Disney Divequest returning...
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Green Frog
Contributor
I was last at Disney World many years ago and didn’t even know I could dive there, I’ve got a sour taste in my mouth from Disney’s current practices, both corporate and political, so I think I’ll give this experience a pass and hold out for an open water dive and actually have to look for interesting free range fish.
JMHO, YMMV.
JMHO, YMMV.
Nosmosis
Contributor
Sue Sue
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Hubby Buddy and I have done Dive Quest twice. The first time, 10+ years ago was very enjoyable. It was very informative, the staff were friendly and the program had a casual well rounded and Disney flare ! In fact, one of my most favorite memories was a little girl exclaimng "Look Mommy, it's the Disney Divers" as our group walked out waving to the crow as we made our way to the stairs. We had no problem having smiles and waves as we enjoyed the moment. However, a few years ago, we decided to give it a second try and although the experience was good, the program was somewhat rushed with more focus on what divers could NOT do as opposed to what they could do. Of course, I understand the need for rules and regulation, but the climate was just not the same. Overall, I will say that given an opportunity, do give Disney Dive Quest at least one try. Yes, it is a tad pricey, however, the experience is worth it !
I went to Disney once as a young teen, and my wife has never been. We spent our 2023 travel budget on trips already, but a trip to Disney and a dive at DiveQuest is now in the plans for 2024!
Nosmosis
Contributor
I did it yesterday and found it a delightful experience overall.
You meet the “cast members” outside of the park actually where you go over logistics, check dive certifications, sign liability waivers and hear some high-level stuff about how the day will go.
At the appropriate time, you are ushered behind the scenes to the inner workings of the aquarium in Epcot where you get to see where the food for all the fish and marine mammals is prepared, where rescued manatees are rehabilitated and where the dolphins come to get a break from the humans peering at them through the glass. This alone is pretty fun to see, albeit I started feeling guilty my daughter couldn’t be there to see this part.
Once this part of the tour is concluded, you get your wetsuit, a 3mm shortie, and some booties and are shown into a locker room where you can stow your belongings, change and later take a hot shower post-dive. Then you get a dive briefing. Water temp 77-degrees Fahrenheit on this day, 40 minutes exposure at max depth 25 feet.
When everyone is suited and booted, the group gets escorted back to the aquarium where you are marched past the dolphin pools and finally towards the area where you will be kitted up. The gear is all well-maintained, Scubapro. Jacket BCDs. Seawing fins (which I never used before and will never user again), mask, console depth gauge and SPG. They use some small cylinders there - not AL80s - I believe AL63s. Scubapro regs. My first second stage was a G260 I believe. Didn’t get a look at the first stage. BCD was also Scubapro but didn’t know the model. No snorkels required. People did bring personal dive computers and masks. You get weighted heavy. All your gear is already set up when you get there with weights and all. They gave everyone lots of weight. In a high-pressure AL 100 tank with a 5mm I think I last wore in 2021 I carried 14 lbs in salt water…this time around I had a AL63 with a 3mm shortie with 16lbs…yeah overweighted you can say. They will say, “they overweight you so you can enjoy your dive.”
they will change it for you though. Also of note: There is no octopus/safe second on the rig because “you are only in 25 feet of water and can go right to the surface.”
There a a number of divemasters in the water and I figured that will the over-weighting, we’d be kneeling on the bottom full-on PADI style looking at the marine life, and was please to learn that it was a pretty “free” feeling dive. Probably nothing I would’ve found more annoying than a divemaster (one of which told me they started diving two months ago) hovering above me trying to “save” me with their flutter kicking. BUT I was swimming around by myself and that was nice.
The marine life was great. Lots of sharks. Hammerhead was cool. Sandtiger. Reef. Some others. Many species of fish. Green and hawksbill turtles. Most interesting in my opinion, Guitarfish. Really cool and massive.
The best part of all was interacting with my kids through the glass. They were all super excited to see dad and understand what he sneaks off to do every weekend. Fist-bumping them through the glass and seeing them jumping excitedly when they saw me. Filming me. Yeah, worth every penny.
At the end, you go back to the locker room and change, shower and get back into street clothes. You debrief, get stamps for the log and a little gift…
A nice experience and I recommend it overall!
You meet the “cast members” outside of the park actually where you go over logistics, check dive certifications, sign liability waivers and hear some high-level stuff about how the day will go.
At the appropriate time, you are ushered behind the scenes to the inner workings of the aquarium in Epcot where you get to see where the food for all the fish and marine mammals is prepared, where rescued manatees are rehabilitated and where the dolphins come to get a break from the humans peering at them through the glass. This alone is pretty fun to see, albeit I started feeling guilty my daughter couldn’t be there to see this part.
Once this part of the tour is concluded, you get your wetsuit, a 3mm shortie, and some booties and are shown into a locker room where you can stow your belongings, change and later take a hot shower post-dive. Then you get a dive briefing. Water temp 77-degrees Fahrenheit on this day, 40 minutes exposure at max depth 25 feet.
