Worried about Discovery Cove after Aquatica fail

[janinca]

We have been in Florida for a week now and have been to Seaworld 3 times and Busch Gardens once and will be going back tomorrow. I loved Busch Gardens and wish I could live in Seaworld We went to Aquatica today and it was awful. Not the park itself, it looked beautiful. I am sure we would have had a great time if we weren't freezing. My kids and husband went down Dolphin Plunge and then I found my husband and it took us two hours to find the kids. They were freezing and had been trying to keep warm in the lazy river most of the time. I never even got around to getting in my bathing suit because by the time we found the kids they were begging to leave. I am now very worried about Discover Cove. I am hoping that we don't want to leave there because we are shivering there as well. I switched days from Tuesday to Wednesday because Tuesday is only supposed to be 68 degrees brrrrrr! Wednesday is supposed to be warmer but then again the forecast said today was supposed to be 79 degrees but it sure didn't feel like it. I will just have to hope for a warm enough day, I am such a cold wimp From now on I will only come to Florida in the summer if I want to do water stuff!

 

[HeidiGW]

I have not been to DC, but I have heard during cold weather they will provide wet suits! Hopefully, it helps. This darn storm is trying to ruin everybody's lives!
Let us know what you do and how it works out! Good luck!

 

[DCLMan]

I have not been to DC, but I have heard during cold weather they will provide wet suits! Hopefully, it helps. This darn storm is trying to ruin everybody's lives!
Let us know what you do and how it works out! Good luck!

They provide and you must wear a wetsuit/vest all year. The only cold water is in the Grand Reef.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I just read on their Facebook page that Aquatica is closing today (the 29th) and tomorrow (the 30th) due to cold temperatures. Sorry Mother Nature chose not to co-operate on your vacation.....that is discouraging to say the least.

As for DC, there are a couple of areas that are GREAT if the weather is a little on the cool side. Both the lazy river and Freshwater Oasis are super warm (think bathwater) PLUS the wetsuits help a great deal. Be sure to choose the wetsuit over the vest and I think you will be fine. When we were there in January, they also had heaters scattered around the restaurant area that were great for drying off and warming up when you needed that extra burst of heat. Hopefully, if temperatures warrant, they will bring them out for you tomorrow as well.

The coolest water at DC is found in the dolphin pool. Next coolest is the Grand Reef. If you find these areas too cold for you, mosey on over to the lazy river and I think you will be a happy girl . Cold water wimp that I am, besides the shivery start to our new years day dolphin swim, I was pretty comfortable the remainder of the day, even in the middle of winter.

I hope your day at DC is a ton of fun after your disappointing day at Aquatica. Aquatica is a GREAT waterpark...hopefully you will have a chance on an upcoming visit to give it another try.

 

[brenda1966]

I understand your concern. We are goingto DC on Nov 1. Have pulled Aqutica from our schedule all together. I know many are suffering much more up north, but dang it if mother nature isn't trying to ruin our trips! It has just been so cold. Not sure how we'll survive DC, even in wet suits.

 

[moopdog]

We have been in Florida for a week now and have been to Seaworld 3 times and Busch Gardens once and will be going back tomorrow. I loved Busch Gardens and wish I could live in Seaworld We went to Aquatica today and it was awful. Not the park itself, it looked beautiful. I am sure we would have had a great time if we weren't freezing. My kids and husband went down Dolphin Plunge and then I found my husband and it took us two hours to find the kids. They were freezing and had been trying to keep warm in the lazy river most of the time. I never even got around to getting in my bathing suit because by the time we found the kids they were begging to leave. I am now very worried about Discover Cove. I am hoping that we don't want to leave there because we are shivering there as well. I switched days from Tuesday to Wednesday because Tuesday is only supposed to be 68 degrees brrrrrr! Wednesday is supposed to be warmer but then again the forecast said today was supposed to be 79 degrees but it sure didn't feel like it. I will just have to hope for a warm enough day, I am such a cold wimp From now on I will only come to Florida in the summer if I want to do water stuff!

Do you already have the tickets for DC, or is it already bought and paid for? This is exactly what I'm afraid of for our Feb trip . My daughter has Raynauds and if her core body temp gets too low (doesn't take much) her fingers and toes will lose their blood supply compelety & she needs to be taken someplace warm immediately until the color and feeling comes back. This won't be a fun day for her if happens over and over again that day. It's usually a 45 minutes process!

 

[janinca]

I understand your concern. We are goingto DC on Nov 1. Have pulled Aqutica from our schedule all together. I know many are suffering much more up north, but dang it if mother nature isn't trying to ruin our trips! It has just been so cold. Not sure how we'll survive DC, even in wet suits.

I think you will be ok. We survived our day today and I think tomorrow is supposed to be warmer than today. We did wear full wet suits all day and it was chilly but we had a great day. I want to go back one day when it is hot so that I can fully enjoy the day without shivering though. By about 2 we got out of the water to go to the aviary and I wore a sweater to keep warm. After getting out of the water it was really hard getting back in but we did. Cold weather will not completely ruin Discovery Cove. It is a wonderful place. I was actually surprised how easy it was to get used to the water in the dolphin swim. I only felt cold when we first got in and felt fine throughout the whole 30 minutes. I keep hoping that the temp will get high enough to entice us to try Aquatica again tomorrow.

 

[brenda1966]

Glad to hear your day turned out to be fine. Yes, it was still a bit chilly today. What time did you arrive at DC and what time was your swim? My fear is getting there too early and not having time to eat before the swim. I'd also like to feed the birds and let the temp come up a bit. I think the afternoon will be okay temp wise, but the mornings are cold.

 

[janinca]

Glad to hear your day turned out to be fine. Yes, it was still a bit chilly today. What time did you arrive at DC and what time was your swim? My fear is getting there too early and not having time to eat before the swim. I'd also like to feed the birds and let the temp come up a bit. I think the afternoon will be okay temp wise, but the mornings are cold.

We got there at 7:45 and we were given the first dolphin swim, we were to meet at the cabana at 9:10 for our preswim video etc. Although it was the coldest time I was glad to get the first swim. We did have time to eat before the swim, at least some of us did. One or two of my kids had a hard time with their wetsuits so not everybody had breakfast before but there was plenty of time for it.

 

[brenda1966]

Thanks for the info. I'm going to shoot for 8am arrival and hope for a bit later swim. Would like to get it done before lunch for sure, but I'm thinking 10am would be near perfect timing.