am. So it was tough standing at the waters edge just looking for a half hour. Just before 9 we wandered over to were the bridge is to go to the fresh water area and the aviary. They let you in at 9 and we headed straight to the aviary. In the first 2 rooms we did not get much bird activity, then we went into the larger bird room, and we all had a great experience, with multi birds landing on us and our heads. Some great photos for sure.
After that we headed to get ready for our dolphin swim. Got with our group, and walked out to the water where we met our first Dolphin, an older female (can't remember her name) Multiple passes of letting us touch her, and some dolphin information. Then we had Rascal come out, and he did some pass bys and then some photo ops, Kissing the dolphin, and then the tow back. Then since we had the Elite package, and the only one in our group, they pulled my daughter out and got a toy from Rascals mouth and it was the buoy, with our name and vacation written on it. My Daughter just about freaked with Joy she was so excited and surprised. Then the swim was over and someone on the beach handed her a tote bag with a stuffed animal dolphin in it. She was over the moon with joy. Then they escort you to the photo booth where you choose your photos.

Then we went and did the not so lazy river as we called it in the fresh water section. Water is very warm, we were expecting more of a current and just relaxing as we float but its not the case. Its a very natural design so many shallow and deep water sections, with very little flow. Some parts we had to walk, some had to swim and most parts we had to scoot with our feet along the bottom. It was fun, just dont go thinking a typical lazy river like we did.

Lunch was very good with multiple options.

Then we finally hit the reef, and what a great experience, once my daughter got used to snorkel, and having to wear a life vest just to make it easier for her so she would not have to swim. The rays are HUGE and very used to people touching them. Tons of fish and some great photo ops. Multiple trainers in the water and all were very kid friendly and full of information.

We basically hung in the reef and in the cabana the second half of the day.

So things that we came away with that you may or may not find helpful.

The westsuits, you can wear a full body short suit or just a vest. We opted for the vest, and we just wore our normal swimsuits. The bathrooms have showers with soap, shampoo and conditioner in them if ya want to shower before leaving. If you are buying pics get in line at about 3pm. This is a very long process even when you already have a prepaid elite package. Multiple snack options. We really loved having the Cabana, and if you can swing it, do the Elite package, it was so nice not having to worry about taking pics. The pics they take are great quality and it just nice not having to watch your family experience it thru the view finder.

All in all we had a blast, and would definitely return, maybe not do a dolphin swim every time, but a cabana and a day at Discovery cove will be on our must do list next Disney Vacation.

Hopefully some of you found this useful, if you have any questions, I will try and answer, but I am no expert.

 

[gigicnm]

Thank you for the review. We are going June 24th and also bought the elite package. Your review made me feel good about our choice to get the Elite package. It's my son's birthday and he will be so excited about the buoy and stuffed animal. I have a medical condition that effects my stamina and makes it difficult to tolerate the heat, so the cabana should be helpful to give me a place to rest while my family swims.

 

[letstalkboutdisney]

Great review! We will be there in 2weeks. We can't wait! Did you use water shoes or were flip flops good enough?

 

[cemeb4dk]

Yes I forgot, shoes are a must, the sand gets real hot and the cement gets hotter. I would suggest water socks/shoes or whatever your comfortable with, even a pair of keens. I wore keens to the park, but took them off and never put them back on til it was to late, the botttoms of my feet got pretty raw. From just the hot sand and cement.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

Thanks for your awesome review. I found it very helpful. I'm going later this month & looking forward to it!

 

[deblein]

Did the photo CD include all the photos? Did they take photos in the aviary and other areas too?

 

[cemeb4dk]

Photo Cd did include other photos. We saw no photographers in the aviary but we were they when it opened, so not sure about later in the day. The only other place we had a pic taken was on the lazy river by a waterfall. You will definitely need your camera for most of the park and aviary. I used our camera for the aviary and my gopro for the reef and on lazy river

 

[Pinkgirl]

Brilliant review. Thanks for all the info. Especially about water shoes.

 

[jtingle2]

Oh so very useful! Thank you! I am interested in prices, however, to know if we can swing this. We have 2 adults (one won't do the dolphin swim), 2 kids - 9 and 12. Also, I saw somewhere that your DC ticket will get you into SeaWorld another day. We REALLY want to do that. You can personally message me with prices. Thank you!

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

Oh so very useful! Thank you! I am interested in prices, however, to know if we can swing this. We have 2 adults (one won't do the dolphin swim), 2 kids - 9 and 12. Also, I saw somewhere that your DC ticket will get you into SeaWorld another day. We REALLY want to do that. You can personally message me with prices. Thank you!

