We’ve seen lots of questions about the Dive Quest experience at Disney World’s Epcot Center. The most frequent one seems to ask if it is worth the cost. We were fortunate to be able to dive the Living Seas last week, courtesy of NAUI, as part of the DEMA show in Orlando. If you asked us, “Is it worth it?” Our answer would be a resounding YES!
We sort of expected the “you’re stupid and I’m not” attitude that seems to permeate so many resort folks and we found the exact opposite in the Disney crew. The entire staff turned out to be a great bunch of folks with a passion for what they do. We were actually treated like royalty.
Here is a step-by-step trip report:
Our Dive Quest tickets allowed us to breeze past the twelve dollar parking fee. The lot wasn’t overly crowded and we caught a shuttle to the giant ball with Customer Relations to the right. The smiling young lady at the window asked us to wait in the shade and the cast would be right out to get us. We waited less than five minutes.
We have always heard that a hustling and bustling support staff works behind fences and in catacombs beneath the streets of the pristine park. Have you ever noticed that the parades just appear from nowhere and disappear as quickly as they came? We didn’t know whether to believe all this but now we do. We went through a narrow opening marked “Cast members only” and into the bowels of the operation. Folks in a hurry traversed giant generators and filters and maintenance buildings. Another door led to a narrow corridor and up steep stairs to what might be akin to a military briefing room.
On the way we saw the veterinary clinic and the laboratory where they constantly monitor water quality. They keep the kitchen area so clean and germ free that one must walk through a chlorine bleach foot wash to enter. We looked but didn’t go in. The marine dietitian carefully plans meals for each animal. Fish deliveries come to the aquarium and the Coral Reef Restaurant at the same time and the aquarium has priority pick. The planning board lists each large animal by name with its diet spelled out in detail. For instance, each day Seymour the sea turtle gets three pounds of squid and two pounds of herring with no heads or tails. The status board let us know that Seymour had already eaten.
Back in the briefing room we filled out liability releases, watched an orientation movie and gave our shirt and shoe size. Next we went downstairs to the locker room and found our name on a plastic bag with a shorty wetsuit and booties. After we dressed the magic happened again as we passed from corridor to the main viewing room in the Living Seas. We walked among guests as we went up to the second level and disappeared into a vertical air shaft with a spiral staircase. At the top, a platform with our scuba gear awaited. Scubapro vests and Atomic regulators presented an air of elegance. The first five minutes or so was a guided tour so the videographer could get our pictures. Then for more than thirty-five minutes we were on our own, swimming about at our leisure and entertaining the guests watching through glass. We enjoyed 78 degree Fahrenheit water temperature and unlimited visibility.
Our appointment was late in the day and we were sort of hungry so we passed in front of the Coral Reef Restaurant several times and begged for food with sign language. One little girl actually tried to hand us her cookie through the glass but our amusement cut short when her father handed us the check.
They told us that some of the animals are friendly and might come close but they warned us not to chase or touch them. The sand tiger sharks follow the same path repeatedly as they swim around the tank. If you happen to be in their track they will not move. We almost had an inadvertent close encounter but he passed just below us. The larger animals; shark, grouper, turtles, and eagle rays glided effortlessly in every direction. We enjoyed swimming through schools of spades and pork fish. We stared in awe at the biggest Loggerhead we have ever seen. It was a sad time for all when the alarm told us to surface.
Laughter and chatter abounded down the spiral staircase, through the crowd of guests and back into the catacombs. After a hot shower we met once again in the briefing room and enjoyed refreshments as we talked, received our certificates, and watched ourselves on DVD. Our greeter escorted us out and we expected to be in the parking lot. However, we found ourselves in Epcot. We decided to enjoy dinner at the Coral Reef Restaurant and watch our new found friends. The entire experience including dinner lasted three and a half hours. We logged forty minutes of bottom time. Our day ended with fireworks from the Magic Kingdom and a fantastic laser light show.
Our hat goes off to Tanya, Brett, Marc, and all the residents of the Living Seas. You made us smile. We like to smile.
We sort of expected the “you’re stupid and I’m not” attitude that seems to permeate so many resort folks and we found the exact opposite in the Disney crew. The entire staff turned out to be a great bunch of folks with a passion for what they do. We were actually treated like royalty.
Here is a step-by-step trip report:
Our Dive Quest tickets allowed us to breeze past the twelve dollar parking fee. The lot wasn’t overly crowded and we caught a shuttle to the giant ball with Customer Relations to the right. The smiling young lady at the window asked us to wait in the shade and the cast would be right out to get us. We waited less than five minutes.
We have always heard that a hustling and bustling support staff works behind fences and in catacombs beneath the streets of the pristine park. Have you ever noticed that the parades just appear from nowhere and disappear as quickly as they came? We didn’t know whether to believe all this but now we do. We went through a narrow opening marked “Cast members only” and into the bowels of the operation. Folks in a hurry traversed giant generators and filters and maintenance buildings. Another door led to a narrow corridor and up steep stairs to what might be akin to a military briefing room.
On the way we saw the veterinary clinic and the laboratory where they constantly monitor water quality. They keep the kitchen area so clean and germ free that one must walk through a chlorine bleach foot wash to enter. We looked but didn’t go in. The marine dietitian carefully plans meals for each animal. Fish deliveries come to the aquarium and the Coral Reef Restaurant at the same time and the aquarium has priority pick. The planning board lists each large animal by name with its diet spelled out in detail. For instance, each day Seymour the sea turtle gets three pounds of squid and two pounds of herring with no heads or tails. The status board let us know that Seymour had already eaten.
Back in the briefing room we filled out liability releases, watched an orientation movie and gave our shirt and shoe size. Next we went downstairs to the locker room and found our name on a plastic bag with a shorty wetsuit and booties. After we dressed the magic happened again as we passed from corridor to the main viewing room in the Living Seas. We walked among guests as we went up to the second level and disappeared into a vertical air shaft with a spiral staircase. At the top, a platform with our scuba gear awaited. Scubapro vests and Atomic regulators presented an air of elegance. The first five minutes or so was a guided tour so the videographer could get our pictures. Then for more than thirty-five minutes we were on our own, swimming about at our leisure and entertaining the guests watching through glass. We enjoyed 78 degree Fahrenheit water temperature and unlimited visibility.
Our appointment was late in the day and we were sort of hungry so we passed in front of the Coral Reef Restaurant several times and begged for food with sign language. One little girl actually tried to hand us her cookie through the glass but our amusement cut short when her father handed us the check.
They told us that some of the animals are friendly and might come close but they warned us not to chase or touch them. The sand tiger sharks follow the same path repeatedly as they swim around the tank. If you happen to be in their track they will not move. We almost had an inadvertent close encounter but he passed just below us. The larger animals; shark, grouper, turtles, and eagle rays glided effortlessly in every direction. We enjoyed swimming through schools of spades and pork fish. We stared in awe at the biggest Loggerhead we have ever seen. It was a sad time for all when the alarm told us to surface.
Laughter and chatter abounded down the spiral staircase, through the crowd of guests and back into the catacombs. After a hot shower we met once again in the briefing room and enjoyed refreshments as we talked, received our certificates, and watched ourselves on DVD. Our greeter escorted us out and we expected to be in the parking lot. However, we found ourselves in Epcot. We decided to enjoy dinner at the Coral Reef Restaurant and watch our new found friends. The entire experience including dinner lasted three and a half hours. We logged forty minutes of bottom time. Our day ended with fireworks from the Magic Kingdom and a fantastic laser light show.
Our hat goes off to Tanya, Brett, Marc, and all the residents of the Living Seas. You made us smile. We like to smile.
