Anyone ever do Epcot Dive Quest??

[maj2]

I did it with my newly certified 10 year old daughter a couple of years ago, and it was a blast! As others have said, the fun is in interacting with the people in the observation deck as well as the restaurant.
A few things stand out in my memory:
-My wife was on the observation deck and she says the reaction was pretty funny when people realized first that we were not aquarium staff, and especially when they realized one of the divers was a child. All of a sudden, people were yelling "Chica! Chica!" when they saw my daughter.
-I remember one little boy watching and he was clearly mesmerized by the divers. I put my hand on the glass for him to high five. He grinned from ear to ear and his mom mouthed "Thank You" to me for giving him the attention. I then visited as many other kids as I could!
-The number of cameras taking our photos from the restaurant.

 

[CatsEye]

I loved the Epcot dive. After we got in they did a quick tour of the tank then set us free. Really fun interacting with the people behind the glass. Getting that close to the Sand Tiger sharks was a thrill. Would definitely do it again.

 

[doctormike]

One fun thing to do is to play patty-cake (pat-a-cake?) with the kids through the glass. Even little kids quickly get it, and they LOVE the idea of playing a game with someone in the tank.

Another thing that I liked doing was putting on a show for the people at dinner. I found a young couple dining together, looking like newlyweds, so I used sign language to get them to kiss... they did, and the whole room started applauding! Of course, that could have gone either way...

 

[Jim Lapenta]

It was fun though a tad expensive. What I didn't like was being overweighted and not able to remove any. They may have changed but I had their shorty on with what they said was 18 lbs in the BC.

 

[tursiops]

I volunteer in an aquarium that has reciprocal privileges with EPCOT, so I got to do Dive Quest for no charge. Even though I'm used to diving in an aquarium, it was a fun dive. Nose to nose with a Goliath Grouper is memorable.

 

[doctormike]

It was $145 when I went. I think that's what they charge for popcorn in a Mickey Mouse souvenir bag at Disney World...

 

[htatton]

I went shortly after getting certified. Several things I really enjoyed:
1- Touring the backstage of the system was great. Amazing how they manage that much water and all the animals.
2- Meeting a new insta-buddy from England. I had the pleasure of diving with a lively chap who dives off the coast of England. Darn it's cold over there. I really enjoyed the interaction.
3- Seeing the fish and the animals. Although I was surprised that the colors of some of the fish seemed washed out compared to the reef and their behavior seem off. I guess they knew they weren't in the ocean.

I didn't like using their equipment. I seemed way over weighted and never really felt comfortable the whole dive.

All in all it was a great experience and if I get the chance I'll go back.

 

[Neilwood]

Think I might have a look at that but I just know SWMBO will roll her eyes when I tell her the trip to Disney will involve diving!

 

[kelemvor]

It was fun though a tad expensive. What I didn't like was being overweighted and not able to remove any. They may have changed but I had their shorty on with what they said was 18 lbs in the BC.

They still do that. They forced me to use split fins (the second time I went) too - fortunately, I didn't die. It's definitely not a dive where you get to do it your own way. It was interesting trying splits, I didn't like 'em but they aren't as bad as some on SB make them sound.

 

[miked]

I agree with the earlier posters: it's fun; it's expensive (but not too bad); you use their gear; the backstage tour is great; interacting with the people behind the glass is trip (especially when you are there with 200 high school kids on a school trip).

IIRC, the max depth is 25 ft; temp is ~75 (f); dive time is 45 min, of which half is guided, half is "on your own" ;
Oh, and after the dive, you are released into the park, even if you don't have tickets for the park.
Book in advance!
Go, and enjoy the dive.