Discovery Cove® Reviews

I went to Discovery cove for the first time this year and when I next go back to Orlando, I will definitely be doing it again! I was in Orlando for one of my friend’s birthday and we treated her to a swim. I think it was the best present she could have wished for! It was a great day and would recommend anyone to do it!

What a lovely day this was! I was a bit worried that it was rather an expensive day out, but it was worth every penny. Absolutely everything was provided- sun tan lotion, wet suits etc…and the food was lovely as well! It was like having a day on a Caribbean island, very relaxing, especially after running around theme parks for a week!! There is 1 lagoon where you can stroke stingray. It took the kids a while to be brave enough for this, but they managed and even fed them! I would highly recommend this for a fantastic family day out. It really is a great experience.

Patricia Paxman

Just come back from a holiday from Orlando and I wanted to thank you for the lovely day we had at Discovery Cove. We decided to go at the start of our second week and boy did we need it after a full week of going to the parks every day, it was really good just to chill out at Discovery Cove. It was really easy to check in and there weren’t any queues and after we got our swim time we headed off and had our breakfast which the kids enjoyed no end. We found a really good spot with sun loungers near where the snorkeling area is and the kids spent most of their time in there until it was time for our swim .As it was so safe my other half and I didn't have to go in there with them all the time. Our swim time was just before mid day and as there were 8 of us we had a dolphin to ourselves which was really good mind you this doesn't happen all the time. The one we had used to be in Sea World in California and they brought her down to Orlando so she could retire however she had decided that she wasn't going to retire and the trainer was saying that they never force the dolphins to perform and if they decide to go off and do their own thing they can. Ours was really good and the kids really enjoyed this part especially when they were taught some of the commands and sent the dolphin away. We decided to buy the photo of us and the dolphin and as we were all one family we were all in the photo which made a nice momento. Just when our youngest decided he was starving and needed food the buffet lunch was just starting and the food was really fantastic and there was such a choice of either hot or cold. Mind you he went up a couple of times but no-one told him off. He was really pleased and throughout the day there were cold drinks and snacks whenever he wanted any. My mum decided that she didn't want to go in with the dolphins and we did wonder if there was enough to do but she was fine and when we were in the water she just went to the bird avery and had a look around there and she even went back and took the kids with her. The only thing I wouldn't try was standing in the water with the sting rays even if they had the sting taken out. We all went into the pools just to get some exercise after all the food. I must say it is a really fantastic day and well worth the money and we also had a ticket to go to SeaWorld and we went there a couple of times. I would certainly recommend it to anyone thinking about going there and in fact if we get back to Orlando in a couple of years time we would go there again.

Francesca Swankie.

Name: Rosie, Cornwall

Month Visited: July 04

Review: Having seen that Discovery Cove’s Twilight Swims are once again available, I thought I’d write to tell you about the great day we had. We were initially a little cautious about booking the Twilight Swims as we really wanted the standard day swim. However, we had to go for Twilight as everything was already booked for July (apparently it’s the same this year.) Anyway, the evening was fantastic – far better than we had hoped it would be. I didn’t interact with the Dolphins but my kids (aged 7 and 11) loved it! It was definitely the high point of their holiday. My youngest is not a strong swimmer and was a bit timid at first but the staff were great and she really enjoyed it.

The whole evening was really enjoyable. DC only let 100 people in for the Twilight session so once the day swimmers were kicked out at 5.30 we had the place to ourselves! This made the evening feel much more relaxed. The meal was lovely and caribbean music helped to create a great holiday atmosphere. There was also a great sunset – perfect!

Must see/do: Snorkelling. We all loved this – there were so many fish to see and we even got close to sharks (behind glass luckily!)

Overall: The whole experience was great – I couldn’t recommend it more highly.

Name: Sam, London

Month Visited: December

Review: It has always been a hobby of mine to swim with dolphins whenever I get a chance and I have to say that Discovery Cove in Orlando certainly didn’t disappoint, quite the contrary. It has got to be one of the best places to experience this!! My family and I had the most amazing day, even if the weather was a little cool (no need to worry about the weather not being at it’s best, we were provided with wetsuits to keep the chill out when we were in the water). The highlight for all of us was the actual swim with the dolphin. You start off with a training session given by one of the dolphin trainers and then it’s into one of the lagoons to meet your dolphin. You get about 35 minutes in the lagoon and all have a chance to interact with your new friend – I even got to be pulled back to shore by the dolphins dorsal fin!! We also loved swimming with the stingrays in stingray lagoon and snorkelling next to sharks and barracuda (partitioned behind glass!) in the coral reef. The children especially loved feeding the exotic birds in the aviary. Lunch was great too. You get a 3-course meal (plenty of choice) with a drink included in the admission price as well as everything you really need to enjoy the day, even down to dolphin friendly sun cream! I would suggest to anybody who visits Discovery Cove to take a swimming costume/trunks, a change of clothing and some cash or a credit card to buy any souvenirs or snacks. Everything else including towels and lockers was provided.

It was a wonderful day out for all of the family and definitely not to be missed.

Name : Pascale, Yateley

Month visited : Apr

Review : I was not too sure if there was going to be enough to do as my husband and I did not swim with the dolphins just my children,but that was not the case.It was really a great day out for all of us.It really was as if you were not in Orlando and we all could relax and just enjoy ourselves.I really thought the coral reef was really interesting and because there was only 1000 in that day it was not crowded .
My youngest is not the best of swimmers but that was no problem the staff really took care of her in the water and she wants to go again.We had the pictures of the girls in the water with the dolphins so we can remember the day.
It certainly was a great day out well worth the money.We are certainly all going to swim the dolphins next year.