We had a fabulous time! We purchased the dolphin swim + two parks, the ultimate animal experience, and the premier photo package.

We checked in at 7am and met our guide (Jocelyn) for the day at 7:15. As we entered DC we were impressed with how clean and nice everything is after being open since 2000!

Our Ultimate Animal Experience Agenda - Breakfast: buffet style.

Wetsuits: the guy at the wetsuit hut was great! Got us in the right size the first time! Lockers provided for your stuff.

Grand Reef: we didn’t snorkel we just had a short one on one with a DC person in a closed off area of the reef. She talked to us about a few of the animals in there with her. We didn’t ever get the “exclusive, private, guided snorkel session in the Grand Reef prior to park opening” that is listed on the website. I wasn’t upset about this because it was chilly that morning and I wasn’t sure I was ready to be in the water.

Otters: they take you to the area and rope it off so others can’t come in. They let the otters into their enclosure for the day and you get to watch and ask questions.

Monkeys: swim or walk. We were able to see two monkeys.

Aviary: you get a little cup of food and walk around and feed the birds.

Special meet & greet: I was hoping to have one on one with an armadillo, but we got an anteater, but she was cool. Neat to see one up close and to pet her. We also got a meet and greet with a little owl. They talk to you about both animals and answer questions.

Behind the scenes: we got to see (and smell) where the dolphin food is prepared and to learn a about their care and feeding. We saw a board with all the dolphins listed with their age and weight. This was cool as there are some old and some big dolphins there.

Dolphin swim: this was way cooler than I expected! Two other guests joined us for this (so a total of 8 of us for this interaction). Rose was our dolphin. Your dolphin comes over to your groups area of the dolphin lagoon and Jocelyn talked a bit about dolphins. Rose did some tricks for the group, and you get to touch her and then each person gets to hold on to her and she takes you for a short ride. So much fun and she is so gentle.

Enhanced second dolphin swim: after everyone clears out from the regular dolphin interaction, they ask the ultimate animal experience folks to come back in. This time we got to interact with two dolphins. You get to take another ride but this time the dolphin is on its back. Both dolphin experiences were so much fun. No, you don’t get a lot of time out there with them, but you also must keep in mind the dolphins attention span and their willingness to do this interaction. They switch out the dolphins all day and the trainers know them so well they can tell when the dolphin isn’t in the mood, and they don’t ask them to do an interaction with guests. This concluded our ultimate animal experience.

Notes – you can stop and use the restroom or grab a drink at almost any time during this 5-hour experience. Ask questions! Jocelyn was great and did such an awesome job for our animal experience!

After we were released to be on our own, we had lunch. We both enjoyed the food. Get floats for the wind away river. It goes from shallow to 8. Grand Reef is awesome! You are swimming with tropical fish and some HUGE 300lb rays.

Our suggestions for people going to DC: buy tickets when they are on sale (they have a lot of sales thru the year), take water shoes, take waterproof phone cases (we bought two for $10 on amazon and the same ones were $30 each at DC), get wetsuits if the temps are chilly, and buy the photo package. You don’t want to spend your entire day trying to take pictures and you aren’t allowed to take your own pictures at the dolphin swim. We got so many awesome pics to commemorate our experience. We were happy we spent the extra $.

The DC guest relations folks that answer emails are awesome! They respond within 24 hours.

Make sure you ask DC trainers and everyone questions! Did you know that dolphins have belly buttons? We saw them!