Discovery Cove sponsored this post and sent myself, hubby and son to the park. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own!
Stay tuned – tomorrow I have an awesome giveaway for one Addicted to Saving reader courtesy of Discovery Cove!

This past weekend, we were given the opportunity to visit Discovery Cove. When Discovery Cove offered to send myself, hubby and son to Discovery Cove, I jumped at the opportunity.  I’ve heard amazing things about the park and wanted to see everything for myself.

Did you know that right now Florida Residents can take advantage of special pricing?  Go HERE to learn about Discovery Cove’s Special Florida Residents Rates (or scroll to the bottom of this post for more information).  When you purchase a ticket, you will also receive unlimited admission to SeaWorld® Orlando and Aquatica, SeaWorld’s Waterpark™ for 14 consecutive days!

The main entrance to Discovery Cove.

First, let me say right away, originally, I thought Discovery Cove was a theme park.  I knew that Discovery Cove limits attendance to around 1,300 people per day.  But I didn’t realize that this is not your typical theme park experience. This is a resort experience.  From the second we walked into Discovery Cove, we realized that we wouldn’t have to deal with long lines, packed areas and screaming children.  Instead, we had tons of space to roam, there were pretty much no lines and while our 18 month old son missed his nap, he actually didn’t scream or cry at all! 😉

This was one of the first views you get as you walk into Discovery Park.

Once you register in the main building, you immediately walk into a lush, green cove that feels like a deserted island.  My mom and brother went with us to Discovery Cove and my mom raved multiple times on the bamboo trees, lush plants and beautiful flowers.

Tip – get to Discovery Cove early.  They open at 7:30 am.  The earlier you arrive, the earlier you can explore Discovery Cove.  And, you will get a better selection of dolphin swim times (if you are swimming with the dolphins).

Picture of my son exploring Discovery Cove.

Once you walk through the jungle-like entrance, the view opens up as you enter Discovery Cove. As you can see from the picture above, it felt like we were the only people at Discovery Cove!  And yet at this point, the park was at capacity with guests!

When you purchase an all inclusive package for Discovery Cove it covers every expense you can think of! You will not have to pay for parking.  (Most theme parks charge at least $10 to park if not more!)  Breakfast, lunch, all snacks and all drinks (including wine, daiquiris and more) are included.  The breakfast was impressive with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, waffles, yogurt, pastries and fresh fruit.  Lunch was amazing.  There were 5 or 6 entrees to choose from like baked fish, pork tenderloin, meatballs and pasta, chicken, hamburgers and so much more.  Because my son was under two, his admission was free.  Since he still only has four teeth, I stuck with easy to eat food for him like mac & cheese, meatballs and rice.  The snacks they offer throughout the day were perfect for curbing our appetite.  When we left Discovery Cove, we weren’t hungry.  We were well fed and didn’t have to pay an additional cent towards all of the food we ate!  (And we ate a lot!)  Usually a soft drink and lunch for one person at a theme park is at least $15.  So there was a huge value in getting all you can eat breakfast, lunch, snacks and unlimited beverages.

Tip – for lunch, you will experience waiting in a line if you get in line around lunchtime (12 – 1:00 pm).  If you wait a little longer to get lunch, you won’t have to wait in line long at all!  Try snacking when you first get there, set up your “base” camp, and have a late breakfast. That way you’ll be satiated and won’t need lunch until later on.

While you are at Discovery Cove, you will not have to worry about forgetting anything.  They have life jackets and life vests, snorkels and fins, sunscreen, bottled water and even special strollers that you can push on the sand! The life jacket we brought for our son was a little too big, but fortunately, Discovery Cove really came through as they had life jackets in all different sizes (even in adult sizes)!

The highlight of our time at Discovery Cove was the dolphin swim.  I cannot put to words how awesome it was to be up close to the dolphins.  My hubby, mom and brother had a dolphin swim time that was different from mine.  So I wasn’t able to swim with them. However, this didn’t detract from my experience at all.  The dolphin trainers tell you all about the dolphin’s history, training the dolphin and the dolphin’s personality.  The dolphin I swam with was named Akai.  Akai is a male dolphin who had the sweetest demeanor.  We were able to pet him, give him a kiss and watch him do tricks.  Once it was time to swim with Akai, we were given the option of either doing the deep water swim or shallow water swim.  I chose for the deep water swim and swam out approximately 20 yards. Akai met me there and after I hung on to his fins, he pulled me to shallow water. Such an awesome experience.

Tip – leave all of your jewelry (except your wedding bands) at home. When you swim with the dolphins, the only item they will let you wear is your wedding bands.  You can’t even wear an elastic on your wrist.  (don’t ask me how I know 😉 )

Photos with Akai (pictured above is my mom, son and brother.  Just missing my hubby!)

Babies and toddlers are not able to participate in the dolphin swim. However, I was so thankful because the trainers saw my son and offered to do a family photo after the dolphin swim. So my son was able to touch Akai and get a photo with him. (The only bummer is that my hubby wasn’t in the photo!) While I know my son probably won’t remember that moment in his life, I have pictures to show him someday!  And now he is making noises like a dolphin which is just adorable.

One of the entrances into the Wind-away River

When you are at Discovery Cove, you will want to go on the Wind-away River.  It is basically a lazy river with both deep and shallow areas.  We were able to take our son out on the ride with us!  We were on the Wind-away River for about 25 minutes. It was so relaxing. At one point, you float through the Explorer’s Aviary. Tropical birds are literally flying overhead as you float through.

**Tip – if you are swimming with a young child, make sure you have either a life jacket on (to help you float) or the floating noodle. That will help you float as you are also watching your young child.  Also – if you have an underwater camera, bring it! There are so many things to photograph as you float along the river!

Another highlight of Discovery Cove is snorkling through the Grand Reef.  The reef is filled with tropical fish and stingrays! And, you can swim up to an area where glass separates you from sharks.  When you go underwater and look through the glass, you will come face to face with sharks.  When you are snorkling, head away from the sandy entrance to the reef.  The further you get from the sand, the less people you will see.  I snapped the photograph above of a man snorkling and he had so much space all to himself!

There is also a new part of Discovery Cove that features marmosets and otters. We watched the otters play for quite a long time. They were adorable.

Florida residents – Discovery Cove has special pricing just for us!  Go HERE for more info on Discovery Cove’s Florida Resident Special!  If you purchase the Day Resort Package, prices start at $149.  If you purchase the Dolphin Swim Package, prices start at $219. Blackout dates are March 17 – April 21 & June 1 – Aug. 31, 2014. Dates subject to availability.  Proof of valid FL residency for each adult is required at check-in.

Dolphin Swim Day Resort Package includes:

• A reserved 30-minute dolphin interaction*
• Hand feeding exotic birds in a free-flight aviary
• Encounters with playful otters and curious marmosets in Freshwater Oasis™
• Freshly prepared breakfast and lunch and unlimited snacks, drinks and alcoholic beverages.
• Unlimited admission to SeaWorld® Orlando and Aquatica, SeaWorld’s Waterpark™ for 14 consecutive days.