DiveQuest is a unique scuba diving experience that allows a diver to dive the 5.7 million gallon saltwater aquarium. Divers must be certified, allowing them to scuba dive with over 6,000 sea creatures representing over 60 species.
The scuba experience lasts about three hours and divers will spend about 40 minutes in the massive aquarium. Participants also get to see the massive backstage infrastructure required to filter and maintain a vast man-made ocean flourishing with life.
All the necessary diving equipment is provided, you are only allowed to bring your own mask.
Divers are able to bring and use their own masks and swimwear but these are the sole exceptions to the rule.
Once at the sea tank, divemasters are waiting with tanks and BCs already assembled for each diver. The BCs are weight included with more weight than required and the sole gauge attached is an air pressure gauge. There’s not even a depth gauge or octopus 2nd stage as they don’t seem to be considered required for this shallow dive. After the dive lecture, the divemasters help the divers with their apparatus on and everybody moves to a descent line at the middle of the tank. The dive itself is generally beyond most divers’ expectancies.
There’s a lot of sea life in this tank including sharks, rays, turtles and tons of Caribbean fish of every size. The staff claims that divers will see greater variation of Caribbean sea life in this one dive than many dives mixed out in the open sea. One of the neat things that divers can do on this dive that they cannot do some place else, is have interaction with the general public Epcot guests. There are 60 observation windows all round the sea tank including views from the key restaurant . The divers become part of the attractions at The Living Seas as the public behind the windows wave and snap stills.
For scuba divers who dive generally to see sea life, the Divequest at Epcot will not disillusion. It’s a chance to swim through one or two massive schools of fish and see some creatures like the sharks and turtles close up which as most divers know, is a genuine hit and miss out in the open water. It is also an especially unique opportunity for non-diving family members and pals to see divers in the underwater environment. Divequest is clearly a special dive that’s worth doing at least one time.
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