Maui Ocean Center aquarium dive?

[TeddyBGame]

Pretty cool. If anyone doesn't want to travel to Maui for this experience...you can do the same exact thing at Disney World (Florida). It's call Seaquest or Divequest..I forget. You need to book it a few months in advance....and it was about $140 for 45 minutes...and all the equipment (minus mask and swimsuit) was included. My wife got this for me as a christmas present for a Jan 2005 dive.....and it was pretty sweet.

If you ever plan on going to Dworld...and want to log a great dive...call Disney to set it up.

 

[Wildcard]

I thought Disney was a cage dive? No?
This one can get a little spooky at the end as the ladder is right where the Tiger likes to swim and they get real agitated when your there and they want to go by. A buddy that told me about this dive got bumped getting out and Kathy came closer than she will ever know getting out. She was screwing around with her BC and the shark got real aggresive. I got between them so I could keep an eye on it and was shoving her to get her out. She couldn't figure out why untill I told her later.

 

[TeddyBGame]

here are some more details on Disney's Divequest. No cage dive....just one large aquarium. 35' deep and 200' in diameter. My wife and son ate at the restaurant and watched the whole dive...pretty cool.



http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/parks/tourDetail?id=EpcotDiveQuestTourPage&bhcp=1
http://www.disneyclubs.com/epcot_restaurants/coral_reef.htm
http://www.intercot.com/edc/LivingSeas/lscoral.html
http://allearsnet.com/btp/tour_div.htm
http://www.cdnn.info/industry/i040204/i040204.html
http://www.wdisneyw.co.uk/cmi8.html
http://www.wdwplanner.com/diving.htm
http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/USA_/Florida_/Epcot/

Duration: 3 hours with the in-water experience lasting 40 minutes.
Cost: $140◊ per guest (includes all gear and a limited-edition T-shirt)

Additional Information
All prices include tax. Program itinerary, content and prices are subject to change without notice.

Theme Park admission is neither required nor included for this event.

Guests ages 10 and up are welcome to participate and must have a SCUBA certification. Guests between 10 and 14 must to be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Younger guests will need Jr. SCUBA certifications.

All required equipment is provided, including mask, fins, tank, buoyancy compensator, regulator, weightbelt and a 2.5mm shorty wetsuit. (You may bring your own mask, if preferred.)

Comfortable changing rooms with showers are provided, but be sure to bring your own swimsuit.

Call 407-WDW-TOUR† for reservations and information.

Please do not bring cameras of any kind. However, other members of your party may be able to photograph or video parts of your dive from the observation windows in the pavilion.

 

[Wildcard]

The whole reason I do this dive is for the awsome close up shots.No camera would kinda suck.

 

[cra2]

The disney dive (epcot, living seas) was nice because of how large and pristine the facility is. The water is CRYSTAL clear (though chilly) and something like 6 MILLION gallons, compared to MOC's 750,000 gallons.

That said, I think I'm more eager to do MOC's dive because when we did Disney, there were only a handful of sharks, and none were more "scary" than a whopper of a sand-tiger. I called MOC yesterday to make reservations for our visit on this July 14th, and they said they currently have an assortment of 20+ sharks, including hammerheads and a 9' Tiger!

NINE FOOT Tiger?? Isn't that like second only to the Oceanic White Tip in terms of human fatalities? Isn't that an APEX predator?
Holy crud! That could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity by itself!
I'd do the dive even if it was the ONLY thing in the tank.
How often in your life will you get to swim continuously for an entire dive next to a 9' Tiger in high-vis, clear shallow water?

My only concern is that the website says it's a 40-50 minute dive, but when we called for info, they said 30.
?? anyone know what the truth is?

thanks,
cra2

 

[Kirgan]

Ome last comment about the dive: besides the memories and the experience, I get a little kick thinking how I am a co-star in a number of people's vacation pictures!
Peace,
Dave

We just did this dive in June. I didn't notice the people at first, until I saw some flash photography behind me. Then I looked to see all the people outside the aquarium. I decided to have some fun and went up to them like they were the ones on display and took their pictures. They seem to think it was funny.


--Mike

 

[cra2]

The whole reason I do this dive is for the awsome close up shots.No camera would kinda suck.

does anyone know - can you bring flash dive cameras on the shark dive at Maui Ocean Center?

 

[Kirgan]

does anyone know - can you bring flash dive cameras on the shark dive at Maui Ocean Center?

Yes, you can. I asked them that question and they said it was fine. I brought my camera and used its flash when I was something was close enough. The light in the tank was kind of dim, so whenever I tried to take a picture of a shark or ray that was outside of flash range, it came out pretty dark. I was in shutter priority mode, so I slowed down the shutter speed as much as possible without causing it to get to blurry. I am new to photography, so I didn't put the camera in full manual and try to open up the aperture as well. My pictures would have probably turned out better if I did. I am starting to take pictures in full manual now, so my next trip I'll try that.

BTW, my wife and I really did enjoy the dive, so we do plan on doing it again when we go back.

 

[Wildcard]

You will get 45 ish minutes. I did close to an hour each time. You can use flash cameras. I have a head on shot of the tiger at three feet. It was moving so fast it didn't focus real well but it still looks cool! The thing to do is shoot stills from inside and have someone video it fromo the outside.

 

[KrisB]

I understand they provide 63 cu ft tanks -- is there an option to bring your own 80 or 100?