Ready for a Family Vacation of a Lifetime?

I went straight to the source to discover the best place for our family to vacation… my teenage nieces and nephews! They’ve been all over and unanimously agreed that Discovery Cove was their favorite hidden gem. I had never heard of it and after researching, I discovered they offer an unimaginable deal on Black Friday. It’s 50% off park admission, plus optional dolphin swim. They also offer free park admission and parking to their three partner parks (Sea World, Aquatica, and Busch Gardens). We were on a tight budget and couldn’t afford Disney or Universal, so this made me giddy.

Each park has discounts toward merchandise, as well. If you book your hotel with one of their partners, there are additional promotions. We were able to spend 5 days there and successfully didn’t spend anything more than the original package. Some of my tricks are sketchy, but no one seemed to mind. 😉

All we needed to pack for Discovery Cove were suits, as they provided life jackets, unlimited food and drinks, wetsuits, snorkel gear (they even offer prescription masks upon request), sunscreen, towels, lockers, and even bird food for the aviary. It feels like you are truly at an all-inclusive resort of an exotic island… while being in Orlando, Florida! You can swim with the sharks for an additional cost, or just go near the glass wall separating you and them in the coral reef.

The park has limited admission, so you will never need to worry about crowds. They open at 8, but allow you to enter as early at 7 to check-in, determine the times you’d prefer for your special experiences (dolphins, plus many free exhibits throughout the day), and eat breakfast. Our suggestion it to visit the aviary first thing to ensure the tropical birds are still hungry.

Our next suggestion is for those of you that do not enjoy being cold. It’s to put on the long sleeve wetsuit while you are dry and cool. That way, you can focus on beauty and wonder in the coral reef and your dolphin swim experience. Then, you can enjoy the warm water and afternoon sun at Serenity Bay without the wetsuit.

Having a waterproof phone case was also fun. You have to be discreet with it for the dolphin swim, as they have a professional photographer selling pictures for an obscene amount of money. It’s definitely worth having for times that it appears your children are swimming through a cavern and with otters (even though there is glass separating them).

We didn’t need water shoes, as most surfaces are smooth, even when stepping on the “coral reef.” I’d suggest life jackets for the lazy river and reef, so that you can truly relax and enjoy yourself. My son did wish he brought his flippers, but definitely not a game changer for him to go without.

Day 2: Sea World

Next time, we’ll likely plan on going here on day 1 (Although, I need to ensure they can give us our free parking and admission passes ahead of time or at Sea World), as it wasn’t as exciting and difficult to compare the two. The shows were awesome and engaging for both adults and children alike. They have roller coasters, but we didn’t warn my daughter that she wasn’t tall enough for most. The boys suggested riding “Manta” first to avoid lines. I’d suggest packing “dietary needs” in your bag to avoid paying too much for food. You’ll also need sunscreen and towels. My husband suggests mapping out the park ahead of time to avoid walking 19 miles back and forth, because the app shows which rides have the shortest lines, instigating us to use that as our guide vs location.

Day 3: Aquatica

It’s a water park with a beach near the wave pool. I’d like to offer the same suggestion for food, sunscreen, towels, and goggles (if your kids prefer to have them). They allow you to get water from the coke fountains for free. You can walk barefoot here, as well. Lockers cost extra here, but we left our stuff on a beach chair and it was fine. We carried our phones in the waterproof case around our necks.

Day 4: rest day… NOT

Because Busch Gardens is in Tampa and not Orlando, we were planning on using this day to check out of our hotel, travel, and check in to our new hotel. That is, until we found out that the free pass is for 14 consecutive days. So, we ended up spending two days there and loved every minute. The lines were long, but the kids taught us a few hand games to play and we brought back some old-school ones like seeing how long they could rest their palms on ours before we slapped theirs.

Anyone over 25, do not ride the Tigris or Scorpion! They hurt every bone in my body. The kids suggest starting counter-clockwise, riding Iron Gwazi… front row and first! Cobras Curse was also amazing and worth trying to get in separate cars that twist and face each other. There are tons of cool creatures and exhibits to see. Caution- train can take up to 45 minutes.

Overall, we were all super impressed by this vacation and look forward to returning.