Since the item on my list specifically had to do with the dolphins, I'll start there and will then backtrack to give you my full review of Discovery Cove (for those who are interested in potentially taking a trip there).
The experience began with a short "instructional" session with one of the trainers. Basically, this included a 5-minute "romancing" video about the beauty and intelligence of dolphins, followed by a quick Q&A session. As the animal lover, I was quick to ask whether the interactions we were about to experience would hurt the dolphin at all (hey, they tow people through the water and we all know that many tourists are a bit...rotund). They, of course, said no, that if the dolphin doesn't want to participate or is uncomfortable he or she will just swim away. Obviously, I was happy to hear that there was no animal torture involved, but I have to say a small piece of me started thinking that I would be awful mad if I paid all this money to swim with a dolphin who decided they'd rather take a nap that day.
From there, we were split into small groups and corralled over to a wading pool that was freezing cold. Ok, it was only 75 degrees, but in 90+ degree weather this feels cold, especially to a Floridian used to sweating more than witnessing snowfall. So after tip-toeing into the waist deep water, we were told that our group was among the lucky ones as we were going to have the chance to interact with two dolphins. Thelma, our first dolphin, recently had a baby (named Hurley) and was therefore just getting back into the action after her maternity leave. She'd be doing most of the "tricks" for us, and then they'd bring out Hutch, an older male dolphin, to do the hard labor of towing people through the water.
The tricks section was certainly cool, although it was obvious that the dolphin was paying little attention to the signals we were giving and fixating completely on the bucket of fish in the instructor's arms. Of course, we saw the cliched "clapping" of the flippers, the "wave goodbye" with the tail fin, the "funny noises" from the blow hole (these included a scream, bird chirping and a fart) and the "ooh ahh" inducing big flip. We also got to see Thelma "dance," blow bubbles and swim upside down so we could pet her belly.
About 15 minutes in, we started the "swim" and picture portions of the experience. The picture section involved each of us going up and hugging and kissing the dolphin (a very good Kodak moment, but I'll admit that I was secretly thinking about how dirty that dolphin's snout must be). Then one by one, we swam out into deeper water and the dolphin gave each of us a 10-second ride back to the shallow water. Yep folks, that is why earlier I referred to this as a "swim" -- there is very, very little actual swimming involved.
Shortly thereafter, we were done and being escorted up to the photo tent to spend more money. Of course, you aren't allowed to bring cameras into the water so they have professional photographers capturing every adorable moment. And after paying $199 to experience this, who in their right mind would walk away without any images to remember the moment? Naturally, they are well aware of this phenomenon and thus charge a whopping $20 per 6X8 -- robbery, I tell you. Thankfully, Aynsley was there, so we split the cost of a photo CD and got all of our images to do as we please with (because we split it, I got all 15 photos, plus the rights for the price of 3 of their 6X8s -- still highway robbery, but somewhat more justifable right?).
All in all, I walked away from the dolphin experience feeling somewhat disappointed that it wasn't longer or more involved. Granted, I did think it was really cool to be so up close and personal with such a beautiful creature, but it definitely felt a bit more cheesy and touristy than I would have liked.
And here is where I can dive into the rest of my Discovery Cove review (no pun intended)! Overall, this is not really a full-day park. There's about enough to do to take up a half day, slightly more if you enjoy baking in the sun for hours, but in truth they really do need some expansion efforts. The free flight aviary is simply wonderful, and is what we enjoyed most during our visit. There are SO many exotic birds -- big and small -- and since many of them were bottle-raised, they feel comfortable flying down to eat food from a small cup in your hand Now, this is precious with the tiny little birds (we met once particularly friendly bird named Scamper who would hang on you as long as you'd allow her), but slightly more unnerving when they get any bigger than the size of your hand. Case in point was the beautiful orange sun conure that randomly decided to land on my head and give me a heart attack.
Outside of the aviary is a non-plus lazy river (no floats or rafts except a dumb noodle), a wading pool with a "cave" (it's like 10 feet long), and the Grand Reef, which just opened a few weeks ago. The Grand Reef is pretty cool, as it's another opportunity to immerse yourself in sea life. Inside are free-swimming stingrays and Manta rays (which are humongous and kind of scary at first), man-made coral structures and lots of little fish (some of which swim in schools, which is cool to see up close). There are also some closed-off areas with sharks, lionfish and eels, but those areas weren't as impressive. Really and truly, one of the big questions I had was what guests did with themselves prior to June when the Grand Reef wasn't open? Then we're really talking about an expensive park with nothing to do.
The food was just okay -- I was expecting more. Breakfast was very touristy, very mass produced, and while lunch options stepped it up a bit, you were still required to take a tray and scavange for a clean outdoor picnic table to dine on. For the amount of money we were paying, I expected at the very least indoor seating, optional table service and some sort of themed restaurant. No go.
Snacks and drinks were just okay, too. If you're into potato chips or granola bars, you would have been in heaven, but again, I was hoping for something that seemed more fresh. Fruit trays, a sandwich station, an ice cream bar -- sort of like what you'd find in the quick service area of a cruise. Another no go. Beverages were certainly plentiful with alcohol options including tap margaritas, weed lemonade (some sort of long island), wine and beer, but in truth, it was so darn hot that I thought if I drank too much I'd pass out from heat stroke. So I stuck mostly to water, with one weed lemonade thrown in.
Some of the nice perks included the all-inclusive nature of the experience. You get one complimentary entry photo per person in your party, free snorkel/mask rentals, free sunscreen, towels, and products in the showering facilities, and complimentary wetsuit/vest rentals. Perhaps the biggest perk is the 14-day unlimited pass to one of SeaWorld's other parks -- you could choose either Aquatica, SeaWorld or Busch Gardens. This is a better deal if you are a tourist since you're more likely to now have passes for everyone in your travel party -- for a Resident the deal is less attractive since I now have a 14-day pass and the only other person I know that has one lives in Gainesville.
Honestly, I probably have zero desire to ever return to Discovery Cove, but I'm happy I went and got to check it out for myself. As far as my recommendation, I'd say go if you can get a good rate, but do so in the slightly cooler months so that laying out in the sun is feasible for more than 15-20 minutes, otherwise you're bound to run into the same issue of running out of things to do/see.
Next up on my list: indoor skydiving a week from Sunday with a sorority sister. Stay tuned!
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