After going SEA aquarium, we also brought our son to Dolphin Island. (Warning: Wordy post ahead! Sorry, we were not allowed to take pictures 🙁 ).
Dolphin Island is located inside Adventure Cove. Sadly, Adventure Cove is currently not open. (Due to Covid? But swimming pools can? No idea). Update: Adventure Cove has reopened! Book your tickets here.
We purchased the Dolphin Encounter ticket since he needs to be at least 4 to take part in Dolphin Adventure. As he certainly can’t swim yet, I also don’t want him to panic when in the water with mammals that would probably be giants to him.
There are two Dolphin Encounter slots each day at 11 am and 4 pm – we chose the 4 pm one. After buying the tickets, for Dolphin Island admission only, there is no need to book a reservation slot on RWS website. The reservation is only needed for USS and SEA aquarium. Therefore make sure to book the correct date when you purchase the tickets because they will do the processing backend and confirm the slot only if there is an available slot at Dolphin Island that day.
Redeem your tickets at the SEA aquarium guest services counter. Show them your vouchers and after verification you’ll be given a bracelet to wear around your wrist. We were told to assemble by 3.40 pm and yet we waited until 4 pm exactly before the Dolphin Island staff arrived. After checking our bracelets and asking us to do Tracetogether, we were led to Adventure Cove. It was quite sad seeing how empty Adventure Cove is now – there used to be a lot of shouting, laughter, long queues. All that is gone now.
The staff led us to Dolphin Island and we were told to remove all jewelery on us (watches, rings, brackelets) to prevent scratching the dolphins. We were given one free locker each to place our belongings. The staff then briefed us on precautions, informing us not to scratch the dolphin (stroke them gently using our palms), and not to touch their genital areas (it would be quite obvious where these areas are).
After the briefing, we followed them to the pools where the dolphins were kept. We were split into 3 groups, kept to about 4 pax per group. There were mats laid out for us and we were advised to lie down on the mats. My husband kept my son in the carrier and sat down instead.
The trainer was friendly and immediately called the dolphin over. We were given chances to touch the dolphin’s body – even my son touched the dolphin, though he was highly apprehensive at first – as the trainer explained to us about dolphins. The trainer then asked us whether we preferred to be wet or dry, haha!
Based on our preference (we chose dry), we then played a simple game with the dolphin using hand movements. The couple with us didn’t mind getting wet and they were splashed a little – nothing much and they dried very quickly under the hot sun. For us, our hand movement was rewarded with the dolphin waving to us.
We were then given a chance to ask the trainer questions. If you had no questions, that was the end of the session. It was a very fast 15 minutes session, and we were promptly invited out to wait for our photos. We were not allowed to take any photos within the area but there was a cameraman constantly taking pictures of us. My husband and I declined to buy any though – a single picture costs $70+.
We were then led back to the meeting point. As we walked out, a dolphin swam next to us, waving goodbye.
Overall, it was a fast activity that was well-planned and really once-in-a-lifetime. I may go back again after my children have learned to swim and try Dolphin Adventure activity next time.