SCUBA in the seas

[PirateCutie05]

Has anyone here done the SCUBA dive in the Living Seas (now known as just the Seas with Nemo and friends)? My sister and I are thinking about doing it in May. Is it worth the money? I noticed that it looked like the dolphins wouldn't be in the same area of the tank as the dive which was a little disappointing to me since dolphins are my favorite animals...but other than that setback, were the other marine animals fun to swim with?
My sister said you couldn't bring a camera which was also something else that was sad cause I recently purchased an underwater camera and I'd like to get as much use out of it as possible. (It was kind of expensive! )

 

[HLester3]

My husband did this last year and is goign to do it again in May as well. He really enjoyed it. He said that it is almost as much fun going around swimming and waiving at people at the Coral Sea Restraunt and in the aquarium as it is to see the fish. We have two little kids, so they really liked seeing their dad swim up to them inside the aquarium. They have a guy taking a video the whole time. Also you can get a picture through the glass into the aquarium of the people scuba diving. It is a great picture to have people in front of the glass and then the scuba diver in the water behind them in the picture as well.

He also said that there are some pretty big fish in there. The giant turtle is in there as well, but I don't think they were able to see him .

 

[PirateCutie05]

Ooo thanks for answering! I was beginning to think no one had done it! Sounds cool...I think we will do it thanks for sharing! My sister and I just got certified in July so SCUBA's still a new thing for us.
I love the picture in your avatar! Was that at the Animal Kingdom Lodge?? I have been bugging my parents to stay there but it wasn't DVC. But they're going to build DVC villas there soon and my mom said we can go there when they finally do! That's exciting that the giraffe just leaned in the window!

 

[AbbysFamily]

I did the 'non-diving' one. It was a blast. There are sharks in there as well as the one huge turtle (but he did hide right after we went into the water - and appeared as we were wrapping up... I don't know where hid, even though he was huge).

I would do it again in a heartbeat and even think about getting certified just so I can do the other one. They have a old (russian i think) diving bell in the bottom, and thats one of the things you get to try out.

To give you an idea how fun it was, I went when the visitor part was under constuction, so I didn't even have anyone to wave to!

And unfortunately, no they don't allow cameras.

 

[alloyd1170]

Im a scuba instructor and did Dive Quest back in 2000. I loved every minute of it (and Ive dove all over the world, including with Great White sharks). Its totally different than open water. No weather, no currents, etc to deal with.

If I remember right, there is a short lecture (30 mins maybe) and then a brief tour on the way to the locker room. There they have lockers, showers, shampoo, etc (bring a brush and double check on what else they provide). You then change and head up to the top of the tank which is unreal. You cant see whats up there unless you do something like this tour. They get you geared and buddied up and off you go on a tour around the aquarium. We were able to go into the diving bell, remove our mask and reg to "say" high to the camera man. Yes there is a video guy going around (think this is part of the deal) and no you cant bring your camera. After the bell, you swim over to the viewing area and if you have any friends or family along, you have them come up to the glass and you present them to the camera man. I loved this as it was the first time my parents could see me diving underwater (and moms last WDW trip before she passed away). You then have the rest of the time to swim around exploring with your buddy. At the time the old Living Seas ride was still operating so we had fun waving to the people in the tunnel. We also had fun interacting with people eating in the Coral Seas and in the viewing areas. Little kids get such a huge kick out of seeing divers in the water and acknowledging them. I know my kids do! I plan to do the dive in the fall when my daughter can understand that its me in there (my son loves to watch me on the video). No dolphins in this tank (thats another tour, but frankly, I would spend the money and head over to Discovery Cove for the day as it is awesome-best dolphin swim Ive done plus they have other things to do). There are sharks though and I was lucky enough to have them come pretty close several times. Thanks to them, I was video'd a lot!

Its a great tour, well worth it and you can brag that you dove in WDW! Do remember to bring your C card as you wont be allowed to dive without it. Also bring your log book and they will stamp it for you. Ask when your family, etc should be in the viewing area to so they dont miss out. Have a great time!

alison

alison

 

[disnut8]

Well worth it. I gave Dive Quest to my father and stepmother as a present. Both are master divers and have dived all over the world. This dive is ranked #1 with them.

The first half is a controlled dive and then after that, you go off on your own with your buddy. They had such a blast. They did get to pose with the giant sea turtle. My dad said that he was actually getting tired of the turtle following them around all over the tank! No, the dolphins are not in the same tank. I think my dad was told it was because they are too playful and stress out the other marine life. And honestly, it's not that big of a deal with not taking pictures. Get the video at the end. You will be far too busy to even think about pictures.

