Discovery Cove

Which Discovery Cove Package Should You Book?

Discovery Cove is not a theme park. It is an all-inclusive day resort in Orlando that limits how many guests it admits each day, so instead of queues you get a quiet tropical beach, snorkelling reefs and, if you choose it, half an hour in the water with an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. Because everything is included once you are through the gate, choosing your ticket comes down to just two questions: do you want the dolphin swim, and do you want the other SeaWorld-family parks bundled in?

Every package below includes the same all-inclusive day. The differences are the dolphin swim and how many extra parks come with it.

Live prices for your travel dates are shown on each package above. The extra park admission runs for 14 consecutive days and can be used before or after your Discovery Cove day, so it fits neatly around the rest of a two-week Orlando holiday.

What Is Included in Every Discovery Cove Ticket

This is where Discovery Cove differs most from a normal Orlando park day. Once you have paid, you are not reaching for your wallet again. Every package includes:

• Full-day admission to all habitats and beaches
• Breakfast, lunch, and unlimited snacks and drinks throughout the day
• Use of a wetsuit or swim vest, plus towels, lockers and showers
• A snorkelling mask that is yours to keep as a souvenir
• Free parking at Discovery Cove

The habitats themselves are all included too: The Grand Reef for snorkelling among rays and tropical fish, Explorer's Aviary where the birds land on you, the Freshwater Oasis with its otters and marmosets, the lazy Wind-away River, and Serenity Bay, the resort's warm relaxation beach.

Is the Dolphin Swim Worth It?

The dolphin interaction is a 30-minute session in the water with a small group and a marine mammal trainer, meeting, touching and swimming alongside an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. It is the single biggest price difference between the packages, and it is the reason most people visit Discovery Cove at all.

Our honest take, with more detail in our guide to whether Discovery Cove is worth the price: if the dolphin swim is the memory you are buying the holiday for, book it, because the rest of the day is included either way and you cannot add the swim once you are inside. If you are mainly there for the snorkelling, beaches and the calm, the non-swim packages deliver an identical day for noticeably less.

Should You Add SeaWorld, Aquatica and Busch Gardens?

The step up from the Day Resort ticket to the Package or Ultimate bundles is usually the best-value decision on this page. For a modest increase you gain 14 consecutive days at SeaWorld Orlando and Aquatica, and on the Ultimate packages, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay as well. Bought separately, those parks would cost far more than the difference between the tiers.

The practical question is whether you have the days spare. In a one-week trip that is already full of Disney and Universal, the plain Day Resort ticket may be all you can use. On a typical UK two-week holiday, the bundled parks are almost always worth taking. Our Discovery Cove tickets and packages guide works through the sums, and the free Orlando Park Planner will show you where a Discovery Cove day fits best around your other parks.

Booking Tips for UK Visitors

Discovery Cove caps daily attendance, which is exactly why it feels so calm and exactly why it sells out. Peak weeks, school holidays and dolphin swim slots go first, so this is one Orlando ticket worth booking well before you fly rather than deciding once you land. Reservations are for a specific date, so check your plans against our Orlando crowd calendar before you choose. For a fuller picture of the day itself, read our Discovery Cove Orlando guide.

Frequently Asked Questions