Discovery Cove is Paradise in Central Florida

By: Tiffini HensleySeptember 28, 2017When many people think of Florida, they automatically think of either a beach or a theme park. But what if I told you that can visit paradise for a day when you are visiting central Florida? That’s because when I think of Discovery Cove, the first thing that comes to mind is just that - paradise. Discovery Cove is an all-inclusive day resort that allows you to feel like you are on a tropical island, surrounded by nature. A day there can be as relaxing as you’d like, with package options either including a 30 minute dolphin swim or not. Additional add-ons include SeaVenture, swimming with the sharks, feeding the rays and an upgraded drink package. Even without any add-ons, there is still plenty to fill your day in paradise!Recently, my son and I visited Discovery Cove with the 30 minute Dolphin swim. Here is a review of our fun-filled day.Although the park didn’t open until 8am, we made sure to arrive by 7:30am to start the check-in process so that we would be in one of the earlier dolphin swim groups. Our time slot was 9:30am, so that gave us time to go put our stuff in a locker and grab some breakfast before we needed to meet our trainer. At Discovery Cove, your meals, snacks, and beverages are included throughout the day. For breakfast, there were multiple options for even the pickiest of people.After breakfast we grabbed wet suits and lathered on the sunscreen that they provided us. We then met up with the rest of our group who would be interacting and swimming with the dolphins at 9:30am, so we could get our directions. Upon entering the water, we were lead through a series of meet and greet poses with our dolphin, before our deep water swim portion. Overall, we really enjoyed our dolphin interaction! After our dolphin swim, we opted to head over to the Grand Reef, since we were already in wetsuits and were somewhat “used to” the cold water. At Discovery Cove, the different water areas are kept at optimal temperatures for the marine life, so that means that the Grand Reef and Dolphin Lagoon are a chilly 76-77 degrees Fahrenheit, while the freshwater pools of Serenity Bay, Freshwater Oasis and Wind-away River are maintained at 85-86 degrees Fahrenheit. Grand Reef is incredible, with free swimming rays and colorful fish everywhere you look or snorkel to. Towards the back of the reef, the sharks swim about in their enclosure, safely behind slanted glass, so that you are still able to swim down and feel like you are swimming right there with them. For those brave souls, who want an even more thrilling interaction, be sure to add-on the shark swim encounter.Our next stop was lunch! Similar to breakfast, there were many yummy choices, and since my kiddo had trouble choosing between two options, we simply chose both, since it’s all you care to eat!With our tummies full, we opted to change out of our full wetsuits for more comfortable vests, re applied more sunscreen, and then headed toward the aviary to feed the birds! The aviary is home to many colorful and “talkative” birds who are not the least bit shy to hop up on your arm to nibble from your cup of bird treats. This aviary is unique in that guests who are swimming along in the Wind-away river go right through the aviary, and even have the option to exit the water to feed the birds before getting back in to swim some more. We took advantage of this after our treat cups were empty and hopped into the warm relaxing water. Other areas in the freshwater side of the park include the ability to get up close to marmosets and swim right next to the otters (who were behind glass)!By the time we were finished talking to the trainers who were feeding the marmosets to get them to come out and play, it was already nearly time to leave. We were so bummed to wrap up our day in paradise, after having such an amazing day! As we were packing up to leave, we did remember one thing that made us perk up a bit! Included with your day’s admission to Discovery Cove is 14 days of unlimited visits to SeaWorld Orlando and Aquatica!If you’d like to see additional pictures and videos from my visit to Discovery Cove, please check out my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/thensley.wft. If you’d like more information, or to start planning your next vacation, please contact Tiffini@wishesfamilytravel.com