Is there anywhere to go Snorkeling at Disney?

[WendyZ]

I was wondering if there is any where to do this at Disney. My SIL in interested in doing this. She is not certified, just loves to do it. I also posted about scubadiving, but she's not certified in that either.

Thanks for any help you can offer!

 

[Darian]

There is a place at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon where you can snorkle with the fishes and some sharks as well. Its fun and very controlled... diving deep to torment the fish isn't allowed. You will be pretty much on the surface. There is no extra charge to do this.. aside from admission to the water park. No certification is required.

I would recommend the new non-certified "dive" at the living seas in Epcot. Your diving gear - air tank - and such will not allow you to leave the surface... but you get to breathe thru a regulator and such but I understand the "diver" is sooo extreemely bouyant there is no way to go underwater short of ditching all your equipment. I've not been on that dive experience so my knowledge only comes from what I've read on the DIS.

I've looked into the actual dive experience as its something I've been longing to do for some years now. I'm certified through NAUI and PADI but alas, my cardiologist has "beached" me for now. The tanks aren't all that deep so I'm thinkin' of sneaking in a dive, but it would be very bad show for me to die of a heart attack in the Living Seas. I think I'll wait. But for you healthy people out there, you've gotta do it! Its worth every penny and more! If you go, please have a little sign that reads "Diving For Darian!" and take a photo for me! That would mean a lot!

All the best to you on your upcoming WDW trip!

Darian

 

[WendyZ]

Thanks Darian! I'll let her know.

 

[dbond]

The Epcot Tour mentioned above is called the Aqua Seas Tour. We did this tour a few weeks ago. It is an awesome experience, I highly recommend it. The aquarium at the Living Seas in Epcot is so much bigger than it looks from the observation windows. You can swim forever in this thing, you only get 30 minutes though with the tour. But's it's an awesome 30 minutes. The fish come really close to you, you get to wave at all the people in the Coral Reef restaurant and in the Living Seas and snorkeling with the regulator is so much better than with an air tube. We can't wait to do this again!

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by dbond
The Epcot Tour mentioned above is called the Aqua Seas Tour. We did this tour a few weeks ago. It is an awesome experience, I highly recommend it. The aquarium at the Living Seas in Epcot is so much bigger than it looks from the observation windows. You can swim forever in this thing, you only get 30 minutes though with the tour. But's it's an awesome 30 minutes. The fish come really close to you, you get to wave at all the people in the Coral Reef restaurant and in the Living Seas and snorkeling with the regulator is so much better than with an air tube. We can't wait to do this again!

You have to be certified for this, right?

 

[dbond]

No certification. It's just snorkeling with a tank, instead of an air tube. Our 9 yo son did it with us. We snorkel often and breathing through the regulator took a little getting used to at first, but it was great, never any water down your tube! You stay prone on the top of the water and never go completely under so you can raise your head and breathe normally at any time. They give you a wet suit to wear over your swim suit and then they strap you up with a tank, fins, goggles. It was an awesome experience. The regular price is $100 per person. DVC members are currently getting a $15 discount. The whole experience took about 2 1/2 hours. They spend time before showing a video about conservation, the Living Seas, etc. very informative. Once you get your wet suit on, get strapped up, swim for 30 minutes, get showered and dressed and then have a short after swim briefing and feedback time, the 2 1/2 hours went by really fast. There are very nice changing facilities with showers, shampoo, hair dryers, lockers. Afterwards you get a photo of your group, a t-shirt, a button and lots of conservation info. Park admission is not required. You meet at Guest Relations at the Epcot entrance and they escort you in through the back of the Living Seas. The tours are daily at 12:30 PM.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by dbond
No certification. It's just snorkeling with a tank, instead of an air tube. Our 9 yo son did it with us. We snorkel often and breathing through the regulator took a little getting used to at first, but it was great, never any water down your tube! You stay prone on the top of the water and never go completely under so you can raise your head and breathe normally at any time. They give you a wet suit to wear over your swim suit and then they strap you up with a tank, fins, goggles. It was an awesome experience. The regular price is $100 per person. DVC members are currently getting a $15 discount. The whole experience took about 2 1/2 hours. They spend time before showing a video about conservation, the Living Seas, etc. very informative. Once you get your wet suit on, get strapped up, swim for 30 minutes, get showered and dressed and then have a short after swim briefing and feedback time, the 2 1/2 hours went by really fast. There are very nice changing facilities with showers, shampoo, hair dryers, lockers. Afterwards you get a photo of your group, a t-shirt, a button and lots of conservation info. Park admission is not required. You meet at Guest Relations at the Epcot entrance and they escort you in through the back of the Living Seas. The tours are daily at 12:30 PM.

Thanks so much for the info!!!!! Now, if they provided life jackets, that would be something for me to do. I am not a strong swimmer and that depth would not instill a lot of confidence in me. They gave me a life jacket in Jamaica to snorkle with and it was great.

 

[dbond]

The vest that held the tank and regulator was also like a flotation device. If you can get under water with all that stuff they strapped to you, you're an awfully strong swimmer. There is a diver in the water with you swimming very close to you at all times. There are sharks in that tank and 2 very, very large turtles. They weren't concerned about the sharks at all. They have them trained to not associate people with food. The female turtle has a tendency to be rather territorial. We were told that it would be best if we steared clear of her space. The diver positioned himself between us and her most of the time to keep us from veering that direction. If you can kick your feet, you will do fine.

 

[WendyZ]

WOW!! Thanks guys I'll call her tonight.