Discovery Cove can be a bit hard to describe because it isn’t a traditional theme park. You could think of it as a kind of vacation cocktail. One part beach, one part aquarium, one part all-inclusive resort, garnished with an animal attraction.
The result is an attraction that is better than the sum of its parts.
One reason for that is the choice built into the recipe. If you like, there’s a lot to do. Alternatively, you can do almost nothing at all.
Marc Swanson’s message is that it is safe to return and “equally important, you can still have a good time.”
Continue Reading
The attraction, which turned 20 this year, sits across the street from its sibling, SeaWorld. Both are operated by Seaworld Parks and Entertainment. I had a chance to spend a day at Discovery Cove recently as a guest of the company.
One of the park’s centerpiece activities is a dolphin interaction, something that I had never done despite living in Florida for 35 years. There are three dolphin lagoons, which take up a good third of the real estate at Discovery Cove.
Our late-morning group of about 12 was split into subgroups. A trainer introduced me and a family of four young boys and a mom from Chicago to Roxy, a 24-year-old veteran among the park’s 45 or so marine mammals.
Although often described as a dolphin swim, there is no actual swimming by humans with the dolphins. It’s more like an old-fashioned baptism, with a group standing in waist-deep water watching and listening to a trainer as the dolphins do spins and tricks, make astonishing sounds and mug with participants for photos. There’s plenty of chances to touch the dolphins as they glide by, and I found being in the water with the powerful 8-foot Roxy next to me a thrilling experience.
Thousands of fish, large and small, surround divers in Discovery Cove’s SeaVenture experience.
Another third or so of Discovery Cove is devoted to the Grand Reef, an artificial coral reef stocked with more than 7,000 reef fish, including rays and sharks. Guests can use snorkel gear and fins to swim among the fish (sharks are in a separate area). But the really cool way to see it is to spring for the SeaVenture, a $49 upgrade in which guests don a snuba helmet that enables them to descend below the surface and walk on the floor of the reef.
Walkers are surrounded on all sides by large parrotfish, blue tang, sergeant majors and other reef fish and can watch rays glide by above and below. Fish will swim between the divers’ legs and gently bump up against them, and it is startling to find large fish swimming inches from the front of your helmet’s face plate.
This 20-minute experience was the highlight of my day at Discovery Cove. There are only a limited number of slots, so it’s important to reserve ahead of time. Similarly limited are ray-feeding ($59) and shark-swimming ($129) upgrades.
Another big chunk of the park includes a long lazy river, an aviary, exhibits of river otters and marmoset monkeys and space to encounter land animals such as anteaters, armadillos, kinkajous and sloths.
The lazy river circuit takes about 25 minutes and is as nicely done as any I’ve seen. Be sure to pick up a float or two to make the experience even lazier.
Woven throughout the featured areas of the park are spaces for relaxing, mainly sandy areas that simulate beaches. I was given the use of a six-person cabana for the day, a private retreat that would be even better for a family or group. It was secluded amid bushy palms but had a view out to the dolphin lagoon.
The cabana comes with two lounge chairs, a canopy that shelters two more chairs, a table and a minifridge, with a keyed locker stacked on top for your things. A hammock became the venue for a delicious afternoon nap. Prices start at $199.
One of the private cabanas at Discovery Cove. Photo Credit: Tom Stieghorst
Food and drink at Discovery Cove are built into the admission price (currently $149, or $199 with a dolphin swim). Breakfast and lunch are served buffet-style to guests by park personnel. Beer and wine are free, as are towels, lockers, snacks, sunscreen, wet suits and vests and snorkel gear. A premium package will get you frozen cocktails, as well.
I initially found Discovery Cove a little hard to navigate; its organization didn’t seem as intuitive as other attractions I had visited. It takes a little getting used to. But by the end of the day I felt I knew where everything was.
As is the case with most attractions, Discovery Cove is limiting its capacity during the pandemic, though the park would not provide specific numbers. To get full value and good parking, arrive at 7:30 a.m., when breakfast is first served.
The park closes at 5 p.m., and one of the rewards of staying until late in the day is that the dolphin swims are over and the dolphins are active with their trainers in the lagoons. I saw a couple of triple jumps by a trio of dolphins just before I left.
UPDATED: The original report stated that frozen cocktails were included in the price of admission. Those beverages are included only with the purchase of a premium package.