Then Tim , my editor , asks if I happen to have my scuba certification . Looks like I ’ m going back down below , this time with Nemo — and few of his larger buddies .
DiveQuest , a two-hour adventure at The Seas with Nemo & Friends ( including 40 minutes of diving ), takes you not only under the sea , but behind the scenes . You ’ ll get to dive , yes , but you ’ ll also get to see where the manatees live , learn why all those sharks don ’ t care a bit about you , and find a hidden Mickey ( you can only see it if you dive at EPCOT .)
BACK UNDER THE SEA I wait with 11 other divers . Most of our group seems excited , but then most of our group isn ’ t out of shape and middleaged , and it hasn ’ t been almost two decades since their last dive . By the time I change and walk out to the dive platform , anticipation wages a heavy war against anxiety . I can ’ t wait to see what ’ s down there — from inside the tank — but I also don ’ t love that I can ’ t use my own gear . See , at DiveQuest , you can ’ t use any of your own equipment , save for a mask and watch . That ’ s not what you learn
when you get certified : You check your regulator , your tank , your gauges — but not here . Here , you strap on your Disneyissued fins ( and everything , down to the hair ties , is Disney-issued , for safety reasons — not yours , but the sea life ’ s , because the only way to keep the animals safe is to have complete control over their environment ), go to your assigned gear , let Cast Members help you strap it on your body , and step off into the water . It feels wrong — I ’ m about to trust equipment I ’ ve never checked to provide me with life-sustaining air — but I do it , because one , it ’ s Disney , and Disney won ’ t let a diver get hurt , and two , I can ditch the rig if I need to and swim back to the platform .
BOTTOM TIME To my horror , I have some trouble — I don ’ t have enough weight to descend — but because our group has four divemasters in the water with us ( and more topside ), one of them helps me get everything sorted , and in no time , I ’ m back under the water and , just like every other time , the noise disappears .
ABOVE : Scuba divers become part of the show .
BELOW : After a short tour of the dive site , divers can explore The Seas on their own .