2 New Discovery Cove Experiences!

thatgirl23

Mouseketeer
Joined
Nov 3, 2007
From the official website...

SHARK SWIM
Have the experience of a lifetime by getting up-close and swimming with sharks. Your full experience includes a shallow water shark talk and training session with Discovery Cove’s expert aquarists. You will also have the opportunity to swim freely alongside several species of sharks in the deeper part of their habitat.

This experience can be added onto both All-Inclusive Dolphin Swim and Day Resort packages. All participants must be comfortable swimming in water.

Discovery Cove donates 5% of the proceeds from Shark Swim to the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation which conducts scientific research and hosts educational programs aimed at conserving the marine environment.


and


RAY FEEDING
Join Discovery Cove’s expert aquarists early in the morning and help them as they feed our amazing Cownose and Southern Stingrays. You will also have the opportunity to feed thousands of beautiful tropical fish their morning meal before venturing out on a private, guided swim of The Grand Reef.

This experience can be added onto both All-Inclusive Dolphin Swim and Day Resort packages and takes place Thursday through Monday mornings from 7:00-8:30am. All reservations must be purchased in advance.


Both experiences will be available starting July 14th!
 
I just read about that yesterday! I wish the options had been around a month ago when I booked our Seaventure! Then again, probably would have kept it the same. I remember thinking, "Too bad they don't let you swim with the sharks on the Seaventure," when I booked it. I think it's a great idea.

ETA: It looks like the shark swim is $85 and Ray feeding is $50 per person.
 
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If you are interested in doing the shark swim, I'd recommend that you reserve it ASAP. We are going in mid-August and I called yesterday to add the shark swim to our package. There were only two spots left for the shark swim on our day, and we grabbed them. (We really need one more slot, but we took what we could get, and I'm going to keep checking for any cancellations.) They said that this option is booking up quickly.
 
:cool1: I know today is the first day. These new experiences sound so awesome! We are signed up for both towards the end of August. I am hoping there is a Diser or two who are doing these soon and can report back and give us the scoop. :)
 


We were there July 3rd and found out about these a few days later -- wish they had been available for our trip! My dds did the SeaVenture thing because one is crazy about sharks and wanted to get as close as possible to them and the other one loves stingrays and the demo video showed people going face to face with them.
 
I check here multiple times each day to see if anyone who has been on this experience has posted any info. We are scheduled to do it August 18th and I really want to know more details before we go. I am especially curious re: what kinds of photos they take for you and if they include a video. (The nice folks on the phone at DC really don't have too much information since these experiences just began.) I am also curious if there is a spot for those not participating to watch from afar - like there is on shore at the dolphin swim location. Any info that you have would be greatly appreciated. TIA.
 


Vickie106 - I haven't done the shark swim myself (yet!) so don't know if they have anyone photographing/videotaping the experience, but there are bridges right over the area that would be perfect for other people in your party to watch and take pics/videos themselves. It's MUCH closer than where observers have to stand for the dolphin interactions.

I did find this video on YouTube... It will give you an idea of what happens during the shark swim and the bridges that I was talking about. Hope that helps! :)

 
Vickie106 - I haven't done the shark swim myself (yet!) so don't know if they have anyone photographing/videotaping the experience, but there are bridges right over the area that would be perfect for other people in your party to watch and take pics/videos themselves. It's MUCH closer than where observers have to stand for the dolphin interactions.

I did find this video on YouTube... It will give you an idea of what happens during the shark swim and the bridges that I was talking about. Hope that helps! :)



THANK YOU! :thanks:That is exactly what I've been looking for. My kids (especially my son) are going to be so excited! and I'm so glad to know I'll be able to watch from above on the bridge. I will be sure to post details when we return from our trip. :flower1:
 
Are there any reviews/videos/details about the ray feeding experience yet? My mum would love to do this but wants to wait for some reviews
 
We are back from our trip and I can report that the Shark Swim was wonderful! My 16 yr old DD and my shark crazy 10 yr old DS did the swim and they absolutely loved it. They currently do two groups of 3 swimmers per day at 11:30 am. (We were told that in the near future they will offer it two times each day for a total of 12 swimmers.) All participants were given a full length wetsuit when we checked into the park and as we waited for the swim to start, they were also given socks out of wetsuit material to cover their feet and gloves for their hands. We started a bit late because someone was signed up (you have to pay in advance) and didn't bother to show up. IMO It is quite rude to not bother to cancel and keep others waiting for you. After waiting for a five to ten minutes we got started and they took the kids back stage. There was a thorough safety briefing, and they sent the first group, my DD and DS, to swim/snorkel with the sharks - white tip sharks, black tip sharks, nurse sharks, zebra sharks and wobbegong sharks. We were able to watch from the overhead bridge and take photos. They weren't allowed to dive down and/or touch any sharks, but they still got pretty darned close. While our group of 2 was swimming with sharks, they other 3 people were talking with the trainers and having an up close encounter with the zebra shark. Then after 10- minutes or so, they switched. While my kids were learning all about the Zebra shark there was a Photographer shooting pictures. My kids - especially DS - absolutely loved it. They were able to touch and pet the zebra shark and actually held it for the pictures. The person in the water with them taught them all about this shark and pointed out the features as he discussed them. Awesome! When they were done, we were not pressured to purchase any pictures, but we did buy the digital copies (including a CD) for $60.

All in all it was a great experience and we loved it!!!!
 
thank you vicki for the report!
this is valuable info for anyone wanting to do the Shark Swim
 

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