Disney Quest and Discovery Cove

[donac]

What time does DQ open? What kinds of things are in there? What kinds of things are at Discovery Cove?
We are getting into Orlando about 10 am on our first day and we are looking for things to do before we can get our campsite at FW. I don't want to go into a park because we would have to leave to do something in the evening so no park that day.

 

[KDawnLily]

Hi Donac,
DisneyQuest is great if you are travelling with technologically inclined kids/kids at heart.. It's 3 levels of interactive games. My favourite was the .. now the name slips my mind.. but you take a tour on a raft through time.. riding in a rubber dinghy and paddling your way through lava filled rivers and obstacles like ice burgs and dinosaurs.. they also have a virtual game where you travel through Acrabar trying to find treasure before your time runs out. You can record your own record, create your own pictures(using yours or a family members face as the model) and all kinds of other fun things, There is a Cheesecake Factory(I think that is the name of the counter service restaurant) that serves great cappucinos or mochas if you prefer. A place to sit and rest, browsing the web and sending a postcard to Mickey, Minnie or your favorite character. I think it costs about $40 per adult for the day and $30 for each child or if you have annual passes, I believe it's included. It doesn't affect your PHP days either.
Lots of fun if you enjoy loud busy places.
Have a great time.

 

[KCritter]

Discovery Cove is an all day event. (It better be at over $200 per person!). You can swim with the dolphins, snorkle over a coral reef and also with the stingrays. There's a free flight aviary where you can feed the birds. Here's a link to aDiscovery Cove thread on the Sea World board. We're going in just a few weeks, so I'll let you know more after we get back!

 

[Paris]

We were at DisneyQuest last weekend. It opens pretty late at 11:30am every day. It closes at midnight on Friday and Saturday and at 11pm the rest of the week.

My 4 yo and 9 yo sons love it but it's a bit overpriced unless you have a premium annual pass or it's included in your park hopper. The Cheesecake Factory provides the food (on levels 4 and 5) and it's definitely far better than your typical fast food grub.

Cyberspace Mountain lets you create your own rollercoaster -- then ride it. They have Buzz Lightyear bumper cars. The coolest game, for me at least, was the Pirates game where a crew of up 6 guests man a pirate ship with six cannons attacking other ships for treasure (it's on the 1st floor -- right next to the Jungle Cruise attraction mentioned earlier).

But even though it opens at 11:30am most of the stores in Downtown Disney are open by 10am so you can just stroll through some stores and check it all out before hitting Disney Quest.

Check Disney's Disney Quest site