Scuba Addict at Disneyland

[^*^BATMAN^*^]

awww man, that sounds pretty cool

 

[CALI68]

That does sound cool! You have to give us a full report when you go!

 

[jbisjim]

I actually went down to do the the dive quest dive and they were changing the bottom out in their tanks and I ended up not going. But I got a tour and a certificate for a Dive Quest to come back anytime.

One of my Buddy's did it and he told me it was well worth it.

 

[Mark Vlahos]

Hi,

In the early to mid 80's I worked at Disneyland in Anaheim as a stage hand. I was not yet a certified diver. We used to see the divers who did maintenance around the park all of the time, usually during the overnight shift. I remember talking to them and they indicated that the sub lagoon was the most fun to dive in but it had really high chlorine levels, much higher than your pool at home. These levels were needed to keep the large volume of water sparkling clean. I know nothing about keeping any size body of water clean but it made sense to me at the time.

The guys wore dry suits and said that the chlorine really was hard on the gear, they also said that the really poor (intentionally) visibility in the "Rivers Of America" around Tom Sawyers Island combined with the leeches in the water made working in that body of water rather unpleasant. Since that time the "River", and the "Jungle Cruise" ride (actually a common body of water connected by pipes underground, or at least that is what I was told) have both been drained so I would assume that the leeches are long gone.

I went there as a kid and remember the mermaids in the sub lagoon but I never saw them as an adult except in pictures.

Mark Vlahos

 

[lairdb]

Its the tour that allows you to dive in the Living Seas exhibit at Epcot. Hoping to do it in Feb. Sounds like fun playing with the people on the outside.

I've done it -- I'd say it's absolutely worth doing... once.

The environment (tank, props, etc.) is interesting, the behind-the-scenes is well done, it's fun to traipse through the guest side of the house in full wetsuit and be stared at. They do a good job of hosting.

They do provide all gear, to avoid cross-contamination (they're fairly fanatical about cleanliness and contamination) -- and it's a stab jacket and too much weight. Coming back from BP/W, I had trouble maintaining decent trim and buoyancy control for the first few minutes. Amusingly, though the dive period is fixed, they'll change tanks for you if you hoover through your tank. I suspect most from SB will be at the other end of the scale, finding they have 1700 pounds left at the recall.

The environment is pretty cool, the creatures fairly interesting for a little while, but unless you've dived in a bathtub your whole career, you'll get about 10 good minutes out of that and examining the "coral". The most fun, as cal2362 guessed, is in messing with the people on the other side of the glass.

 

[crpntr133]

Also heard that if you tell them that you are certified through PADI they give you a few $ discount. There are several threads on SB about it and it does sound like fun.

 

[CALI68]

Hi,

In the early to mid 80's I worked at Disneyland in Anaheim as a stage hand. I was not yet a certified diver. We used to see the divers who did maintenance around the park all of the time, usually during the overnight shift. I remember talking to them and they indicated that the sub lagoon was the most fun to dive in but it had really high chlorine levels, much higher than your pool at home. These levels were needed to keep the large volume of water sparkling clean. I know nothing about keeping any size body of water clean but it made sense to me at the time.

The guys wore dry suits and said that the chlorine really was hard on the gear, they also said that the really poor (intentionally) visibility in the "Rivers Of America" around Tom Sawyers Island combined with the leeches in the water made working in that body of water rather unpleasant. Since that time the "River", and the "Jungle Cruise" ride (actually a common body of water connected by pipes underground, or at least that is what I was told) have both been drained so I would assume that the leeches are long gone.

I went there as a kid and remember the mermaids in the sub lagoon but I never saw them as an adult except in pictures.

Mark Vlahos

Cool! Interesting post.

Hey have you ever seen the "Underground World" at Disney? I hear they have a whole complex underneath the park.

 

[Mark Vlahos]

Cool! Interesting post.

Hey have you ever seen the "Underground World" at Disney? I hear they have a whole complex underneath the park.

I left the park in 1987 and at that time there was not much underground. I understand that at Dinseyworld in Florida there is a more sophisticated network of tunnels.

In Anaheim in 1987 there was a tunnel from the back lot area under Tomorrowland to the restaurant accross from the sub lagoon. There was another small tunnel under the New Orleans Square area. That was about it.

Lets face it, as a kid I always wanted to spend the night at Disneyland. As an adult I spent lots of nights there, keep your dreams from childhood. The reality as an adult at work are not as much fun, although it was neat to drive a pickup truck down Main Street USA, and light up Tinkerbell on her flight from the top of Matterhorn Mountain.

Mark Vlahos

 

[CALI68]

Man that is so cool! I have a brother in law who would pay big money to drive around in an empty Disneyland.

 

[resqsqurt]

We are planning to go to Dive Quest in March. Really looking forward to it. Will let you all know how the trip goes as we are also going to Alexander Springs and Blue Springs the same week. Anyone been to either of those places and have any tips for us?