Scuba Diving at Disneyworld's Epcot Center

There is an interesting dive option for certified scubathan needed and the only gauge attached is an air
divers who are vacationing in the Orlando areapressure gauge. There isn't even a depth gauge or
especially with family members who are non-divers.octopus second stage as they are not considered
The Living Seas at Disneyworld's Epcot Center isnecessary for this shallow dive. After the dive
home to a marine tank that measures over 200 feetbriefing, the divemasters help the divers with their
in diameter and 25 feet in depth. This tank contains aequipment on and everyone moves to a descent line
sample of Caribbean marine life in an artificial saltat the middle of the tank.
water and reef environment. Through the center'sThe dive itself is usually beyond most divers'
Divequest tour, certified divers can take a specialexpectations. There is a lot of marine life in this tank
three hour program that includes a forty minute diveincluding sharks, rays, turtles and lots of Caribbean
in this marine tank.fish of all sizes. In fact, the staff claims that divers
The current price is $140 US with advancewill see more variety of Caribbean marine life during
reservations required. Divers meet at the Guestthis one dive than many dives combined out in the
Relations office just outside the main Epcot gates.open sea. One of the neat things that divers can do
Epcot park admission is not required or included.on this dive that they can't do elsewhere is interact
However, I was let out in the main area of Thewith the public Epcot guests. There are sixty
Living Seas after the tour so I ended up seeing otherobservation windows all around the marine tank
parts of Epcot for free anyway. Twice per day atincluding views from the main restaurant. The divers
4:30 pm and 5:30 pm, a maximum of twelve diversbecome part of the attractions at The Living Seas as
per time slot are taken on a behind the scenes tourthe public behind the windows wave and snap
of the facilities at The Living Seas. All scubaphotos. Some divers made arrangements with family
equipment is provided. In fact, divers are not allowedmembers to be on the other side of the windows
to bring their own equipment for the fear ofwhile a designated divemaster videotapes the entire
contaminating the marine tank. Even jewelry must bescene. Even though I was skeptical at first, I have to
removed prior to the dive. Scuba wetsuits (shorties),admit that I had fun interacting with the public behind
BCs, regulators, fins, booties and masks are provided.the glass. I had forgotten that the vast majority of
Divers are allowed to bring and use their own maskspeople out there are not certified divers and we are
and bathing suits but these are the only exceptionssomewhat of a curiosity for them.
to the rule.For scuba divers who dive mainly to see marine life,
After the facility tour, wetsuits and towels for eachthe Divequest at Epcot will not disappoint. It's an
diver are already waiting in private stalls that includeopportunity to swim through a few large schools of
private showers in the change rooms. The setup isfish and see some creatures like the sharks and
well organized but a bit odd because after changingturtles up close which as most divers know, is a real
into wetsuits, the divers are paraded through thehit and miss out in the open water. It is also a very
public areas where the other Epcot guests areunique opportunity for non-diving family members and
before going into the main level of the marine tank.friends to see divers in the underwater environment.
Once at the marine tank, divemasters are waitingDivequest is certainly a special dive that is worth
with tanks and BCs already assembled for each diver.doing at least once.
The BCs are weight integrated with more weight