One of the things I’ve always wanted to do is swim with dolphins. Over the years we have visited dolphins at various aquariums and also enjoyed dolphin shows at places like Sea World. We were even lucky enough to spot wild dolphins as they swam near us on a sailing vacation in Greece. During our recent travels to Florida, though, we had the best experience of all—interacting and swimming with the dolphins at Discovery Cove.
While there are many places that you can have a dolphin encounter, we chose Discovery Cove in the Orlando area. Owned and operated by sister park Sea World, it is an all-inclusive day resort that includes not only dolphins but many opportunities for animal encounters and enjoying water fun. The place is beautifully landscaped with white sand beaches and tropical lagoons. Best of all, the park limits the number of visitors per day, so it never feels crowded.
All-Inclusive Resort:
All-inclusive truly describes the Discovery Cove experience. A large buffet breakfast and lunch are provided, as well as snacks throughout the day. Kiosks are available in several locations where you help yourself to all the drinks and snacks you want, including alcoholic choices for adults. They also provide all of the equipment you need for the day: wet suits or swim vests, snorkels, masks, towels, noodles, and even animal friendly sunscreen. Money is not needed at all unless you want to buy a souvenir or purchase photos from your dolphin swim (you can’t bring your own camera into the dolphin area for safety reasons).
The basic entrance ticket for Discovery Cove includes unlimited access to five different areas of the park. Besides swimming and beach fun, there are a lot of opportunities to see and interact with a variety of animals… but it doesn’t include the dolphins. For an additional fee, you can add optional experiences to your day. We added the Dolphin Swim and the Trainer for a Day to our ticket. The one-on-one dolphin encounter was the highlight of our day!
Dolphin Experience:
To get started we got into our wetsuits, then our trainer gave us some safety information and we watched a short video about dolphins. Afterwards she took us down to the water and we learned about dolphin habits, behaviors, and communication abilities. Because they work with the dolphins on a daily basis, the trainers have a great relationship with the animals. They also know their personalities and the things they like.
The Dolphin Lagoon is divided into three main sections, so several groups are in the water at the same time but spaced well away from each other. You mainly work with one special dolphin during your swim, but at times others come over to interact as well. We enjoyed hearing specific details about our dolphin, Kailani. The 13-year-old bottlenose dolphin is a natural entertainer and seemed to be having fun during our interactions.
As we lined up in the shallow area of the pool, Kailani swam by us and we got to pet along her back. I was surprised by the feel of her skin which was very smooth and rubbery. Then we were able to individually pet and hug the dolphin and of course get lots of photos. She even gave us a kiss!
Next, the trainer showed us hand signals to try with our dolphin. We used the signals to encourage Kailani to wave, spin in a circle and make cute sounds. I say encourage her because none of the dolphins are ever forced to perform. They genuinely seem to love interacting and of course getting their fish treats. The trainer did some additional demonstrations with the dolphins and Kailani’s mother, Coral, joined us for some interaction too.
Then we moved into a little deeper water one at a time for the dolphin ride. Kailani swam up to us and we gently held onto her dorsal fin as she glided through the water. It was so smooth to ride with her to the other side of the pool. As a grand finale, several dolphins joined up to do flips around the pool for us. The whole experience lasted about 30 minutes in the water.
Trainer For a Day:
As part of our Trainer for the Day experience, we also got a second session with the dolphins. The trainer did more demonstrations with Kailani and answered many of our questions. It was fun to have a photo session with the dolphins and additional time to pet them. We also got another dolphin ride, this time where Kailani swam upside down when she carried us across the pool.
The whole Trainer for a Day experience lasted for about 4 hours including the dolphin experience. Our trainer met our group when we arrived and escorted us to breakfast. Besides the dolphin swim, we also had encounters with a sloth, birds, otters, and fish. It was fun to see a group of flamingos in their adaptation training session on the grounds. We enjoyed detailed information and question and answer sessions as we learned about all of these creatures. The trainers truly have the best interests of the animals at heart and their care is top-notch.
Another favorite part of our Trainer for a Day was seeing the dolphin fish preparation area. It was amazing to learn about the intricate detail that is involved with tracking the food of 42 different dolphins. Food is managed based on the amount of dolphin encounters and each animal is different. There is a large tracking board where totals must be calculated each day because they change every day. Most trainers start out serving some time in this important area (sorry, no photos allowed there).
Other Park Areas:
After our Trainer for a Day time was over, we enjoyed the buffet lunch. Then we had the afternoon to enjoy the rest of the park. We snorkeled in the Grand Reef where 10,000 animals live in their stunning 2.5-acre manmade coral habitat. We swam in Serenity Bay and floated in the Wind Away Lazy River past sandy beaches, through a rain forest, and under cascading waterfalls. The Aviary, a large free-flight area for hundreds of colorful birds, was undergoing renovation while we were there but we saw birds in other areas of the park.
Overall, our day at Discovery Cove was truly a great experience. The whole place is beautiful and made us feel like we were on a tropical island. Everything we could need was provided and the day was so carefree. All of the animal encounters were fun…especially the dolphin swim. It was an amazing bucket list kind of day!
If you missed my Florida Bucket List #1 post you can read it here.
That beautiful smile on your face says it all, how much you enjoyed the time with the dolphins and Discovery Cove.
Thanks–it was truly a very special day!
GREAT pictures! You looked so happy and beautiful during your encounters with Kailani and she looks like a sweetheart. Those wetsuits are pretty cool looking too. Doesn’t get much better than spending the day swimming with dolphins and snorkeling. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Kailani was so sweet. We were very happy to have the wetsuits because our day there started off very chilly! Luckily it warmed up some by the afternoon and the swimming water was a nice 80 degrees!
oh that looks so sweet! Always looking forward to bring my family at the dolphins and Discovery Cove..
You and your family will love Discovery Cove. I highly recommend it!