Discovery Cove is a

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

owned and operated by

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is an American theme park and entertainment company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company is a subsidiary of SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. and owns and operates thirteen recreational destinations in the Unite ...

, and located in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rel ...

. It is the sister park of

SeaWorld Orlando SeaWorld Orlando is a theme park and marine zoological park, in Orlando, Florida. It is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. When combined with its neighbor Discovery Cove and Aquatica, it forms SeaWorld Parks and Resorts O ...

and

Aquatica Orlando Aquatica is a chain of water parks owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. Aquatica parks are operating in Orlando, Florida and San Antonio, Texas. History SeaWorld Orlando originally announced plans to build a water park on July ...

. Visitors to the park can interact with a range of marine animals including

bottlenose dolphins Bottlenose dolphins are aquatic mammals in the genus ''Tursiops.'' They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus definitively contains two species: the comm ...

Attractions

The main experience at Discovery Cove is swimming with a dolphin, where visitors can "talk, touch, play and swim" with bottlenose dolphins. The park contains a free-flight aviary, which contains over 250 tropical birds including parrots, toucans, and over 30 other species of exotic birds. The heated Tropical River runs through the aviary and circles the park, allowing guests to float past an assortment of the Discovery Cove's beaches, waterfalls, and rainforest landscape. The Tropical River runs into the park's freshwater resort pool. In June 2011, the park expanded with the opening of The Grand Reef. This reef was needed due to the original reef having a persistent salt water leak, which affected the ground water, and replaced the original reef with Freshwater Oasis. The Grand Reef features a white-sand beach, palm-lined island and underwater grottos filled with

moray eels Moray eels, or Muraenidae (), are a family of eels whose members are found worldwide. There are approximately 200 species in 15 genera which are almost exclusively marine, but several species are regularly seen in brackish water, and a few are f ...

reef sharks This article lists several species of reef-associated sharks which are known by the common name reef sharks. In the Indian and Pacific Oceans: * Blacktip reef shark * Grey reef shark * Whitetip reef shark In the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans: * ...

and scores of other tropical fish. Activities range from snorkeling with

eagle rays The eagle rays are a group of cartilaginous fishes in the family Myliobatidae, consisting mostly of large species living in the open ocean rather than on the sea bottom. Eagle rays feed on mollusks and crustaceans, crushing their shells with the ...

to crossing a rope bridge over a shark-filled lagoon. In summer 2012, the park introduced the Freshwater Oasis. The area features water filled trails covered by a rainforest canopy that contains a viewing glass window featuring an exhibit for

Asian small-clawed otter The Asian small-clawed otter (''Aonyx cinereus''), also known as the oriental small-clawed otter and the small-clawed otter, is an otter species native to South and Southeast Asia. It has short claws that do not extend beyond the pads of its w ...

s and an island in the center of the pool known as Primate Island containing

White-headed marmoset The white-headed marmoset (''Callithrix geoffroyi''), also known as the tufted-ear marmoset, Geoffroy's marmoset, or Geoffrey's marmoset, is a marmoset endemic to forests in eastern Brazil, where it is native to Bahia, Espírito Santo, and Minas ...

Admission

Discovery Cove admission is

all-inclusive An all-inclusive resort is a holiday resort that includes at a minimum lodging, three meals daily, soft drinks, most alcoholic drinks, gratuities, and possibly other services in the price. Many also offer sports and non-motorized watersports and ot ...

and options include tickets to SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica Orlando, and Busch Gardens Tampa. Three different admission options are offered by the park, including the dolphin-swim, non-dolphin-swim and “Trainer for a Day” packages. Reservations for Discovery Cove are required and a maximum of 1300 guests can be present in the park at any one time. Discounts are often available for Florida Residents.

References

External links

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Discovery Cove Photo Gallery
{{Zoos of Florida 2000 establishments in Florida Amusement parks opened in 2000 Dolphinariums Oceanaria in the United States SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment Zoos established in 2000