Well - itching to get back in the water with no real diving planned in the next months, I researched the Disney Epcot Dive Quest since I was attending a conference in Orlando. Searching this forum, there are not many posts about this excursion so I decided to give my positive experience.
The dive is in Epcot's Living Sea aquarium and can be booked directly through Disney tours. They run 3 dives per day at 4:30, 5:30 and 6:30 and will take a maximum of 17 divers. In our slot, we were fortunate and only had 6 divers. You will meet the guide at the Epcot gate where you are escorted backstage and educated on exhibit's operations. It is amazing to observe the aquarium's huge filtration system that filters the 6 million gallons of seawater every 2 hours, learn about how they transport or isolate sick critters and perform research on the dolphins.
Once the backstage tour was completed, you are briefed on the dive, shown a video on the experience, provided the do's and don'ts (no touch) and sign a waiver since you are actually a cast member for that day as well it covers the liability side. They discuss in detail the feeding techniques for many of the species. It is quite interesting how they actually train all of the species to enter separate feeding grounds especially the sharks which are the first to be fed on a daily basis so they do not eat all of the other fish (including the divers)!
No equipment needed! You are provided with a 3mil shorty, booties and equipped with a BCD, mask, fins, reg and AL80. They only permit you to use your own mask and dive watch. No other equipment including cameras are allowed since they are very concerned about contaminants entering the delicate ecosystem.
DM briefs you on the equipment and dive plan, introduces you to the video-tographer who tapes the first 15-20 minutes, and then assists everyone into the water. If you are with your family, make sure they are in the exhibit because they will be included with you in the video. Make sure you ask the guide in advance where they need to go inside the exhibit. My conference colleagues decided to stay in the UK drinking beers versus watching us dive
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Total down time was 40 minutes and after the first 15 minutes of video taping, you were free to explore everything with your buddy. Sharks swimming with in a few feet, rays and turtles freely floating around you, huge (I mean really huge) grouper and all kinds of other fish can be observed. It is quite realistic with plastic coral and 2 ft of crushed shells as the sea bottom. One of the best parts was really being part of the exhibit and observing all of the kids (and parents) amazed at these silly divers swimming around the sea with the sharks and other fish.
Water temp was a cold 70 F since this was the week when Orlando was below freezing. Typically, the temp is around 77F. No current and no waves makes it an easy dive
depth of 25 ft and water was very clear with viz the entire length of the aquarium (about 200 ft).
Cost was around $180 with PADI discount and the video which I highly recommend buying was $35. fyi - Disney matches these amounts and the proceeds go towards oceanic conservation.
Overall experience was really great making it an easy dive for newbies like me. The staff, like throughout Disney, was outstanding and very helpful. The total tour time was about 2 1/2 hours and well worth the money. Note: If you forget your PADI certification card like I did, no problem ... Disney Tours will give you PADI's number so they can fax your certs to the DiveQuest center.
The dive is in Epcot's Living Sea aquarium and can be booked directly through Disney tours. They run 3 dives per day at 4:30, 5:30 and 6:30 and will take a maximum of 17 divers. In our slot, we were fortunate and only had 6 divers. You will meet the guide at the Epcot gate where you are escorted backstage and educated on exhibit's operations. It is amazing to observe the aquarium's huge filtration system that filters the 6 million gallons of seawater every 2 hours, learn about how they transport or isolate sick critters and perform research on the dolphins.
Once the backstage tour was completed, you are briefed on the dive, shown a video on the experience, provided the do's and don'ts (no touch) and sign a waiver since you are actually a cast member for that day as well it covers the liability side. They discuss in detail the feeding techniques for many of the species. It is quite interesting how they actually train all of the species to enter separate feeding grounds especially the sharks which are the first to be fed on a daily basis so they do not eat all of the other fish (including the divers)!
No equipment needed! You are provided with a 3mil shorty, booties and equipped with a BCD, mask, fins, reg and AL80. They only permit you to use your own mask and dive watch. No other equipment including cameras are allowed since they are very concerned about contaminants entering the delicate ecosystem.
DM briefs you on the equipment and dive plan, introduces you to the video-tographer who tapes the first 15-20 minutes, and then assists everyone into the water. If you are with your family, make sure they are in the exhibit because they will be included with you in the video. Make sure you ask the guide in advance where they need to go inside the exhibit. My conference colleagues decided to stay in the UK drinking beers versus watching us dive
sTotal down time was 40 minutes and after the first 15 minutes of video taping, you were free to explore everything with your buddy. Sharks swimming with in a few feet, rays and turtles freely floating around you, huge (I mean really huge) grouper and all kinds of other fish can be observed. It is quite realistic with plastic coral and 2 ft of crushed shells as the sea bottom. One of the best parts was really being part of the exhibit and observing all of the kids (and parents) amazed at these silly divers swimming around the sea with the sharks and other fish.
Water temp was a cold 70 F since this was the week when Orlando was below freezing. Typically, the temp is around 77F. No current and no waves makes it an easy dive
depth of 25 ft and water was very clear with viz the entire length of the aquarium (about 200 ft).Cost was around $180 with PADI discount and the video which I highly recommend buying was $35. fyi - Disney matches these amounts and the proceeds go towards oceanic conservation.
Overall experience was really great making it an easy dive for newbies like me. The staff, like throughout Disney, was outstanding and very helpful. The total tour time was about 2 1/2 hours and well worth the money. Note: If you forget your PADI certification card like I did, no problem ... Disney Tours will give you PADI's number so they can fax your certs to the DiveQuest center.
