Best Diver EVER!!

[EFB]

Hubby and I were at Walt Disney World the last two weeks of September and we got to do the Dive Quest tour at Epcot. We got to dive in the tank there with the rays, fish, turtles and oh yeah...six sharks. I have been scared of sharks my entire life, but I have to tell you that this changed the way I look at them. At one point, I was shoulder to shoulder with a ten foot sand tiger shark and I turned to look at her and she did the same to me. Very cool eyes (and yes, lots of teeth). She was curious but not agressive.

Now, I know in an ocean, I won't encountered these Disney-fied sharks that are well fed, but I won't be nearly as afraid (great whites/tigers/bulls excepted). They were actually really cool to watch as they swam...so steathy!

I also got to test a weight intergrated BCD (which was SO GREAT). Interacting with our friends and the other guests was so much fun.

You can check out all the details of the tour on my most recent blog.

 

[RonFrank]

I find it interesting that you enjoyed Disney so much when FL has such good diving where the fish are not in a glass cage and the reefs are real. Now that you have done Disney give reality a try. It's exciting when you come across a Manta Ray, or Reef shark, or Jewfish, or Turtle or even just some parrotfish on a dive. There are always cool critters to see, and the conditions and current add interest.

Glad you are enjoying your Diving!

 

[scubajim 1]

Hubby and I were at Walt Disney World the last two weeks of September and we got to do the Dive Quest tour at Epcot. We got to dive in the tank there with the rays, fish, turtles and oh yeah...six sharks. I have been scared of sharks my entire life, but I have to tell you that this changed the way I look at them. At one point, I was shoulder to shoulder with a ten foot sand tiger shark and I turned to look at her and she did the same to me. Very cool eyes (and yes, lots of teeth). She was curious but not agressive.

Now, I know in an ocean, I won't encountered these Disney-fied sharks that are well fed, but I won't be nearly as afraid (great whites/tigers/bulls excepted). They were actually really cool to watch as they swam...so steathy!

I also got to test a weight intergrated BCD (which was SO GREAT). Interacting with our friends and the other guests was so much fun.

You can check out all the details of the tour on my most recent blog.

If you enjoyed diving Disney please come a bit further south and dive at the Blue Heron Bridge...You'll see more fish and critters in the wild on your dive than you saw at Disney...in fact if you return and want to dive the bridge I'll be happy to act as your guide.
One way or the other I'm glad you enjoyed your experience :cool2:

 

[freewillie]

During our trip to Maui we went to the Maui Ocean Center Aquarium and had a lecture on sharks from a diver in the shark tank. She had one of those full face masks that allowed her to talk underwater. Although she had spotters, the first thing she said to the kids was that there was nothing really to be afraid of swimming with the sharks. As she continued, basically detailing that people are not really on the food menu for sharks. A noisy diver is not something they are interested in for snacks.

I kept this in mind when I went diving in Turks & Caicos over the summer. My very first dive was at a place called the Aquarium Bowl. During our predive briefing the guide informed us that there was a pair of territorial reef sharks. They aren't aggressive but will definitely come over to see who is in their turf. Took a little getting used to, but was a bit of a heart pounding adrenaline rush to have these sharks swim over and check us out. As told, they simply swam along with us for a few feet then swam off. They were truly graceful and beautiful creatures to behold.

Im glad to hear you had such a positive experience swimming with sharks.

PS. Back inflation weight integrated BC absolutely best way to go IMO !!!

 

[clpkab]

Very jealous - I tried to do the dive on a recent trip, only to have Disney cancel it a few days before hand. (Never did get the full story of why it was cancelled.)

Thanks for sharing the details in your blog - at least I know a bit more of what to expect when I eventually get to dive it.

 

[martinskarin]

I tried something similar in Shanghai, swimming next to Nurse sharks in a controlled way and knowing they where fed was a really nice thing, at first my heart did some extra laps when the sharks just passed a few foot away but after a while I calmed down and it just felt awesome! They also had white and black tip reefsharks but they where mostly sleeping at the bottom.

 

[EFB]

Thanks for all the replies. We go to Orlando at least once a year and are planning on doing some "real diving" there next time. This was exactly the experience I needed because I have been scared of sharks ALL sharks for as long as I can remember. This controlled environment was perfect for me to get comfortable.

A back inflating weight integrated BCD?? Sounds awesome. I loved being able to try different kinds of gear. The three dives shops in the area that rent gear all rent the basic BCD so that was great trying the new kind was awesome.

I heard that the dive was cancelled for the rest of the month due to water levels/maintenance issues. I had no idea that the tour was cancelled until I got back and I was grateful it didn't affect us.

I am a new diver and I am loving the experience now. Plans are to go to St Lucia in February to dive even more.

 

[TSandM]

It sounds like a very positive experience. I do hope that on your next trip, you take advantage of some of the open water diving in Florida. I was amazed at how good it was. (We dove off West Palm in February.)

 

[EFB]

Here are some pictures from the dive...they aren't super clear as they are screen captures from videos, but they are worth sharing

 

[Mark Derail]

See another thread about aquarium dives, good info in both. Perhaps a new section devoted to Aquarium Diving could be done.

Also to consider price. Epcot diving is at 175 per person, getting on a boat to a dive site is near that price, w/o the seasick hassle.