Wendy L
July 25th, 2006, 11:24
I know a few people have been asking about this and have booked it. We did it on our recent visit in May and this is what happened.
We had to register at the Tour Guide Desk by 11am and were given a ticket in return for the confirmation I had printed up from the internet. Our reservation time was 1.30pm and we were told to be on the seats by the TG desk about 15 mins before.
We were lucky there were only 2 other couples on our tour and the guide came out with a big box and introduced us all to each other. We sat here for about 15 mins whilst she explained a little bit about what would happen and gave us a little lesson on dolphins and the dolphin family. We learnt how to tell the difference between male and female, how they breed and lots of other things which I won’t go into too much so I don’t spoil it. She then walked us over to the Dolphin Nursery where the talk continued.
We were taken to the right of the hut and through a gate where we got to see the dolphins play whilst she talked to us. It was then the turn of the trainers, it was 2.00pm now. There were 3 in total which is normal, so if there are just 3 families then you will all be divided between the 3 trainers, so it could be 2 families of 4 and then a couple. The times when I can see it wouldn’t be as good is when there are more than 3 families as this will mean that there will be 2 families with each trainer. I asked the trainer how many people are usually on the tour and she said it varies sometimes there are only 6 like us and others there can be more. She said the most she has had so far was 7 in her group. It’s interesting because Sea World say that there are only approximately 10 people to a tour.
Anyway back to the Nursery tour. We were asked to remove sunglasses, hats, bracelets or watches that were loose and could fall off and if we had shiny necklaces then to put the dangly bit around the back, this is because the dolphins have been known to try and take shiny necklaces.
Each trainer has a bucket of fish and they explain that everytime the dolphin lets you touch them or does something then they are to be rewarded with a treat photo (http://www.wdisneyw.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=6599&sort=1&size=medium&cat=508&page=1) and photo (http://www.wdisneyw.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=6600&sort=1&size=medium&cat=508&page=1) You are asked not to force yourself on the dolphins as some are pregnant and others are nursing. If the dolphins don't choose to interact with you then they are not forced to. The trainer we were with showed me how to make her wave, swim backwards up on her tail, we shook “hands” photo (http://www.wdisneyw.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=6595&sort=1&cat=508&page=1) she spoke, and she came up for a hug. I rubbed her belly and tickled her chin it was brilliant. She even squirted me with water from her mouth, which Chris thought was so funny. We were shown how they come over for their injections and lay on their backs photo (http://www.wdisneyw.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=6594&sort=1&size=medium&cat=508&page=1) and lift their tail fin so that the blood can be taken. The trainer said that this is all voluntary, they don’t force them to do it, and they just wait until the dolphin is ready. Lots of other things happened too.
At the end we sent them all around the pool and they jumped out of the water and then waved goodbye. You get to spend a fair bit of time with them, but it is over way too quick, I think we only had 20 mins with the dolphins as we had another little talk afterwards about not approaching dolphins in the wild.
Whilst this is going on, there is a photographer over the other side with members of the public taking pictures, you can take your own if you want to. Chris took quite a few as he didn’t like touching the fish – they are disgusting, it’s not just the small ones you get at Dolphin Cove its big ones as well and they smell awful. None of the other couples took any photos as they were both involved with the dolphins. The photos that Sea World take are not the best, we never bought any, so if you want memories then it might be worth taking it in turns to take a few snaps, but be warned whatever you touch will stink of fish. You are given some alcoholic hand cleaner to rub into your hands and told where the restroom is. I suggest you take a lemon with you and a nail brush if you have long nails like I do because the smell of the fish does not go away. I washed my hands 6 times and still I couldn’t get rid of the smell!
All in all I really enjoyed the experience and you get up close with the dolphins. Whether it is worth the money for 20 mins of actual hands on will depend on each individual. I thought it was worth it. Some people will say that at the end of the day you can feed them for $5 over at Dolphin Cove.
The other thing I would say is that the public are the other side of the pool, they can’t get close to the dolphins, photo (http://www.wdisneyw.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=6598&sort=1&size=medium&cat=508&page=1) but they are there so if you thought this was going to be a private affair then it’s not, they are watching you all the time and taking photos of the dolphins performing. The Canadian guy who was part of our group got quite annoyed and said they were getting a free show :rolleyes:
So if you do decide to do the Dolphin Nursery Tour just remember one very important thing if you don’t like fish and can’t bear touching them, then this is not the tour for you.
The Dolphin Nursery Up Close Tour is $40 plus Tax per adult and they don’t allow any children under 10 years of age.
