Planning a trip I’m calling ‘Wallow in Epic’ since we plan on spending lots of time at Epic. Because daughter is now taking college classes we have to work around their schedule. So, looking at early to mid January. For the number of days at Universal we can get, Thursday will be the last Universal day. Job is Mon-Fri so I’d need to take Friday off anyway.
So, I’m pondering tacking on Discovery Cove. They are open all Fri-Sun in January. But is that nuts? Water stuff in January?
This is the temp numbers from their website
|Month | Average High | Average Low | Warmest Ever | Coldest Ever | Average Precipitation (inches)|
| JANUARY |72 |50 |87 |24 |2.1|
Also, I have a bit of whatever you call the past-tense of FOMO. We were recently in Chicago and they have Beluga encounters there. They book up early and I missed getting into that. Daughter has never done a water animal encounter, so my mind went to Discovery Cove.
I’d be wary of January. When we were in Orlando this past January, it was a bit miserable. The week we were there the temperature barely got above 50 every day we were there. We (and everyone else) were dressed in multiple layers and rain gear. I definitely would not have wanted to do ANYTHING outside that involved water! But…the week after, the weather was beautiful, so you just never know!
I sent an email to Discovery Cove asking if they’ll let us change the dates if the temp is cold. This will probably be our last trip to Orlando for several years.
"We understand you’re looking for flexibility in your vacation planning. That’s why we’ve enhanced our booking policy so that you can easily shift reservations you’ve made, up to 48 hours prior to your reservation date. To accommodate this:
• We will allow one complimentary date change prior to your visit, pending availability. Further changes to your itinerary will be provided for a nominal charge of $50 per change.
• Bookings made within 14 days of original reservation date will be booked at the original rate.
• Bookings made outside of 14 days of your reservation date will be subject to the difference in price based on seasonal rates for the new date chosen.
• If you would like to cancel a reservation, you would need to cancel at least 30 days prior to your original reservation date to receive a 100% refund.
You may call our Reservation Center at 407-513-4600 from 9am – 6pm EST to change or cancel your reservation date. Please be sure to have your confirmation or order number ready."
The good news is that there are other places around the world where activities like this are offered. So if you go somewhere else with weather that is more predictably appropriate for this kind of thing you could enjoy it there
I’m not particularly reassured by that email. It wouldn’t be enough for me to take the chance. Discovery cove is expensive and you’ll want to know you will have an enjoyable experience
That said, I would do one of these two things if it was important to me to go:
Wait to book until the week of when you are reasonably sure of the weather, at least magnitudinally. Have an alternative plan (i.e., different park or activity) if the weather is too cold for comfort.
Is that possible? Based on your research do they sell out? Seems like the market for a January snorkeling excursion, etc. has to be pretty low given the uncertainty in the weather.
Book your preferred time and go hell or high water, but keep that one free modification in your back pocket just in case there is one day that is significantly better than another when you’re there.
Yeah, at the moment I am leaning towards waiting until the last minute (a few days before to book).
I was looking at buying some third-party discount tickets now that included all the bells and whistles. My thought was that I’d book them for the beginning of the trip and if the weather was bad then changing the dates on the Discovery and Universal tickets. Based on the email, I’m not sure I could keep the discount. Even then, the discount seems to be mostly the inclusion of a drinking card. DH and I drink, but out in the sun and wind we’d have at most one, so a drinking card isn’t much value to us.
I booked an airBnB condo that is pretty cheap ~$100 a day. If it is cold, and we feel like driving home early we can.
I guess the answer to my question is “Yes, a bit nuts.”
One thing I hadn’t mentioned is that DH complains about cold water. Cold in general, but cold water in particular. When we went to far south CA in July, I’d bought everyone shorty wetsuits. He was in the water for about 2 seconds. I did see that Discovery heats that water that is heated to a temp that he will tolerate (high 80’s). Also, he’ll tolerate more while on vacation. For example, he never wants to wake up in the morning. But on vacation, he’s as eager to rope-drop as I am. But, still, I don’t think “Hell or high water” is an option for us, that would be pushing it too much.
That got me thinking. We live near Dallas. I looked at SeaWorld San Antonio. We could drive down during a nice time of the year, stay in a hotel the night before, go to SeaWorld and then drive home that night.
Daughter and I adore stingrays, so we might prefer the swim one.
They have this
ULTIMATE ANIMAL ENCOUNTER
Experience Highlights
Don a wetsuit, enter the water, and meet a beluga whale
Touch a shark
Touch and feed a sea lion and bottlenose dolphin
Chat with trainers, and participate in a play-time and photo opportunities with killer whales
Touch a penguin
Lunch will be provided
There is also this other thing for when SeaWorld isn’t open.
All-Swim Experience
On this program guests will:
Put on a wetsuit and get ready to enter the water with a variety of SeaWorld Animals
Be escorted to four different habitats in the park for back-to-back interaction experiences
Touch, feed, play, and have unforgettable fun with bottlenose dolphins, beluga whales, California sea lions, and stingrays
This program includes transportation to each location, a wetsuit and towel (to be returned at the end of the program), changing rooms with lockers and showers, an orientation with a Zoological Staff member, and an amazing in water interaction with four unique animals.
