Orlando: Discovery Cove

Discovery Cove is one of the SeaWorld group of theme parks. It's a bit different to most parks though, your entry fee is inclusive of all food, wetsuits, snorkelling gear, and most significantly includes a dolphin interaction where you get to pat, kiss (yes!) and swim with a dolphin. This means daily attendance to the park is completely regulated - you have to book in advance and numbers are guaranteed to be manageable.

We weren't 100% sure about the ethics of swimming with dolphins. There's a lot of information on the web - mainly negative. Having done the experience I'm still none the wiser how the dolphins really feel, however our experience with Catalina (the dolphin), two trainers and a small group of 9 of us was quite special. In particular being towed through the lagoon holding on to a dolphin is unforgettable. Certainly the trainers are very careful during the encounter to manage the interaction to take care of the dolphins and minimise any risks to the humans.

Dolphin encounters in action. We had close ups of our experience taken by a pro photographer but weren't quite ready to fork over $100 plus for the evidence.

Other features in the park included a snorkelling lagoon swimming freely with various tropical fish and rays (including a monster with a wingspan wider than I (Eric) am long). There was also the obligatory heated lazy river and various animal exhibits.

Sam and Eric cruising the lazy river

Otter feeding time

Another one of the signature experiences are the aviaries where you can wander in at anytime and hand feed the various tropical birds, who are generally quite happy to perch on people holding a food bowl.

Note the excessive zinc on my face - to safeguard the animals we could only wear animal friendly sunscreen and plenty of it given the brutal sun

All in all it was a very interesting day.

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