One of the highlights of my family's recent trip to Disney was taking part in Disney's Dive Quest. The tour takes place at Disney's Living Seas in Epcot. What a trip! We arrived at our tour time (around 4:30pm) outside of Epcot's front entrance, near the blue sign where our dive masters met us.

A behind the scenes tour of the Living Seas was first with a history of the facility. Classroom time included a video and overview of the safety measures and rules. The staff was more than courteous and answered all questions thoroughly. We had to show our dive cards (required) and give the basic information to be out-fitted for our dive. All equipment is provided except for a mask/snorkel, not surprisingly Disney requires you to wear their approved gear so everyone looks similar.

For the beginning of the dive, you stay with the instructors and they bring you around to the various photo shoot areas. The dive is videotaped and you have the opportunity to buy it at the end. We had our first picture taken with our family (they were on the other side of the very thick 'plastic'). We then went into an air tank underneath the water where we could take off our masks, wave to the camera and say hi. The last photo opportunity was when we went through a rock structure in the tank.

The Living Seas has 8,000 species of under-water life and was truly the most diverse population that I have ever seen on a dive. There were 4 gigantic turtles bigger than me, numerous sharks and tropical fish. While on the dive you are not allowed to touch any of the wild life (even the coral that is fake) but one of the turtles did brush by me. Very cool. I thought I would be a little more nervous with the sharks but they did not come very close and the one or two times they did I just swam away from them. This was truly the dive of a lifetime. The dive lasted 45 minutes (15-20 with the instructor). The entire tour is 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

After the dive we returned to the well stocked locker-rooms. They provide everything including towels, shampoo, conditioner, soap, hairdryers, etc. Anything you might need beforehand and afterwards. Women are given special ties for their hair so the animals are not hurt if an elastic comes out while on the dive. Nothing is rushed.

When we went back to the classroom, we were given Disney Divequest t-shirts, pins and shown the movie of the dive. Of course we purchased it (it was around $20 or $30). There were drinks provided including tea/coffee/soda/water.

The dive cost $140.00 and you do not have to have admission to Epcot for the day of the dive. So if you had a day at the hotel/pool and then headed over to Divequest you could save a day of admission because once you are done they do not escort you out of the park (although it is about 6:30pm). The adult dive certification card (NAUI / PADI) is required and they ask for a driver's license or other government-issued picture id. You must be at least 12 years old in order to dive in The Living Seas and my little one has already expressed an interest in doing so.