Scuba diving at Living seas

[jjgarv]

Anyone ever do the Scuba dive at Living seas? Is it worth the $130?

 

[figmentvi]

My DH and I did Dive Quest 4 years ago and can't even begin to tell you how wonderful it was. Was it worth the $$$ ??ABSOLUTELY.

We had our grown children get a table for dinner at Coral Reef up next to the windows. During the dive, we were accompanied by a video photagrapher and they taped us in the tank with our children and grandchildren on the other side of the glass in the restaurant. Very, very cool. We look at that tape over and over. It's edited with some very beautiful music.

You will never have encounters with as many species of sea life as you will in that tank. We live in the Caribbean and dive quite often. The tank is by far the best dive we've ever done.

Trust me, you will come out of Dive Quest knowing that $130 was well spent.

Please feel free to ask any questions regarding the dive that you wish.


Linda

 

[HoosierFantasia]

I had purchased this for my father for fathers day this past June. He was a little hesitant about spending 3 hours to do this but he sure was glad he did. It was great to see him in the water with the sharks swimming by him and definitely purchase the video!
There is a DC discount too if you are a member, just ask them for it.

Bill

 

[donna in Oz]

My SO has done this dive on our last three trips . . . .and will be doing it again in 2003 !!

He loves the interaction with the guests who are viewing the Living Seas and especially likes to clown around with young guests who happen to be dining at the Coral Reef.

In his opinion, it would be worth it at twice the price !! (And as previously mentioned . . . the videos are awesome.)

 

[MCazer]

There was also an American Express discount (I think 10%) when we did it a few years ago. You also get a nice T-Shirt (unless that has changed) and a certificate. We bought the video too and the kids watch it!

 

[joyful1nh]

Agree with previous posters -- it was a wonderful experience, bought the video, loved clowning around with the diners... and I plan to do it again!

 

[1stNoel]

Hi All -

Could someone tell me when would be the best time for your family to make a reservation for the restaurant so they can see you? Or how much time passes from the time the activity starts until you actually get wet?

Thanks,
Noel

 

[donna in Oz]

You don't necessarily have to be in the restaurant to see the divers. You can watch them from the large windows in the viewing area, but it seems like the time can pass slowly while you're waiting for them to appear.

From the time the group assembles (usually near Guest Relations near the entrance of the park), it is about 45 minutes to an hour before the divers are in the water. They get a short behind-the-scenes tour, are provided instructions on what they can and cannot do, and then have to change into their gear.

If you made your PS at about the same time as the DiveQuest reservation, that should provide you with the right amount of time to be seated, perhaps have an appetizer, and then be served your meal just about the time the divers hit the water. (You can dally a bit if you have to!! )

A funny story about this: The second time my SO did this, I waited with the wife of another diver in the viewing area. When the divers appeared, she shot an entire roll of film of her hubby. Later, she realized that the diver whose photograph she had taken so many times was NOT her husband!! And thus she had no pictures at all of DH. . . we laughed about it, but I'm sure she wished she had photos.

MORAL: Since the divers are all in gear provided by Disney and since you don't know what their dive suit will look like, make sure you have a signal or something to recognize them by!! Sometimes it's hard to recognize them when they all have the same hair color, and it's floating up around their head!! (Especially when their physique is similar, LOL !!!)

 

[AuntMinnie]

Several month before DH and I went on our first trip I got some info on DiveQuest in with my AMEX bill. He is a diver, I am not, so I asked him if he wanted to do it. He said, no, thought it would be lame etc. He talked to someone a bit latter and they told him it was excellent, so he told me to go ahead and book it.


He truly loved it. Said it was the best dive!! I loved watching him in the tank. Before the dive he was in his gear in the area where we stand to look at the fish, and other guests were asking him if questions like he worked there he loved that. (not sure why he was walking around I was shopping becauses they told me what time he would be in the tank)

THere are 2 times to do Divequest. 4:30 and 5:30. The CM i spoke with said they are in the water 1 hour after the start of the program. So if you want to do dinner at living seas I would use that as a guide.

Also park admission is not required for the program, and after the program you are free to stay in the park. So if you are going on a night when Epcot is open late you might get a few free hours in after the dive if you did the early one.


He really really loved this Dive, and is looking foward to doing it again on our next trip!!

SCUBA at Epcot , almost makes me want to get certified!!


(depending on what kind of certification you have there might be more of a discount)

 

[songbert]

Our Pastor got certified in Scuba diving to overcome her fear of the water, and for her next birthday her husband treated her to a dive at the Living Seas. They have a really neat picture of her in the tank touching her hand to her mom's hand on the outside of the tank.

Priceless

 

[dBugged]

I did the scuba dive in Living Seas last summer and plan to do it again this year. It was incredible -- especially when a shark swam right by my face mask. You get a t-shirt and they supply all of the equipment. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is a certified scuba diver. From what they told me last year, they have also started a different dive program for non-divers that allows you to use an airpack and float in the surface of the Living Seas tank.

FYI - The money you pay for the experience is actually donated to a wildlife fund that Disney has setup.

See this page for a few pictures from my experience:
http://www.wdwpix.com/Trip2002Sept5.htm

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

I gave this to my husband last year for his 7th anniversary present. He absolutely loved it!!! We were there with our DD who was 2 at the time, and she loved pointing out her daddy to whoever would listen! He also came up to the glass and waved at her, made funny faces, etc. and everyone was asking me how he got to do that. They all thought they were cleaning the tanks! And, we got a discount through AAA that I didn't know about until the last minute, but they credited the difference back to my cc. The dive has to be paid for at the time of booking. I would do it and have a great time!!!!

 

[OregonDucks]

I can't tell you how excited my DH was when I told him about this. He loves to dive and I have an intense fear of drowing, so he has not been able to go often.

Who do I call to make a reservation? How current does your certification need to be?

Any help would be wonderful!

 

[dBugged]

I believe you call the same number that you call for making reservations for golf, tour and other reservations:

(407) WDW-TOUR

When I booked it last year, they didn't care that I hadn't dived in a while, they just needed to know who my cert was with. Also be sure to bring the cert card with you on the day of the dive -- they will want to see it. The tank is not very deep and the guys who take you down and tour you around in the tank are really good and you'll have a great time and be perfectly safe. Don't worry about the shark that's swimming around -- she's really nice and won't hurt you.