'Discovery Cove, Orlando' theme park review - Nowt2Do.Com: Listings and Reviews for Bristol and Beyond!


	Hidden in the heart of Orlando is a little Oasis, pure white sand beaches, beautiful small seas, Stingrays, tropical fish, tropical birds and Dolphins, all ready to be interacted with, this is Discovery Cove and it’s the most relaxing and unique day out in Orlando. This Sea World owned park has been created to give you a high end luxury day, to give you memories that’ll last a life time and to fulfil many peoples lifetime ambition, to swim with dolphins. From the moment you arrive at the park you know this isn’t your traditional theme park, apart from the obvious lack of rides. You sign in and are treated like a VIP for the whole day, you’re giving an ID pass which includes your Dolphin Swim time if you’ve book it, and can also be used for in park charging if you want it, not that you really have to buy anything. Everything is provided, breakfast, lunch, snacks, snorkelling gear, wetsuits, lockers, towels, sun beds, sun lotion, everything… yes even alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks. Upon entering the park your given a quick tour, taken to get a locker and your swim gear, then you pick where you want to get a sun bed, and get to exploring the park. Yes if you want you can just go up to the snack hut and pick up something to nibble, sit on your sun bed and take in the atmosphere, but most people head straight to one of the large oceanic style pools to swim with the fishes….not in a mafia type way though. The incredible thing about this park is that you completely forget you’re in the middle of a large city, you feel like you’re on your own private Caribbean island, it’s just wonderful. The big draw is obviously the dolphin encounter, but there is so much more that the park has to offer. The large lazy river can easily while away a few hours, a visit to feed to birds in the aviary is a must. Snorkelling with stingrays is a somewhat more nervy experience due to recent Irwin related things, but is completely safe, and brilliant fun. The shark and barracuda tanks hidden within the massive snorkelling pool is a shock, but a good one at that. You can honestly spend hours snorkelling with the fishes… you’ll just get a little cold in the water. Swimming with dolphins is forever popping up on those, 100 things to do before you die programmes, and after having experienced it, it’s easy to see why. This is a life affirming experience that will in print a memory into your soul that will bring a smile to your face on the saddest of says, it is phenomenal. In a small group with a excellent dolphin trainer you spend around 30 minutes in the (very) cold water with the Dolphins, learning about how you can interact with them, feeding the smiling swimming beauties fish, stroking them, getting them to speak before finally grabbing onto their fins for a swim across the pool. It’s indescribably good. Yes Discovery Cove is expensive, but it is worth every penny, it’s a VIP day in a beautiful park that will give you completely priceless memories. Read our preview for further information on the park. When visiting Orlando, Nowt2Do.Com are staying at, and reviewing the following hotels. Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, Disney World Resort Swan & Dolphin, Disney World Resort Swan & Dolphin, Universal Orlando Resort This is part of nowt2do.com's Ultimate Destination Guide: Florida 2006.