Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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sales tax) for ages 6 and older if you want to swim with the dolphins. They run $189 if
you just want to enjoy the fish and other sea life without having the dolphin experience.
In order to make the experience a bit more tolerable in the price department, admission
includes a 14-day consecutive pass to either SeaWorld or Busch Gardens Africa in Tampa
Bay. The
Ultimate Experience
admission tickets ($359 if you swim with the dolphins,
$259 if you don't) includes a 14-day pass to both SeaWorld
AND
Busch Gardens, then
tacks on admission to Aquatica too. The prices have, in the past, varied seasonally,
so double-check when you make your reservations (which are a requirement to enter
this park).
If you've never gone for a dip with a dolphin, words hardly do it justice. It's exhilarat-
ing and exciting—exactly the kind of thing that can make for a most memorable
vacation.
The actual dolphin encounter deserves an
“A+” rating.
It's open only to those ages 6
and older (younger guests or those who don't want to participate in the dolphin swim
can take part in the other activities).
The park has a cast of more than two-dozen dolphins, and each of them works from
2 to 4 hours a day. Many of them are mature critters that have spent their lives in captiv-
ity, around people. They love having their bellies, flukes, and backs rubbed. They also
have an impressive bag of tricks. Given the proper hand signals, they can make sounds
much like a human passing gas, chatter in dolphin talk, and do seemingly effortless 1
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gainers in 12 feet of water. They take willing guests for rides. They also wave “hello” and
“goodbye” with their flippers and take great pleasure in roaring by guests at top speed,
creating waves that drench them.
The dolphin experience lasts 90 minutes, about 35 to 40 minutes of which is spent in
the lagoon with one of them. Trainers use the rest of the time to teach visitors about these
remarkable mammals.
The rest of the day isn't nearly as exciting, but it is wonderfully relaxing. Discovery
Cove doesn't deliver thrill rides, water slides, or acrobatic animal shows; that's what Sea-
World, Disney, and Universal are for. This is where you come to get away from all that.
Here's what you get for your money, with or without the dolphin encounter:
• A limit of
no more than 1,000 other guests a day.
(The average daily attendance at
Disney's Magic Kingdom is over 41,000.) This ensures your experience will be more
relaxing and private, which is really part of what you are paying for in the first place.
• A continental breakfast, lunch, snacks, and beverages (throughout the day), a towel,
locker, sunscreen, snorkeling gear including a flotation vest, a souvenir photo, and free
self-parking are also part of the deal.
• Other 9am-to-5:30pm activities include a chance to swim near (but on the other side
of the Plexiglas from)
barracudas and black-tip sharks.
There are no barriers between
you and the gentle rays (some of them 4 ft. in diameter) and brightly colored tropical
fish in a new 12,000-square-foot lagoon. The 3,300-foot Tropical River is a great place
to swim or float in a mild current—it goes through a cave, two waterfalls, and a large
aviary where you can also take a stroll, becoming a human perch for some of the 30
exotic bird species. There are also beach areas for catching a tan.
• As mentioned above, either 14 days of
unlimited consecutive admission
to SeaWorld
or Busch Gardens Africa (park admission normally costs $69.95 a day for adults,
$59.95 for children 3-9), or to SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, and Aquatica if you pur-
chase the
Ultimate Experience.
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