Photo Update: A relaxing day at Discovery Cove

We were recently invited to spend a day at Discovery Cove and readily took them up on the offer. I’d been to the park once before to cover it for our Spring 2010 issue, but I’d never been there as a guest. It was a great day of swimming, relaxing, eating and animal interactions.

A day at the park may seem like a lot of money at around $199 with the dolphin interaction and about $130 without it, but when you look at all that’s included, it’s not too bad. Above is a look at the first place we headed when we arrived in the morning – a continental breakfast. Your breakfast, lunch and all snacks and drinks throughout the day are included – even beer.


It was a bit cold the day we were there, so after we got our wetsuit or vest, we headed here. This lagoon is heated to about 86 degrees. There aren’t any fish in here, but it makes a large circle around the park for a relaxing swim. My son also had fun playing on the beach.


At different times you’ll find some animal experts displaying and talking about different animals. This bird was fine with guests petting him.


These are hard to spot, but for an extra cost, your family can rent a private cabana.


The aviary not only has a bunch of birds to see, but the staff hands out small bowls of food and the friendly birds will eat right out of your hand. Some will even land on your arms. I heard that it’s best to visit the aviary early when the birds are hungrier.


If you haven’t heard, Discovery Cove is opening a large Grand Reef expansion next year. You can read all about it Here. But even though construction is underway, this crane sticking up was the only sign of it.


Part of the expansion is to include hammocks to relax in. That’s a good thing as this was the only hammock I could find.


As I said before, your lunch is included and I took advantage of it. Here’s my selections. The breakfast may only be continental, but they don’t skimp on the lunch choices.


Lunch even included some live music.


After lunch was my wife’s scheduled time to interact with the dolphins. We didn’t all do this activity since it’s an extra cost and we’d done it before in Grand Cayman. But my wife said the dolphin experience at Discovery Cove was much better because the trainers taught the guests much more about the dolphins.


This little guy was barely holding on, but having fun as the dolphin pulled him across the water.


The free snacks included chips, ice cream, cookies and more. But my favorite were these mini soft pretzels.


Here guests can wade through the water with sting rays. Check the feeding times when you arrive.


This is the one area of the park we didn’t experience. Here you can snorkel with many different fish and sea creatures. But the water is kept at 77 degrees (same as the dolphin lagoon). Maybe we should have tried the full-body wetsuits.

Here’s a video from when we covered the park for our Spring 2010 issue:

Swim with dolphins at SeaWorld's Discovery Cove theme park in Orlando, Florida

You can find out more about the park in our Spring 2010 issue and by visiting their website at discoverycove.com. Right now, they’re offering a special for Florida Residents. Click Here to go to the special.

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3 Comments

  1. Great pics! This reminds me of my great day there this Spring. The feeding of the stingrays was 1 of our favorites. It’s a little spooky at first as they glide up and past with mouths WIDE open, but it’s so cool. Lots of kids – and adults – were dancing around in the water with excitement. 🙂 The snorkeling is also well worth the cold if you ever get back. The sharks behind glass will get your attention for sure. Ha!

  2. Have just visited Discovery Cove for the first time this month and it’s like it’s own private oasis! I love this place. It was my utmost favorite place to visit in Florida!