If you go to the Discovery Cove website, you can find the prices.
DC tickets come w/admission to Sea World & Aquatica.

 

[TRAVELQUEEN]

We got a Sand Dollar cabana

Curious as to this term?

Are these named because of a specific location? Near the Dolphin Pool v. the Reef?

 

[thatgirl23]

I believe what the original poster meant was that they were assigned the Sand Dollar cabana with a 10:10 dolphin swim. With your swim, you're given the time and which of three cabanas to meet the trainer/rest of the group at. There's Sand Dollar, Seahorse, and Starfish. These cabanas are not the cabanas you get when you get the package. The cabanas that you can reserve or get with the package don't have specific names. They actually put your name on the little sign outside each of those cabanas.

Hope that helps clear up the confusion.

 

[adg11500]

Such a wonderful experience. We decided at last min to add the deep sea adventure and love it. I even bought picture packages. I still rant about how great it was. People think i'm crazy for spending so much money, but wow it was worth every penny! We even had one of the dolphins from Jaws 3. Capricorn was his name and he was a ladies man LOL

Glad to see other people enjoy their time there..

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Such a wonderful experience. We decided at last min to add the deep sea adventure and love it. I even bought picture packages. I still rant about how great it was. People think i'm crazy for spending so much money, but wow it was worth every penny! We even had one of the dolphins from Jaws 3. Capricorn was his name and he was a ladies man LOL

Glad to see other people enjoy their time there..

Do you have photos from the SeaVenture that you would be willing to share? I have been wiffle-waffling on whether or not to splurge and add it to our reservation for August for DH & I (DS and his GF have no interest.....so it would be just something special for me and the hubby ).

And for the record....I don't think you are crazy . I think DC is worth every penny as well!

 

[AngryJames]

SeaVenture is over real quick, but I enjoyed it enough to book it again this time around. I expected a little more, and not everyone in the party is doing it again this time.

The Dolphin Swim though, IMO, was not worth it. It's mostly standing in the water with the trainer talking and the occasional opportunity to get close. Maybe others will love it, but all of my party of 7 enjoyed it, but expected something a little more.

You get caught up in the moment and end up buying the DVD and photos, but I wouldn't do that again.

The thing with Discovery Cove is that it's possible (at least in the UK) to purchase tickets that include SeaWorld, Aquatica and Busch for 14 days. Making DC a no brainer for us.

If you do have the Dolphin Swim, and want the photos, make sure you are in the right position (look where the photographers are). Lots of our party were out of shot in the general group shots.

 

[robinbutterfly]

Is renting a cabana worth it? I would assume we wouldn't be in it much!?!

 

[letstalkboutdisney]

We were just at DC June and we rented a cabana. There are six of us. I felt it was worth every penny and would definitely do it again. It was so nice to have a place of our own to go back to if anyone needed to take a break. We had all the snacks and drinks we could want and fresh towels would be in the cabana when we went back to it. Ours was very private and in a great location.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Is renting a cabana worth it? I would assume we wouldn't be in it much!?!

"Worth" is very subjective in this case. A cabana will be a godsend for some, an enjoyable splurge for a few, and not worth the money for others.

While we LOVE renting a cabana at DC, I can honestly say if its a budget deal-breaker, you can skip it and still have an absolutely marvellous day. There are tons of loungers around the park in beautiful, shady surroundings that you can take advantage of and save the $179 cabana rental fee.

That said, for our summer visits, its wonderful having a private, reserved space that we can use to escape the sun or have a little siesta. Its so convenient to have a fully stocked fridge at your fingertips, a snack basket of your favorite items right on your table, and a personal cabana attendant to address any need that might arise. Its also fantastic to have your locker in your cabana vs. in the general area next to the change rooms.

So....WE think its worth it, but others will disagree. Many folks who plan to go, go, go all day long (versus rest from time to time) will not find the value that we will.

 

[AngryJames]

I agree with you Gina.

I'm one of those people who likes to see and do it all. If you have a dolphin swim and SeaVenture, combined with the two meals and visits to all the various places, I found I had no time left to sit around. The park now has a whole new section too, so for me a cabana would be seldom used.

If you are thinking about cabana hire, best to review the locations. Some are more secluded than others.

 

[mjaclyn]

Are there places to change or shower when you're done? Also, do they provide lockers if you're not renting a cabana?