My 17-year-old is PADI certified and will be doing the DiveQuest tour at 4:30 on our second Epcot day. I’m trying to figure out how to work it into our day there. We were planning to arrive in time for lunch and a couple of rides, Club Cool, etc., then go to the Seas pavilion to watch him in the tank, and leave after his tour. But someone said they really want to see IllumiNations so I’m re-thinking things.
Can anyone who has done the tour tell me the actual time it takes (they said three hours - so for a 4:30 start, would he really not be done until 7:30?)? Does that time include getting dressed, buying the DVD, and everything?
I’d also like to hear about getting checked in if we are already at Epcot, and where they let you back out when you are done. Especially if anyone has had a minor go alone.
Basically at this point I’m thinking we all spend a few hours together, then one parent brings DS17 back to the front to check in by 4:15, everyone rides Nemo around 4:45 and waits to see him in the tank, then most of the party goes on to do a couple more things (Soarin’? Figment? Agent P. adventure in the U.K.?).
If I schedule a 7:30 dinner at Chefs de France, would he be able to make it in time? Would we then be able to finish eating in time to step outside and watch IllumiNations? If one person has to stay inside to finish paying the bill, it’s okay but not ideal - one or two of us don’t like fireworks that much. I was thinking we could then walk to Beach Club and catch a Lyft or Uber from there to our hotel (Shades of Green - otherwise, we’d need to take the monorail and catch a bus from the TTC).
The rest of the party is: the 17yo’s 14, 8, and 6yo siblings; his parents; and one set of grandparents. DD14 is a major francophile and Grandma loves fireworks. We will already have had a full day at Epcot, which we plan to RD and leave around dinnertime.
I can’t help on the diving times but Seas to France Pavilion is a huge distance to cover. I think he’ll take a good 20 minutes to get there. I’d suggest a ADR 30 minutes later if you’re really planning on that. Are there 8:00pm available slots? Would you feel rushed eating in 55 minutes? Then you could just step outside and watch illuminations at 9!
Or how about lunch at france and then head out to your TP and diving? Would that make DS17 more lethargic?
Thanks! Yeah, I see that it’s a big distance. I was hoping maybe either they’d get done a little early. Lunch could be a good idea, and then we could get QS somewhere for dinner. I’ll see if I can reserve both for now so we have options and can decide closer to our trip. It looks like a 1:10 pm is available.
I can look for later times but I’m worried it may take a while to seat a party of 8 and not sure how much time to leave for dinner itself. If we could get done in 55 minutes it would probably be fine with us, but it depends on when we actually sit down and whether the service is slow.
Have you eaten at CdF? Any idea if it takes a long time?
Edit: I now have a 1:10 and a 7:40 ADR. We have three months to figure it out.
Done CdF and absolutely love the prix fix for lunch (never done dinner). My guess is that they absolutely know you need to get out quick to see the fireworks and will rush to serve you if you ask. They know what’s up!
My sister did DiveQuest when we were there in January. It really does take 3 hours from start to finish. If he’s got a 4:30 report time, you can expect him to be “released” at 7:30. Depending on how fast he walks, he could probably meet you for a 7:30 ADR at Chefs de France, but would likely be later arriving. If you can be prepared to order for him, you could conceivably make this plan work.
Alternatively, we did Coral Reef after DS’s DiveQuest, and it was terribly easy for her to join us for dinner, and then we went up to IllumiNations together.
Check-in is at the Guest Services window outside the entrance, so be prepared to head over there for the 4:30 arrival. I don’t recall if she said that she was allowed to depart directly back into the park - my gut feeling is that she was, and they had a portable scanner for her magic band to verify her park ticket for the day. The non-park-guests did get walked back to Guest Services, I’m sure of that part.
I’m not sure this will work. We all checked in together for our ADRs but they wouldn’t seat us on the couple of occasions when someone was in the restroom when we were called.
That’s good to know, thank you. I wasn’t sure if it was really just about exactly three hours, so that is helpful. Hopefully they will release him right back into the park. I wonder if a parent has to pick him up (they did say we have to go with him to check in so we can sign the release).
Coral Reef is definitely a more convenient location, but a couple of us are vegetarian and DS6 has a huge aversion to fish (even if it’s someone else eating it, he hates the smell).
Thanks, that is something I was wondering. I did move the evening one to 7:40 which may work if he leaves right away and we use the grace period, but I might just try to adjust it to 8.
Although, the more I think about it and play around with touring plans, the more I kind of like the 1pm CdF idea instead. If we arrive by 11 we can get a couple things done, then eat, then do a little more as we wander down to The Seas. Then afterwards we could meet him for QS and even order for him, and have plenty of time to get in position for IllumiNations.
I really wouldn’t worry about arriving late, I just wouldn’t bank on getting in on time and ordering.
I was concerned about the lunch thinking he would have a full stomach, but actually you’ve got a good gap before the dive starts. I have no idea if it’s a problem to dive on a full stomach, it just didn’t seem like a good idea.
Lunch could be a good idea, and then we could get QS somewhere for dinner. I’ll see if I can reserve both for now so we have options and can decide closer to our trip. It looks like a 1:10 pm is available.