When everyone is suited and booted, the group gets escorted back to the aquarium where you are marched past the dolphin pools and finally towards the area where you will be kitted up. The gear is all well-maintained, Scubapro. Jacket BCDs. Seawing fins (which I never used before and will never user again), mask, console depth gauge and SPG. They use some small cylinders there - not AL80s - I believe AL63s. Scubapro regs. My first second stage was a G260 I believe. Didn’t get a look at the first stage. BCD was also Scubapro but didn’t know the model. No snorkels required. People did bring personal dive computers and masks. You get weighted heavy. All your gear is already set up when you get there with weights and all. They gave everyone lots of weight. In a high-pressure AL 100 tank with a 5mm I think I last wore in 2021 I carried 14 lbs in salt water…this time around I had a AL63 with a 3mm shortie with 16lbs…yeah overweighted you can say. They will say, “they overweight you so you can enjoy your dive.”
they will change it for you though. Also of note: There is no octopus/safe second on the rig because “you are only in 25 feet of water and can go right to the surface.” There a a number of divemasters in the water and I figured that will the over-weighting, we’d be kneeling on the bottom full-on PADI style looking at the marine life, and was please to learn that it was a pretty “free” feeling dive. Probably nothing I would’ve found more annoying than a divemaster (one of which told me they started diving two months ago) hovering above me trying to “save” me with their flutter kicking. BUT I was swimming around by myself and that was nice.
The marine life was great. Lots of sharks. Hammerhead was cool. Sandtiger. Reef. Some others. Many species of fish. Green and hawksbill turtles. Most interesting in my opinion, Guitarfish. Really cool and massive.
The best part of all was interacting with my kids through the glass. They were all super excited to see dad and understand what he sneaks off to do every weekend. Fist-bumping them through the glass and seeing them jumping excitedly when they saw me. Filming me. Yeah, worth every penny.
At the end, you go back to the locker room and change, shower and get back into street clothes. You debrief, get stamps for the log and a little gift…
A nice experience and I recommend it overall!
Glad you got to dive with us yesterday. I was a DM for the 1700 DQ. If one of the DMs in the water told you they had only been diving for two months they were poking at you. Now that said, we do have some DMs that are relatively new to DiveQuest, the last hire was back in December.I did it yesterday and found it a delightful experience overall.
You meet the “cast members” outside of the park actually where you go over logistics, check dive certifications, sign liability waivers and hear some high-level stuff about how the day will go.
At the appropriate time, you are ushered behind the scenes to the inner workings of the aquarium in Epcot where you get to see where the food for all the fish and marine mammals is prepared, where rescued manatees are rehabilitated and where the dolphins come to get a break from the humans peering at them through the glass. This alone is pretty fun to see, albeit I started feeling guilty my daughter couldn’t be there to see this part.
Once this part of the tour is concluded, you get your wetsuit, a 3mm shortie, and some booties and are shown into a locker room where you can stow your belongings, change and later take a hot shower post-dive. Then you get a dive briefing. Water temp 77-degrees Fahrenheit on this day, 40 minutes exposure at max depth 25 feet.
When everyone is suited and booted, the group gets escorted back to the aquarium where you are marched past the dolphin pools and finally towards the area where you will be kitted up. The gear is all well-maintained, Scubapro. Jacket BCDs. Seawing fins (which I never used before and will never user again), mask, console depth gauge and SPG. They use some small cylinders there - not AL80s - I believe AL63s. Scubapro regs. My first second stage was a G260 I believe. Didn’t get a look at the first stage. BCD was also Scubapro but didn’t know the model. No snorkels required. People did bring personal dive computers and masks. You get weighted heavy. All your gear is already set up when you get there with weights and all. They gave everyone lots of weight. In a high-pressure AL 100 tank with a 5mm I think I last wore in 2021 I carried 14 lbs in salt water…this time around I had a AL63 with a 3mm shortie with 16lbs…yeah overweighted you can say. They will say, “they overweight you so you can enjoy your dive.”
There a a number of divemasters in the water and I figured that will the over-weighting, we’d be kneeling on the bottom full-on PADI style looking at the marine life, and was please to learn that it was a pretty “free” feeling dive. Probably nothing I would’ve found more annoying than a divemaster (one of which told me they started diving two months ago) hovering above me trying to “save” me with their flutter kicking. BUT I was swimming around by myself and that was nice.
The marine life was great. Lots of sharks. Hammerhead was cool. Sandtiger. Reef. Some others. Many species of fish. Green and hawksbill turtles. Most interesting in my opinion, Guitarfish. Really cool and massive.
The best part of all was interacting with my kids through the glass. They were all super excited to see dad and understand what he sneaks off to do every weekend. Fist-bumping them through the glass and seeing them jumping excitedly when they saw me. Filming me. Yeah, worth every penny.
At the end, you go back to the locker room and change, shower and get back into street clothes. You debrief, get stamps for the log and a little gift…
A nice experience and I recommend it overall!
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