HELP - Swim with dolphins - where to get the best experience

We are travelling to Orlando in May and are hoping to plan a swim with dolphins as part of our holiday.

The obvious choice would be to go to dolphin cove, but i suspect this is not the best place to get a real hands on expereince.

Has anyone travelled to key Largo%26#39;s dolphin centre or Marineland near St Augustine from Orlando? How long is the journey? what can we expect from these dolpin centre%26#39;s?

If anyone has done something simular or has any advice I would be grateful

Many thanks

Sttrinians08

HELP - Swim with dolphins - where to get the best experience

I%26#39;ve booked the swim with dolphins in Key Largo as a two day excursion going on 21 May - round trip transportation, overnight in hotel in Key Largo, dolphin swim, airboat ride in everglades and trip to Mall in Miami - booked through Attraction Tickets Direct - price about the same as for Discovery Cove. Check out the Dolphin Plus web site for details of the swim. Friends who%26#39;ve been to Discovery Cove have all said they had a great time but the Dolphin experience was disappointing - very short and no real one to one with the dolphins. According to Dolphin Plus website and trip advisor reviews two people are in the water with two dolphins for about 30 minutes.

HELP - Swim with dolphins - where to get the best experience

Have done Discovery Cove twice and will be doing it again next year.

Can%26#39;t fault it!

Have also swum with beluga whales at Seaworld, which was awesome, if you%26#39;re looking for something out of the ordinary.

You might also want to check out the web site for ';Aquatica';. It%26#39;s a brand new water park owned by Seaworld. I know that they have a waterslide through a dolphin tank, but not sure what other experiences are avaiable. Good Luck Becky

We have also been looking at this question for our forthcoming trip - and have yet to reach a conclusion! One thing to watch is whether the experience is in deep or shallow water. Some of the progammes are in deep water and require the participant to be able to swim. This may not be an issue for you, but Marineland near St. Augustine seems to offer experiences in both deep and shallow water. There are some reviews for Marineland on the Tripadvisor St. Augustine forum and from what I have read St Augustine may be about two hours drive from Orlando.

Hi Pinnochio.

At Discovery Cove, and with the belugas at Seaworld, you start off in shallow water, for the first part of the programme and have lots of interaction there. Then they ask you if you are comfortable with going in deep water. If you don%26#39;t want to it%26#39;s okay. The choice is yours.

The first time I went, I was a bit panicky, as I can swim, but I%26#39;m not a strong swimmer, so I was treading water furiously when we got in the deep water and I was waiting for the dolphin to come along and whisk me away.........Then I realised that the wet suits (I was only wearing the zip-up waistcoat type, not the full suit) actually keep you afloat. I felt like a right prat! lol.

Hope this helps

Thanks Debhuston - didn%26#39;t intend to hijack this thread! We will probably opt for Discovery Cove given that the dolphin encounter is only a part (albeit a special part) of the day and that your ticket will also allow admission to other attractions. Our son has special needs and although he is now quite tall (same height as me!) is unable to swim.

Your information on the approach at Discovery Cove is very helpful - particularly re the floatation aids. This does seem like quite a good option.

I had simply noted that some facilities had mentioned being in water 10 - 15 feet deep and that particiapnts should be able to swim and be comfortable in deep water. Marineland offered both shallow and deep water encounters.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

I have done Discovery Cove and really enjoyed it. So much that we are doing it again in May. We have also done the dolphin interaction in Epcot, and we felt that the experience was more personal. It was also more educational, and you get a chance to see what goes on behind the scenes. It%26#39;s not hugeley advertised, but you can book the the Disney website, you just have to look hard!

I am really glad I read this, as we are interacting with Belugas in May, and although I can swim, I am not comfortable in deep water (I still panic with a wetsuit on). So this has been really helpful to me!

Cate.

I have been looking for the Dolphin experience in the Epcot website and can,t find it. Any tips?

Billy.

Billy, it took me a while to find it!

鈥o.com/wdw/parks/tourDetail鈥?/a>

Thanks Cate.

Got it. I will see about booking this.

Thanks again.

Billy

small myspace