Epcot Divequest

[jjwelch24]

Has anyone done the Epcot Divequest? Is it worth it? We dove when we were at Aulani this spring and were thinking of doing Epcot Divequest in October.

 

[LSchrow]

i researched it a while ago, and the reviews were mostly very positive. here are some reviews on allears:
http://allears.net/btp/tour_div.htm

the only dissentions seem to be that it is rather short, and pretty pricey - but most would do it again.

btw, i was advised not to scuba OR skydive (asthma), so i took the dolphins in depth course. that one i would advise against: very little time with dolphins, and info was geared more toward little kids despite it being a group of adults. the CMs were wonderful though, and i'm glad i did it once.
on a side note, we LOVED the EPCOT segway (have done it twice), and keys to the kingdom.

have a great time if you do decide to do it!

 

[deltapilotwife]

i researched it a while ago, and the reviews were mostly very positive. here are some reviews on allears:
http://allears.net/btp/tour_div.htm

the only dissentions seem to be that it is rather short, and pretty pricey - but most would do it again.

btw, i was advised not to scuba OR skydive (asthma), so i took the dolphins in depth course. that one i would advise against: very little time with dolphins, and info was geared more toward little kids despite it being a group of adults. the CMs were wonderful though, and i'm glad i did it once.
on a side note, we LOVED the EPCOT segway (have done it twice), and keys to the kingdom.

have a great time if you do decide to do it!

We did it about 3 years ago and loved it. Pricey- yes. But it's a unique experience. You don't have to worry about brining gear b/c you have to use theirs.

We also had family eating at Coral Reef at the time so it was cool to tap on the window to say HI!

 

[scout68]

I have done it twice and would do it again. The apex of the experience is without a doubt interacting with the guests as you are considered a cast member for the brief time you are "on stage"

 

[jjwelch24]

Did you have a lot of interaction with marine life?

 

[scout68]

The animal life in the aquarium is abundant which leaves you without much chande to avoid interaction. The sharks are awesome and there's nothing like seeing a huge sea turtle on its way to the surface for air. I may be wrong but I think they administer a feeding just before the dive so the smaller fish congregate near the viewing windows of the Seas. One would assume the sharks are kept well fed prior to the dives.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I don't scuba but did the Seas Aqua tour and would do it again! You sort of snorkel, it's on the surface. It was fantastic!

 

[YourEveryDayAdam]

I have done Divequest at Epcot on my last trip in June.

It was absolutely fantastic!

You meet out front of Epcot by guest relations (no park ticket required). They check you in, take your certification card for them to get the info off of, and you get to pick a color for a free little nap sack they give you.

Then they take you back through the backstage areas of The Seas facilities, give you some trivia type info on the filtering processes, feeding, vet services, etc. that they all do on site.

Then you end up in a nice conference room with a few refreshments where you fill out a disclaimer that says if you get eaten by a shark, you can't sue Disney. They also make a very big deal about the sea turtles, since they are an endangered species...you can't touch them basically. They also give you some dos and don'ts.

Then they take you to the locker room, you are given a key to a locker, and you have your own private changing stall with shower. You change in to your provided wetsuit and meet outside the locker rooms.

Then you walk out through a door in to the public areas of the exhibit... In your wetsuit. And they make a loud spectacle of the whole thing: "The Divers are here!" being shouted very loudly as you parade through the exhibit...In your wetsuit. I certainly felt a little self conscious about it. But I also found it great fun. Mixed emotions for sure.

Then you walk through a "cast members only" door that leads to a spiral staircase up to the area above the water. You get in to your gear, swim out to a buoy nearby, and head underwater following a dive line. Once everybody gets down to the bottom and their buoyancy regulated, the dive master gives you a little swimming tour of the aquarium. The entire time there is another cast member with a video camera filming the group.

Once the tour is over, the dive master pairs you up with a buddy and you are free to swim wherever and do whatever. You get a total of about 45 minutes underwater... it just flew by. About the first half of the time you are underwater, the videographer darts back and forth capturing everyone on film. He will also swim up to you by the windows to film both you underwater and your family in the windows waving.

There is TONS to explore. It was a blast to head over to the windows and interact with the kids, watch people eat... I even made hand signals telling one family eating at Coral Reef to bring me some leftovers. A lot of people you don't even know will take your picture. It was a blast being a part of the show. In terms of a dive, it was also one of the best dives I had. So much marine life everywhere. The water is perfectly clear.

After the 45 minutes is up, the dive master bangs some rocks together to make noise to let you know it's time to head back, you get out of the water, take off your gear, and head back to the locker rooms. You are given plenty of time and another private shower stall to shower and change. I was very grateful about this and it was a nice touch... I can be a little modest at times.

After everyone is changed, you are taken back to the conference room where they show you the video that they recorded for you and you are given the chance to buy it. Totally worth it.

I had a 9-night trip in June. My dive was scheduled for the 2nd day I was there. I had so much fun that I rearranged the 2nd half of my trip a little bit so that I could do the dive a second time that very trip! The 2nd dive was just as much fun as the first! There were also many repeat divers at both of the dives I attended.

Let me know if you have any questions!

 

[jjwelch24]

Thanks for the great information. We just booked today for our trip in October.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

Divequest is great.

My now 20 year old son and I have done it together two times. YourEveryDayAdam gives a great run down of the experience. The most fun is going up to (or down to from above) the people eating in the restaurant. Kids love it and there will be lots of pictures. Another fun thing is an air bubble that fits a couple of people. You can stand with it over the top half of you and take off your mask and regulator and look around and waive to people.

I've had a couple of dive masters who have seen it written in my log book and talked about doing it themselves. You will love it.

HBC

 

[jjwelch24]

My DW and I are very excited. My DW just finished her certification in March when we were at Aulani so she is excited to go again. It sounds like there is a lot of interaction with the marine life. Think as for all of the information.

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