All you need is a bathing suit and your valid C card. Everything else is provided.

 

[PirateCutie05]

Thanks everyone for your very informative responses!! I'm onboard for the dive now! (Not that I didn't want to do it...who wouldn't want to dive in the Seas?? I was just slightly hesitant about doing it cause of the cost and wanted to know what it was like before I decided!) It sounds exciting!
And disnut I understand what you're saying about the dolphins being too playful...from what I already know about dolphins and from watching them the last time I was at the Seas. They were having a grand old time with each other right before closing!

 

[heatair]

I'm in!

The Bride says that I'm hard to get Christmas presents for. I made the suggestion that this be one. I hope so.





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[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

My dh has done this twice, and loved it! Everyone else has given you all the info, but I just wanted to add that you are allowed to bring your own face mask if you wish (my dh does because he can't see without it, lol) and there are also discounts available. 10% off for AAA members, Disney Visa cardholders, and I think DVC as well (although that one may actually be a little more of a discount, ask when you call to book). Have a great time!

 

[PirateCutie05]

My dh has done this twice, and loved it! Everyone else has given you all the info, but I just wanted to add that you are allowed to bring your own face mask if you wish (my dh does because he can't see without it, lol) and there are also discounts available. 10% off for AAA members, Disney Visa cardholders, and I think DVC as well (although that one may actually be a little more of a discount, ask when you call to book). Have a great time!

Thanks for the info on the discounts! Maybe we'll even be able to get a discount with our AP's?
Anyways...thanks again to everyone who replied! I'm totally looking forward to doing this in May! (It'll only be our second time doing a *real* dive so that's pretty exciting too! )

 

[kctwinmommy]

Wow! I never would have thought they had something like this, but it doesn't surprise me! LOL! I did a quick google search on it and found this info, cuz I was curious about prices and such! I'll have to keep it in mind, DH would love to do this!

http://www.wdwplanner.com/diving.htm

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

Sorry, I forgot about the AP discount, it's the same 10% off. We've used both the AAA and AP discount, just let them know what you have when you call to book the dive. I hope you have a great time!

 

[donna in Oz]

Hi! My DH and DD will both be doing this again in May; this will be his 5th DiveQuest, and it will be her 2nd.

Obviously, he absolutely loves this dive. We've got a bookshelf with videos of the four previous dives (he thought he just HAD to have them, and as you can guess, we only watched them once or twice!)

Maybe we'll see you there! (If you happen to end up booking your dive at 4:30 on May 14th, we'll absolutely see you!)

And BTW, there's a coupon in the back of the Birnbaum's 2007 Guide to WDW for a 15% discount. But we got 20% off using the Disney Visa.

Happy Diving!

 

[PirateCutie05]

Hi! My DH and DD will both be doing this again in May; this will be his 5th DiveQuest, and it will be her 2nd.

Obviously, he absolutely loves this dive. We've got a bookshelf with videos of the four previous dives (he thought he just HAD to have them, and as you can guess, we only watched them once or twice!)

Maybe we'll see you there! (If you happen to end up booking your dive at 4:30 on May 14th, we'll absolutely see you!)

And BTW, there's a coupon in the back of the Birnbaum's 2007 Guide to WDW for a 15% discount. But we got 20% off using the Disney Visa.

Happy Diving!

Ooo I think my dad has that!! Thanks for letting me know!
We're going to be in WDW on the 14th! I'm not sure when we're going to do our dive yet though...but I'll let you know if it's the 14th! I'll probably end up having to book the dive even though it was my sister's idea...she makes me do everything...and she's older! We probably wouldn't be certified if it weren't for me.

 

[donna in Oz]

That would be so great to see you there! When you book your reservation, there will be only two time slots each day: 4:30 or 6:30 (I think). We always book the earlier one, since DiveQuest will take up about 2-1/2 to 3 hours or so of your time, all totalled.

For the 4:30 dive, you have to meet at Guest Relations at 4:15, then by the time the tour ends, and you're dressed and ready to leave, it will probably be 6:30 - 7:00. If you book the later one, you would either have to eat an early dinner, or wait until about 8:30 or 9:00 to eat.

(And I don't know about you . . . . but I want to be claiming my spot for Illuminations by then!)