Shark
Encounter at SeaWorld is one of
the most fascinating attractions
at the park. From the other
interesting creatures that make
Shark Encounter their home to the
sharks themselves, it is an exhibit
full of surprises. One of
these surprises comes in the form
of an amazing shark encounter experience
called the Shark Deep Dive.
Shark Deep Dive puts two guests
at a time into a large steel cage
inside the giant aquarium filled
with sharks, rays, and other large
fish. The experience starts
off with a reservation. Once
the reservation is made, guests
must check in at the Guest Services
Center just past the entrance of
the park on the date of the reservation.
Here you will pick up medical information
and release forms to fill out for
the adventure. Guests then
make way to Wild Arctic where a
member of park staff will greet
the divers, usually five minutes
prior to the appointment.
Call
1-866-966-7508 to make your Reservation
Today!
$94 for ages 10+, $144
during peak season
Attraction
closes May 15th!
Once
everything is situated, it is off
to the prep center which houses
a full locker room facility, and
a �mud room� where the guest wetsuits,
boots, and gloves are waiting.
Here guests can use the restrooms,
suit up, and become debriefed on
the equipment that will be utilized
on the dive. Equipment includes
newly designed helmets from Sea
Trek, which weigh 75lbs out
of water and approximately 15lbs
in water, which have a communication
system including a microphone and
an earpiece. These helmets
resemble the diving bells of the
past that use free-flowing oxygen
to keep an air bubble inside which
keeps the diver�s head completely
dry. Other equipment includes
a wetsuit, boots, and gloves.
These items help keep divers comfortable
in the 660,000 gallon shark tank
which usually stays at around 72
degrees F. Once guests become
acquainted with the equipment used
during the dive, what you can and
cannot do in the cage, and how many
and what species of creatures you
will find in the tank, it�s off
to a golf cart and a �back lot�
tour of sorts to the Shark Encounter
exhibit where the dive actually
takes place.
On
the way to the Shark Deep Dive,
guests will see the huge units used
to filter and cool the waters of
Wild Arctic, the filtration systems
for Shamu Stadium, which filter
7 million gallons of water in approximately
four hours, and SeaWorld�s amazing
recycling center which helps in
keeping the environment a lot cleaner.
Once guests arrive at the Shark
Encounter building, they make their
way to the top of the giant shark
tank, where they are first introduced
to the sharks from above the water.
Here you will also greet the spotter,
who is usually an expert in sharks
and can provide a lot of valuable
information on the species within
the tank. The spotter also
makes sure everything in the cage
is safe during the encounter underwater.
Your spotter is connected to the
divers via a headset and can also
answer questions while in the tank.
Once everything has been explained
by the shark professional and spotter,
guests are led into a �med pool�
where they first become acclimated
to the water in the tank.
As you take a knee at the entrance
to the cage, which sits at a constant
depth secured by a buoy on either
side of it, the Sea Trek helmet
is lowered to your shoulders via
a pulley system. It is connected
to free flowing oxygen and you are
ready to sink into the tank.
At this point, you and your co-diver
are standing 10 feet underwater,
weighed down by the helmet.
At this point, the cage starts moving
slowly across the back wall of the
Shark Encounter exhibit for a duration
of 30 minutes.
In
this tank, you will find over 5
species of sharks including white
and black tip sharks, sandbar sharks,
nurse sharks, and saw fish.
A giant manta ray makes its home
here along with some other large
bodied fish that all live together
with these sharks. You can
sit, stand, and move about the cage
while communicating back and forth
with the other diver and the spotter
above. As you move across
the tank, you see the people passing
underneath in the acrylic tunnel
admiring the sharks from below and
the people in Shark�s Bar and Grill,
SeaWorld�s sit and dine restaurant
with a full liquor bar. Here
family of the divers can take pictures
and capture video of the encounter
while you meet and greet with the
sharks, which are very curious to
make your acquaintance. As
a new addition to their habitat,
the sharks poke and prod the outside
of the cage to see what you are
all about. They are mostly
within inches of touch, but it is
highly recommended that you do not
place fingers outside of the cage,
for sharks explore the world with
their mouths, at usually injuring
consequences. The entire experience
is breathtaking, exhilarating, and
eye opening. You have never
been this close to a shark in mid-yawn,
protruding its large toothy jaw
out of its mouth as it does.
As the cage reaches its destination
back to the gate, divers are helped
out of the cage and the helmet is
removed.
The
event of interacting with the spotter,
getting into the helmet and then
into the cage is documented by a
professional photographer and the
photos placed on a free CD that
can be picked up at any time at
the Guest Services Desk. Once
guests are returned to the locker
rooms, they may strip out of the
suits, wash up, and return back
to their original clothing where
they then receive an informative
book on sharks and a T-shirt exclusive
to the program. This is probably
one of the most breathtaking experiences
located in the park and should be
tried at least once to appreciate
the beauty of the underwater world
and the agility and grace of these
mostly feared creatures.
