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Are there Discovery Cove ticket discounts available at spring break?

Posted by ThemeParkMom on January 11, 2012 | 1 Comment

I heard from a Theme Park Mom reader, Jena, who is planning to come to Florida during Spring Break in April. She’s looking for the best ticket deal for Discovery Cove.

I love visiting Discovery Cove. The dolphin swim experience there is just amazing and is very memorable for teens and adults. But that’s really all that gets attention there, and that’s not fair. I love the laid-back vibe of Discovery Cove. It’s truly a great place to relax during an Orlando theme park vacation. It’s great to have that day with the family where you aren’t rushing from attraction to attraction and trying to fit it all in. Instead, you can spend an hour meandering through the aviary, float along the lazy river and snorkel amongst tropical fish and rays.

But a visit in April to Orlando is during Spring Break – a busy time when discounts will be hard to find. So is there a way to make a full-price Discovery Cove ticket worth the money?

A quick check of Discovery Cove’s Web site shows that prices in April are in the $229 to $319 range, depending on the day. That’s for the full package with the dolphin swim experience.

Yep, Discovery Cove can be pricey. Or, at least, it can seem pricey. What many folks don’t realize is that your Discovery Cove ticket comes with 14 consecutive days of unlimited admission to your choice of SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica or Busch Gardens. Add $30 and visit both SeaWorld Orlando and Aquatica for those 14 days. Or add $50 and visit all three parks.

So, as an example, let’s say that the day you choose to go to Discovery Cove, the price is $259 for a full package that includes the dolphin swim experience. Add $50 to that, and you are at $309 for a 4-park, 14-day theme park ticket for a few dollars less than a 4-day park hopper at Walt Disney World.

Do you see where I’m going with this, folks? If you’ve been to Disney a few times and have always wanted to visit Discovery Cove, the way to make it a money-saving proposition is to skip Disney on this trip and do Discovery Cove plus SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica, and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. You can easily spend two days at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens if you want, and water fans might like to go to Aquatica two or three times during a vacation. Or on a weeklong trip, spending one day at each of the four parks would leave you a day to shop and a day to head over to the coast for some beach time.

And as long as we’re counting our pennies, don’t forget that your Discovery Cove day is all inclusive. You won’t encounter a fee for parking, or cash registers at any of the snack stands or eateries. The included breakfast and lunch is worth $15 to $30 if you were to pay regular theme park prices.

One more tip: If you do plan to go to Discovery Cove during Spring Break, be sure to make reservations online in advance. The park strictly limits the number of guests inside so that it never feels crowded, which is great, but it also means that many days sell out during busy times.

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