Diving at EPCOT Center in Orlando

While on vacation at EPCOT we noticed that they have a program for divers that let you dive their acquarium.

Has anyone ever tried this?

My wife is looking into it as it is a controlled environment with tons of fish, turtles and some sharks. The only drawback seems to be that you can't bring any of your own equipment, including cameras.

Some of my friends compare it to fishing in a stocked pond but for us begineers its seems like a good way to get acclimated to sea creatures.

hi -

my wife and I did this several years ago when we started diving.. it is interesting if you have friends that are non-divers in the restaurant on the other side watching you. Water is really, really cold. I think they make you dive in a shorty... Fish, well, they have one large grouper. I think the sharks are in an isolated tank. Overall it is cool and you get a nice t-shirt. Watch out for the ripping currents... )

M.

It's an interesting experience and fun to do (once) for a new diver because they get to see alot of things in the context of a single dive early in their dive career. It is very well done as you would expect from Disney (it is a nice shirt) but is relativly expensive for a single dive. I believe it cost about $140 per person. They shoot video and invite your family in to view it (and purchase) after the dive.

The lenght of the dive is a function of how all the critters behave - usually 30-45 minutes. In addition to the dive you get an interesting behind the scenes tour of the tank operation. The tank itself is approximately 200' across and 33' deep. It's really a big doughnut with the muggles looking out from the center observation area.

Interestingly (at least when I did it several years ago), the sharks are actually free swiming in the tank with you, and it is the dolphins that are behind bars in a portion of the tank. At that point in time, Disney and the US Navy were involved in a joint dolphin breeding program......one to the Navy, one to Disney, and so on.

The name of the Epcot operation/attraction is Dive Quest, and if you have interest, make sure you book well in advance because the number of divers per day is pretty limited.

Cheers,

Sieg