Discover Cove offers swimming with sharks

Discovery Cove adds new experience.

Two new add-on experiences are coming to Discovery Cove, SeaWorld’s day resort, where visitors will be able to get closer to sharks and stingrays.

Swimming with sharks will be added to the Discovery Cove lineup as of Friday, as will feeding rays, according to an e-mail sent to SeaWorld Orlando annual passholders.

In the shark swim, folks will “have the opportunity to swim freely alongside several species of sharks in the deeper part of their habitat,” the Discovery Cove website says. That’s preceded by a shallow-water training session with aquarists from the attraction.

For the ray feeding, guests assist Discovery Cove workers as they tend to cownose and southern stingrays and feed tropical fish in an early-morning session. This activity includes a private, guided swim of the Grand Reef. The ray feeding add-on will happen daily from7 to 8:30 a.m., with the exception of Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Thecost of the shark experience is $85, while the ray time goes for $50. These prices are atop the usual admission fee for a day at Discovery Cove, which can be purchased with or without a swimw ithe xperience. A day with the dolphin option runs between $229 and $359, depending on the date; there are discounts available for Florida residents.

These will be the first major additions to Discovery Cove since SeaVenture, a diving experience, opened in 2011; the arrival of the Freshwater Oasis and its otters and marmosets in 2012; and the debut of the Grand Reef area in 2013.

Discovery Cove had record attendance in April after SeaWorld boosted domestic marketing to address a drop in advance ticket sales from British visitors, the company said earlier this year in a quarterly financial statement.

For tickets or more information, go to discoverycove.