Discovery Cove & Sea World - Same Day?

[Mfarquar]

My parents, sister and brother-in-law have very generously offered to treat my husband and I to Sea World and Discovery Cove.

However, we have already carefully planned out our 11 day vacation (first and last day are obviously partial days due to flights) - 2 full days at Universal/IoA w/ Halloween Horror Nights, the rest at Disney, and we were considering doing a day at Sea World.

Is it possible to do both Sea World and Discovery Cove in one day? We weren't sure if we could get to Discovery Cove for opening, cover everything by about 2:00 or 3:00 PM (park is open until 6pm), and then hit up Sea World's rollercoasters and maybe another attraction.

Or, would we be better off just doing Sea World (husband has never been) and doing one of the backstage tours, and save Discovery Cove for another trip.

We kind of cringe at the idea of spending 4 full days away from Disney, as we intended to make that the bulk of our trip (plus it saves on the # of days we plan on renting a car). I think the most we want to do is 2 days at Universal w/ Halloween Horror Nights those evenings, and then 1 day at Sea World and/or Discovery Cove where we would return to WDW for a 7:15 pm dinner reservation (especially since we have free dining).

I have ALWAYS wanted to swim with the dolphins (no matter how controlled) and my husband is a real animal lover. He seems to want to do Sea World more, as he has never experienced any of it. We are also REALLY, REALLY interested in riding the new Manta roller coaster at Sea World.

We are theme park warriors, but I don't want us to rush so much we miss things. However, we are good at covering a lot of ground.

What do you folks think?

[ThunderChunky21]

My wife and I went to Discovery Cove during our honeymoon nearly 5 years ago, so take that for what its worth. Discovery Cove was a fantastic experience and you will enjoy it immensely. Discovery Cove is not a huge park, but it is exhausing because of the amount of time you spend in the water swimming and being in the sun (in our case it was a blazing July Florida Day!). When we finished with Discovery Cove, our minds told us it was early enough in the day to enjoy Sea World. When we got there, we soon realized we were exhausted and watched a Shamu show and then got out of there. As I said Discovery Cove is not huge, so in theory you could do both. Its just a matter of stamina. We could have been tuckered out due to getting married, then driving two days to Florida, then going to Discovery Cove, so you guys might have more stamina. Have fun and enjoy a memorable experience!

[ThanxForNoticin]

I think you would be much smarter choosing one or the other - either DC or SW, but not both on the same day. We have done (and enjoyed) both. If given one day and a choice, we would probably choose Sea World. DC is a great experience, with the highlight being your time with the dolphins. However, you really only get about 15-20 minutes in the water with the dolphins. The rest of the time you'll enjoy snorkeling and swimming. If you go to SW, you'll experience a lot of different things - plus you can also go to the dolphin encounter at Sea World, get 'close' to the dolphins, and even feed them there. Both are terrific parks, but not on the same day.

I would either set aside another separate day for DC, or save it for another trip. I think you'll enjoy it more. Have a great trip!

[Loves the Mouse]

I agree with the last two posts. It seemed like the salt water and Florida sun wiped us out. We could bairly get to our car and drive back to the hotel ! We were exhausted. Even our kids were wiped . You are going to love Discovery Cove. It's a day you will not forget. Ones up your skin is going to smell like fish for a while. Bring a strong deodorant soap ! We just loved the swim area that you swim with the fish. It's not timed but the water is very very cold. Have Fun !!!

[ChipDale2708]

I agree w/ everyone else, one or the other. We did Discovery Cove several years ago and spent the entire day there. Our swim w/ the dolphins was in the morning, but we enjoyed spending the day snorkling and relaxing on the beach there. I would love to go again!

[Rhetoric2000]

Hmmm. I really think a day at both is in order.

For a start I agree with the other posters that there is no way on earth there is any point in trying to cram both into one day. The whole point of both places is to relax and Sea World done at full pelt defeats the reason you are there.

But I don't see how with good planning you need to spend so much relative time at the Disney theme parks.

Another option is to do the attractions of both Universal parks in one day (doable? Well I've done it but not sure how busy things are at the minute), and go for the Halloween Horror Night on your Discovery Cove day.

If absolutely pushed though, I'd pick Sea World over DC - mostly because you only need to do DC once...ever, and you have your whole vacation-going lives to do it.