Any good diving in Orlando??

[TJisthe1]

I have to take a trip in Febuary to Disney world with my family for a dance competition of my daughters, I was wondering if anyone knew of any good places to wet my REG. at?? I heard that the Epcott center has some sort of dive in their aquarium, has anyone heard of or done this yet?? How was it??? Any help or suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

 

[The Chairman]

though i have never been. I just can't bring myself to dive on a fiberglass reef! :tease: Marine Land (about an 1:30 drive) is the oldest ocean attraction in Florida and they allow divers as well (even during feeding time).

We have a multitude of springs in the area... Blue (128' depth) is about a 1/2 hour away, Alexander (24' depth), Forty fathom grotto (240' depth) as well as a bunch even further north. They are always 68-72 F year round! Then we have diving on either coast... though the temps will be in the low 60s/70s by the time you get here. I just wear a wetsuit and dive in. There are even some lakes and rivers that would be fairly close to you. Lots of ways to wet the regulator AND have some fun at the same time.

And BTW... welcome to the finest board, Scuba or otherwise on the net. Hope you learn as much and meet as many great people as I have.

 

[MichaelG]

The dive at Epcot is called DiveQuest. It is in the Living Seas Aquarium. I just did that dive 2nd week in July while I was in Fla. I also did it last year.

It is fun. You get to swim with a shark, manta ray, turtles, jew fish. You also get to play with the all the tourists watching you from the glass. My family was there and I was playing with them doing all kinds of stuff like hang upside down, do flips, take off mask and reg, blow bubbles, etc. Tourists enjoyed it and my family had fun. All the people watching think you work there, taking video and pictures. You can free roam the tank and pretty much do whatever you want.

In terms of water volume, the tank holds more water than the Epcot ball would. It is supposed to be like the 3rd largest tank in the world. Water temp is 77 constant.

You will need your C-Card. Price is about $140 for the dive. You are only allowed to bring a personal mask, divewatch and bathing suite. Everything else is provided (including mask). They use ScubaPro gear and split fins. They also provide a 3mm shortie. The equipment is well kept and the dive is easy. You put on suit, go to the top of the tank and everything is already set up. All you gotta do is get in the water, slip into the BC (on a platform making it sooooo easy), put the fins and mask on and go down.

The dive lasts 45-55 minutes and maximum depth is like 25 feet. If you are a heavy breather, they say they can swap out a tank in under 2 minutes, so dont hesitate to get another tank if you needed it. They also take underwater video that you can purchase after the dive for $35. You also get a t-shirt (no additional cost) and they will stamp you logbook if you bring it.

Good thing is ALL the money (including video) goes to wildlife conservation. They say the make NO money on it at all.

If it's not too pricey for you, I would do it. How many people can say they went diving in the Disney fish tank... I go to Fla every year and plan on making it my annual ritual.

As a side note, you do not need a park pass to do this. However, it starts at like 4:00pm or 5:00pm, so if you plan on going to the park much earlier you will need a park pass. As for family, they WILL NEED a park pass. You will go in through the back entrance, family is required to go through the main entrance.

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[aue-mike]

If you want to drive a little, you could try some diving in the Gulf of Mexico off Clearwater. The grouper move in that time of the year, and you can have some nice visibility if the weather is calm for a while. There are some cool wrecks out there too, such as the former US Coast Guard Cutter Blackthorn, or the Bayronto, which is a bit south off Sarasota.

Cheers,
Mike

Shipwrecks of the Sunshine State: Florida's Submerged History
http://www.mikey.net/aue/shipwreckbook.htm

 

[Debbraey]

MichaelG once bubbled...
The dive at Epcot is called DiveQuest. It is in the Living Seas Aquarium. I just did that dive 2nd week in July while I was in Fla. I also did it last year.
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Thanks for such a detailed post!!! I think we may check this one out one day!!! Would be kinda nice not have to trek my gear all over the place when I want to dive..Though there are other dives too that I have heard little about in the sorrounding areas that I would like to do as well...Living here makes it easier for me to do them all...
I will be watching this thread myself (That area is just a drive a way and it's seems anytime we driveany length of time we also DIVE) and if I can get medical1 to find FL dive book I can give you a few places but I know nothing about them as we spend most of our time blowing bubbles in Venice @ various locations. We have done other doves but not really found one that is really worth sending someone to other than the springs...I am looking forward to attempting to dive the M60 tanks that were sunk off of CLWTR :scuba:
once we return from our dives in Cozumel & Belize (a cruise)...

