Scuba Diving At Disneyworld's Epcot Center

There is an interesting dive option for certified divers who are vacationing in the Orlando area especially with family members who are not divers. The Living Seas at Epcot Center in Disney World is home to a marine tank that measures over 200 feet in diameter and 25 feet deep. This tank contains a sample of Caribbean marine life in an artificial salt water and reef environment. Through DiveQuest tour the center, certified divers can have a special three-hour program that includes a forty-minute dip the marine aquarium.

The current price is $ 140 with U.S. Advance reservations required. Divers meet at the Guest Relations office on the outskirts of the main gates of Epcot. Epcot park entrance is not required or included. However, I was released from the main area of The Living Seas after the tour so I ended up seeing other parts of Epcot for free anyway. Twice a day at 4:30 pm and 5:30 pm, a maximum of twelve divers per time slot are taken on a behind the scenes tour of the facilities of The Living Seas. All diving equipment is provided. In fact, divers can not bring your own equipment for fear of contaminating the marine tank. Even jewelry must be removed before immersion. Diving suits (panties), vests, regulators, fins, boots and the masks are provided. Divers are allowed to bring and use their own masks and bathing suits, but these are the only exceptions to the rule.

After visiting facilities, wetsuits and towels for each diver are already waiting in private stalls including private showers in the change rooms. The configuration is well organized, but a bit odd because after changing into wetsuits, the divers are paraded through the public areas where others Epcot guests before entering the tank's main sea level. Once in the marine tank, dive masters are waiting with tanks and vests and assembled for each diver. Weight vests are integrated with more weight than necessary and the only gauge attached is an indicator of air pressure. There is not even a depth gauge or octopus phase, since it is not considered necessary for this dive shallow. After exposure of diving, divers divemasters help their teams around the world and moves to a line of descent in the middle of the tank.

The dive itself is usually beyond the expectations of most divers. There are a lot of marine life in this tank including sharks, rays, turtles and lots of Caribbean fish of all sizes. In fact, the staff claims that the divers to see more variety of Caribbean marine life during this dive one of many combined dives in the open sea. One of the interesting things divers can do on this dive you can not do elsewhere is interact with the public Epcot guests. There are observation windows sixty in all marine tank including views from the main restaurant. The divers become part of the attractions at The Living Seas as the public behind the windows wave and take photos. Some divers made arrangements with family members to be on the other side of the windows, while a designated divemaster videotapes the entire scene. Although I was skeptical at first, I have to admit that I have enjoyed interacting with the public behind the glass. I had forgotten that the vast majority of people out there are not certified divers and are a funny thing for them.

For divers who dive mainly to see marine life, the DiveQuest at Epcot will not disappoint. It is an opportunity to swim through a few large schools of fish and see some creatures such as sharks and turtles up close which as most divers know, is a hit and miss in the open sea. It is also a unique opportunity for members of non-diving family and friends to see divers in the underwater environment. DiveQuest is certainly a special jump that is worth doing at least once.