Other photos of the Tour are here (http://www.wdisneyw.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=6603&sort=1&size=medium&cat=508&page=1)
We had to register at the Tour Guide Desk by 11am and were given a ticket in return for the confirmation I had printed up from the internet. Our reservation time was 1.30pm and we were told to be on the seats by the TG desk about 15 mins before.
We were lucky there were only 2 other couples on our tour and the guide came out with a big box and introduced us all to each other. We sat here for about 15 mins whilst she explained a little bit about what would happen and gave us a little lesson on dolphins and the dolphin family. We learnt how to tell the difference between male and female, how they breed and lots of other things which I won’t go into too much so I don’t spoil it. She then walked us over to the Dolphin Nursery where the talk continued.
We were taken to the right of the hut and through a gate where we got to see the dolphins play whilst she talked to us. It was then the turn of the trainers, it was 2.00pm now. There were 3 in total which is normal, so if there are just 3 families then you will all be divided between the 3 trainers, so it could be 2 families of 4 and then a couple. The times when I can see it wouldn’t be as good is when there are more than 3 families as this will mean that there will be 2 families with each trainer. I asked the trainer how many people are usually on the tour and she said it varies sometimes there are only 6 like us and others there can be more. She said the most she has had so far was 7 in her group. It’s interesting because Sea World say that there are only approximately 10 people to a tour.
Anyway back to the Nursery tour. We were asked to remove sunglasses, hats, bracelets or watches that were loose and could fall off and if we had shiny necklaces then to put the dangly bit around the back, this is because the dolphins have been known to try and take shiny necklaces.
Each trainer has a bucket of fish and they explain that everytime the dolphin lets you touch them or does something then they are to be rewarded with a treat photo (http://www.wdisneyw.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=6599&sort=1&size=medium&cat=508&page=1) and photo (http://www.wdisneyw.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=6600&sort=1&size=medium&cat=508&page=1) You are asked not to force yourself on the dolphins as some are pregnant and others are nursing. If the dolphins don't choose to interact with you then they are not forced to. The trainer we were with showed me how to make her wave, swim backwards up on her tail, we shook “hands” photo (http://www.wdisneyw.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=6595&sort=1&cat=508&page=1) she spoke, and she came up for a hug. I rubbed her belly and tickled her chin it was brilliant. She even squirted me with water from her mouth, which Chris thought was so funny. We were shown how they come over for their injections and lay on their backs photo (http://www.wdisneyw.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=6594&sort=1&size=medium&cat=508&page=1) and lift their tail fin so that the blood can be taken. The trainer said that this is all voluntary, they don’t force them to do it, and they just wait until the dolphin is ready. Lots of other things happened too.
At the end we sent them all around the pool and they jumped out of the water and then waved goodbye. You get to spend a fair bit of time with them, but it is over way too quick, I think we only had 20 mins with the dolphins as we had another little talk afterwards about not approaching dolphins in the wild.
Whilst this is going on, there is a photographer over the other side with members of the public taking pictures, you can take your own if you want to. Chris took quite a few as he didn’t like touching the fish – they are disgusting, it’s not just the small ones you get at Dolphin Cove its big ones as well and they smell awful. None of the other couples took any photos as they were both involved with the dolphins. The photos that Sea World take are not the best, we never bought any, so if you want memories then it might be worth taking it in turns to take a few snaps, but be warned whatever you touch will stink of fish. You are given some alcoholic hand cleaner to rub into your hands and told where the restroom is. I suggest you take a lemon with you and a nail brush if you have long nails like I do because the smell of the fish does not go away. I washed my hands 6 times and still I couldn’t get rid of the smell!
All in all I really enjoyed the experience and you get up close with the dolphins. Whether it is worth the money for 20 mins of actual hands on will depend on each individual. I thought it was worth it. Some people will say that at the end of the day you can feed them for $5 over at Dolphin Cove.
The other thing I would say is that the public are the other side of the pool, they can’t get close to the dolphins, photo (http://www.wdisneyw.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=6598&sort=1&size=medium&cat=508&page=1) but they are there so if you thought this was going to be a private affair then it’s not, they are watching you all the time and taking photos of the dolphins performing. The Canadian guy who was part of our group got quite annoyed and said they were getting a free show :rolleyes:
So if you do decide to do the Dolphin Nursery Tour just remember one very important thing if you don’t like fish and can’t bear touching them, then this is not the tour for you.
The Dolphin Nursery Up Close Tour is $40 plus Tax per adult and they don’t allow any children under 10 years of age.
Other photos of the Tour are here (http://www.wdisneyw.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=6603&sort=1&size=medium&cat=508&page=1)