Epcot DiveQuest Tour

Have you ever visited The Seas with Nemo & Friends Pavilion and wished you could dive in and join the fish? Now you can!

Epcot DiveQuest is a unique scuba diving experience inside the 5.7-million-gallon saltwater tank at The Seas with Nemo & Friends Pavilion in Epcot theme park. SCUBA-certified Guests can swim with over 6,000 sea creatures—including sea turtles, angelfish, dolphins, eagle rays and sharks.

The experience lasts 3 hours, and Guests will spend approximately 40 minutes underwater in the massive Caribbean Coral Reef aquarium—which until 2005 was the largest saltwater tank in the world. Participants also get to see the massive backstage infrastructure required to filter and maintain a vast manmade ocean flourishing with life.

With its clear water and lack of currents, Epcot DiveQuest is an experience that both diving enthusiasts and Disney fans will never forget. Where else in the world can you swim with sharks and sea turtles while simultaneously waving to people enjoying a sit-down meal?

Guests who are not SCUBA certified but wish to get a closer look at the remarkable aquatic life in The Seas with Nemo & Friends Pavilion may still be able to do so on the Dolphins in Depth tour or the Seas Aqua Tour.

Epcot DiveQuest is presented by the National Association of Underwater Instructors.

Time & Location : 4:30pm & 5:30pm Tu-Sa outside of Guest Relations outside the park.

Duration: 3 hours

Cost: $175 + tax (Discounts Available: AAA Diamond, AP, DVC, Disney VISA)

Theme Park Admission: Not included or required.  Some reviewers mention being let out into Epcot after the tour (which ends in the evening.)

Park Visited: Epcot

Includes:

• 40 minute dive in Caribbean Coral Reef Aquarium
• View video of your dive (DVD available for purchase)
• Some reviewers mention that the profits from this tour go to Disney’s Wildlife Conservation Fund.  The Disney tour phone agent we spoke with could not confirm that for this particular tour, but she did mention that was the case for Dolphins in Depth.

Sample Tour Content:

• Go backstage at The Seas and learn about what it takes to maintain one the world’s largest aquariums
• SCUBA dive in Caribbean Coral Reef Aquarium (about 40 minutes of the tour)

Maximum Group Size: 12

Listening Devices Available: No

Hearing Disabilities: Yes

Wheelchair Accessible: No

Requirements:

• Guests must be SCUBA-certified prior to completing the tour (can book tour prior to certification)
• Guests must be 10+
• Guests under the age of 14 years must have a SCUBA-certified adult with them on the tour

Photography Restrictions: No photography is permitted on the backstage portion of this tour.   Disney produces a video of your dive, which is available for purchase on DVD.  As of 2011, it is $35.  Check out this YouTube Epcot DiveQuest Video from n2ooz from March 2008 as an example.

Bag Storage: Guests are provided a locker for all their clothes, etc.

Additional Notes:

• This is an indoor tour that runs in any weather as long as EPCOT is open.
• Guests need to bring a bathing suit, all diving equipment is provided.
• Guests may bring their own dive mask, particularly if they have a prescription mask.
• Shorty wetsuits are available in sizes XS-5X.
• Showers are available with soap & shampoo, if you want to wash off the salt water.
• Guests are walked through the Seas Pavilion in their wetsuits (heads up).
• Divers can be seen in the aquarium from with in the Seas Pavilion and the Coral Reef restaurant.  You will attract a lot of attention from other guests.
• Reviewers have mentioned receiving free parking at Epcot by mentioning they were there for DiveQuest.

Book: Call (407) WDW-TOUR (407-939-8687)

DTR will not review this tour anytime soon (I’m not SCUBA-certified).  Until then, check out the reviews in the Other Tour Reviews & Links section below.

You can also find other DTR posts about the Epcot DiveQuest here.

• Trip Advisor Reviews 16 reviews, latest from September 2011.

• ShoreDiving.com Diver Reviews 20 reviews, latest from March 2011.

• Yelp! Reviews 6 reviews, latest from January 2011.

• AllEars.net Reader Reviews 7 reviews, latest from July 2010.

• YouTube Epcot DiveQuest Video from n2ooz from March 2008.  One of many DiveQuest videos are available on YouTube.

• MiceChat.com Forum Review by Savik101 from November 2007.

• WDWMagic.com Reader Review 1 review from March 2007.

• DISDads Review by CJ Fragola from October 2011 (tour occurred earlier). CJ describes his experiences doing the Epcot DiveQuest twice on this DISDads episode dedicated to Walt Disney World tours.  Discussion of the Epcot DiveQuest starts at 22:56.

• Know of any other podcasts that discuss the Epcot DiveQuest tour?  Let us know at DisneyTourReviews@gmail.com