Discovery Cove: Swimming with Dolphins, Rays & Sharks

Several years ago, my mom and I were planning to take a trip to Florida and I soon saw an advertisement for Discovery Cove online. I had never heard of it previously, but it looked pretty amazing from the pictures. Discovery Cove is a full day all-inclusive experience that allows guests to take part in one-of-a-kind experiences with dolphins, stingrays, and even birds. I called to check if it was wheelchair accessible and they informed me that it was, and that they were willing to help in any way they could. I trusted them and booked our adventure immediately. Just a few short weeks later and we were there, ready to see what the day had in store.

The first activity that we had scheduled at Discovery Cove was the dolphin swim. Swimming with dolphins was one of the top items on my bucket list at the time, so this was what I had been looking forward to so much. After an introductory training lesson, we made our way out to the water. Everyone is given a life vest, but there is a short walk to get in the water. Discovery Cove provided a beach wheelchair for me to use and we rolled it right into the water. I can remain stable by myself in water as long as there are no waves and the water remains calm, but my mom had to help me get out of the chair and she was by my side to help me stay above the water if I needed her to. Soon, a dolphin made it's way over to me and I felt it hit my legs. Immediately, I was knocked under. Luckily, the water wasn't very deep so my mom got me back up quickly. The power of a dolphin is quite astounding. I learned that they can weigh up to a whopping 500 pounds. No wonder I was knocked under so fast!

However, it didn't scare me away and I was ready for some one on one interaction. The whole dolphin encounter lasts about 30 minutes and you are taken out with a very small group. Each person is given an opportunity to meet, touch, kiss and ride the dolphin. I decided to opt out of holding onto the dolphin's fin and letting it carry me across the water because I was afraid that I couldn't keep myself up, but meeting and kissing the dolphin was a terrific experience. The dolphin was so sweet and really seemed to like me. He kept coming over to me and wanted to spend more time with me than anyone else in our group. You can call me the Dolphin Whisperer if you like. After the personal interactions, the trainer taught us some tricks. We learned how to make the dolphins jump and "talk". This encounter was an amazing experience and is the highlight of any visit to Discovery Cove.

The second most popular attraction at Discovery Cove is The Grand Reef. The Grand Reef has colorful coral reefs, hundreds of tiny fish, stingrays, and even sharks (don't worry, the sharks are behind a glass wall). You can snorkel amongst these beautiful creatures for as long as you like, and the reef is huge so you don't have to worry about getting in anyone else's way. Once again, I was put in the beach wheelchair and we started making our way into the reef. There is a long ramp that goes from the beach area into the water, so getting from the chair into the reef was no problem. A couple staff members were even kind enough to assist me in getting into the reef, and one girl volunteered to stay with my mom and I the entire time. I was glad that she stayed with us because she really helped out my mom and this gave my mom the chance to have some snorkeling time for herself as well.

I soon put on my snorkeling mask and decided to take in the views of the reef. The coral and fish were so vividly colorful. I was enjoying looking at this and then suddenly a stingray brushed up under me. This ray was nearly bigger than me and even though I knew that their stingers had been removed this terrified me for a moment, making me inhale about a gallon of water through my snorkel. It was quite terrifying for a moment, but laughable afterwards and I was ready for more snorkeling. We enjoyed taking in the gorgeous views for a while longer and then started making our way out. On the way out I cut my leg on some coral (only me...). It started bleeding, but not profusely and it really didn't hurt terribly bad. The staff member went to get me a bandaid and soon, I was like new.

Other highlights of my time at Discovery Cove included the Explorer's Aviary, where you can view and hand-feed hundreds of birds, and eating a deliciously fresh lunch that is included in the ticket price. Even though I was knocked under by a dolphin, terrified by a stingray, and cut my leg on coral reef, Discovery Cove became one of my favorite attractions in Orlando, Florida. The staff was extremely accommodating and did everything they could to ensure that everything I wanted to do was accessible. If you are looking for a once in a lifetime accessible experience, look no further than Discovery Cove.