Who has done the Epcot Seas Aqua Tour?

[Hikergirl]

Dh and I will be celebrating or Anniversary during our trip this fall. We are going mainly for the Food & Wine Fest and will not be visiting the other parks while we are there so I wanted to find something special to do since its just the two of us. I came across this and it looks amazing, so I booked it!
What can you tell me about your experience doing it? Did you get to see alot of the sea life or do they pretty much stay far below where you are? Did you think it was worth the cost?
I'm so excited but if its just us swimming in the tank and not really seeing anything I might just cancel it and try to find something else to do.

 

[lorenni]

I did this maybe 10 years ago. It was a lot of fun. You do stay on the surface of the big tank - you have scuba gear, but no weights, so you are super buoyant. Despite that, you will see a lot of the fish/sea life up close.

We were warned EXTENSIVELY about not touching the sea turtles. As in, you will be criminally prosecuted and removed from the park and exiled to Siberia if you touch them. Five minutes into our "dive" my ex was furiously trying to back up (not easy in flippers) because one of the turtles has surfaced literally 6 inches from his face and stayed there checking him out!

The dolphins (and manatees - I don't think they had those when we did the experience?) are in their own section of the tank, so those you will not see up close.

 

[nicolebridget22]

Oh, me! I did this! We did this in 2004 and it was really neat. We're considering doing it again when we visit in Sept for our anniversary. It's nice to feel special and walk through the aquarium in your suit, and it's fun to wave at people as you snorkel. There are no manatees or dolphins in this tank and the sea life mostly stays away, sharks didn't come anywhere near us (something I was nervous about at first). With the flotation vests you wear it's all but impossible to dive below the surface and they also tell you not to do this. Of course we're also told not to touch anything. I remember it took half a minute to get used to the fact that your face is underwater and you get to breathe like normal. But yes, you definitely see a lot of lovely things, it's very peaceful and feels very safe. I think you will enjoy it! Fun fact: pro surfer Bethany Hamilton and her mom were in our tour group!

 

[DanInMN]

About 10 years ago I did DiveQuest with my 16 year old exchange student from Vienna, Austria. We were both certified divers. WDW provided all the gear, some brief instructions, and we walked up the stairs in the middle of the pool to the "roof" of the observation tunnel. We swam around for about 45 minutes, all over the pool. It was fun to see the creatures closeup and wave at the guests. Well worth the $100 each that we paid (the fee was donated to a marine ecology charity).

 

[OHDanceMom73]

We were thinking of doing this as well. Do you know if they let you go into the park after or do they actually escort you outside the gates when finished?

 

[MyteJoe]

I really enjoyed the Dive Quest Experience. I remember eating at the Seas as a kid and watching the divers in the pool, thinking I am gonna do that some day. After your done they release you into the park.

 

[Hikergirl]

We were thinking of doing this as well. Do you know if they let you go into the park after or do they actually escort you outside the gates when finished?

You don't need a park ticket to do the tour so I'm going to assume that they will lead you back out through guest services outside the main gate (where you meet for the beginning of the tour).
We will be using a park ticket and entering through the IG but to get back in we will most likely have to re-scan our MB at the main gate.

Edited. I see the pp said they will release you though the park, so I guess if you have a ticket they will just let you go.