 

[crazed_dolphin]

Hello,

When you dive in EPCOT they will give you a choice of T-shirt or a strap cover for your mask. When I dived there they also gave a discount if you paid by AMEX. I wasn't inmpressed with the actual diving but what I found the most amusing was being able to interact with the people in the restaurant. You do get a free admission to the park for the rest of the night.

 

[learn-scuba]

Here's a couple of others to consider while you're here in our area...

Crystal River -- it's about an hour and a half (give or take depending on your driving habits) west of Orlando. The manatee should be in the area that time of year and it's an experience worth having to dive with them. Temperature varies between 68 and 72

Kings Spring -- right there at Crystal River. It's a cavern dive and, like diving with the manatee, just one of those things that not many divers get to do. As I re-read my old logbook entries, I can't find a single entry where I didn't like that dive. Temperature is usually around 70 to 72

Rainbow River -- this is north of Crystal River up near Williston if my memory serves me correctly and is a shallow, fresh water, drift dive. I think the max depth was on the order of 25' or so. I would have to go look it up in my log books to be sure. It's a pleasant and relaxing experience. My advice is not to go all the way up to the spring head, but to drivft the lower 1/2 of the river. It can get a little dull drifting the whole length, but the bottom half is really nice. Temperature is a fairly constant 72

Blue Grotto -- this is about 1 1/2 hours north-west of Orlando in Williston, FL and this is one of my favorite Florida fresh water dives. It's a cavern dive of sorts, but they have put lights inside the cavern and a diving bell they pump surface air into. The main chamber is huge and averages around 35' if I remember correctly. Unless there's been a herd of careless divers in it, sometimes you could forget there's water in there it's so clear. There's also a horseshoe extension off the cavern you can follow down to 95 feet or so. Go to the bottom of the horseshoe and roll onto your back and examine the carvern roof... the entire roof is fossils... shellfish and the occasional trillobyte. It's just a cool dive. Water temps here are a bit cooler than average for FL springs... around 68 most of the time.

Devil's Den -- This site is just 3 miles away from Blue Grotto and, like Blue Grotto, Devil's Den is noted for amazing fossils. However, it is a much shallower dive on average. I think if you shoved your depth gauge in a crack you might get 35 feet. The thing that really makes Devil's Den worth the dive is the setting. It is, without a doubt, the most picturesque dive site you'll ever visit. For those so inclined, Devil's Den offers on-site camping, as well.

Hope that info helps you some.

 

[XJae]

crazed_dolphin once bubbled...
I wasn't inmpressed with the actual diving but what I found the most amusing was being able to interact with the people in the restaurant. You do get a free admission to the park for the rest of the night.

That's my favorite part too. You could have your family watching from the restaurant or any of the viewing areas.
Do a search on epcot or divequest, there are many threads out there on this.

 

[TJisthe1]

Man!! I sure appreciate all the responses!! alot of great info. I definately am going to do the dive at Epcott, a buddy of mine from the LDS said that he also dove it, said he wishes he would of thought of it while he was there but that next time he goes he was going to swim straight for the glass and just strech all out like a bug hitting a windshield, said his little boy gave him the idea AFTER the dive!!! lol Yeah, When we are bored divng the gulf of MS, we drive over to Vortex or Morrisons, so the 68 degree water temps wont bother me at all the springs yall mentioned. Im glad someone mentioned the Grotto also, thats one that I have always wanted to do!!! And btw, netdoc, thanks for the welcome!!=-)