DiveQuest

Went on a 40 minute dive in the enormous aquarium at Epcot today. It used to be called The Living Seas but has been rebranded with more of a Nemo theme. It is the second largest in the USA, containing nearly 6,000 gallons of seawater and a wide variety of animals.

It's all a bit artificial but still an enjoyable experience and great to get up close to lots of different species such as; Sandtiger sharks, a Blacknose shark, Brown/Sandbar sharks, a Loggerhead Sea Turtle, a Green Sea Turtle, Spotted Eagle Rays, Blackblotch Rays, Leopard Rays, Porcupine Rays, Southern Stingrays, Cownose Stingrays and a variety of fish.

As well as the dive we got a backstage tour and got to see the two Manatees that are there. One was rescued as a young orphan and is unable to return to the wild despite several attempts. The other was badly injured in an encounter with a boat, which removed most of its tail.

A new experience and certainly an odd one for diving was swimming along and waving at the people dining in the aquarium restaurant. The kids in the restaurant were very excited to see divers waving at them.