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Passporter WDW 2003
(UK customers)

Cast Member Interview

An interview with Lee Orrison, Scuba Dive Coordinator Epcot Center, The Living Seas

Where did you learn to scuba dive?
I learned to scuba dive in Melbourne Florida by doing beach dives. We would travel down to West Palm beach sometimes for better water visibility.

How long have you been a WDW Cast Member?
I have been a cast member for over 7 years now.

What does your job involve?
Some of my job responsibilities includes giving direction and leadership to 40+ of our on staff Divemasters. I also oversee the regulatory training for scuba diving at the aquarium. My other duties include overseeing the day to day operations for 2 of our guest programs, Epcot Seas Aqua Tour (for our non-certified diving guests) and Epcot Dive Quest (For our scuba certified guests). I also spend time in marketing our guest programs.

Can you briefly describe what the different diving programs involve?
Our Epcot Dive Quest program and out Epcot Seas Aqua Tour programs are a lot alike. The Dive Quest program if for guests ages 10 and up with a scuba certification. They will be using scuba gear, and the dive is video taped. The Aqua Tour program is for guests ages 8 and up with out the scuba certification. They will be using SAS (scuba assisted snorkel) units, and instead of the video we do a family photo. Both programs will give the guest a back stage tour in our "restricted" areas, and they will get insight on what goes on back stage at aquariums.

What's the best thing about the job?
The best thing about my job is that I'm doing something I love to do. I enjoy all the people I work with. One of the greatest things about my job is that we aren't just here to provide magical experiences for our guests. We all are also involved in marine conservation. We do beach and river cleanups, we educate our guests on what they can do to help with conservation, and we even give the proceeds from our guest programs to the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund.

How do you feel about working at Disney / what attracted you to the job?
I love working for Disney, it is a great company to be a part of. The Disney name is what attracted me to the job. I was born and raised in Florida, so Disney has in one way or another been a part of my life growing up.

What do guest need to wear to dive?
The only thing we ask our guests to bring is a swim suit. They will have on a wetsuit during their in-water experience.

What is provided?
We provide all the in-water gear for both programs. We also provide a t-shirt, and refreshments for both programs. For the Dive Quest program we provide a certificate of completion. For the Aqua Tour program we provide a family photo. The guests doing the program do not need park admission, we pick them up outside the gates.

What temperature is the water?
The temperature in the tank is always kept between 75 and 77 degrees.

Are there any sharks in the tank?
Yes, we currently have 4 sharks total in the tank, 1 brown shark and 3 black nose sharks. They are very docile and do not bother the divers.

What are the most interesting things they've seen during a dive?
The guest that do the dive will have a chance to see our sharks, 3 different species of rays, and 2 green sea turtles. We also have 3 goliath groupers and thousands of other fish. You can not find a dive like this anywhere else, the weather is always great, no current, and all the animals you will see would take at least 10 normal dives in the Caribbean to even come close to what you can see in just 1 dive at The Living Seas.

What's the funniest thing that has ever happened while you were working with a guest?
Actually, the funniest thing is not the guest that are diving in the water, it's the guests on the other side of the windows. We have over 60 windows that the diving guests can see the regular Epcot day guest. Some of the day guests have never seen a diver, and sometimes they will just whip out their video camera and tape the divers for the whole dive. The kids are always real excited to see the divers in the water. Over at the Coral Reef restaurant windows when the divers swim by the kids will run down to the tables next to the windows to interact with the divers.

Does Mickey ever go for a dive?
Mickey is a very busy guy, but he does find time to dive with us. We get to dive with Mickey at least once a month. He loves to dive, and the guest love to see him dive.

Do you get a lot of guests on some days, and is there a best time to book?
We are pretty consistent with the number of guests in our groups. We do see more guests during the peak times of the year (Holiday Season, Spring Break, etc.). I always recommend guests call the Tour line to make their reservations as soon as their ready to book. We can only do 12 people per group.

Do you do anything special for birthdays/celebrations?
When we know it's someone's birthday we always try and do something special for them. In the past we have made underwater banners to wish people a Happy Birthday, and Happy Anniversary. We also have done a number of underwater proposals. It's fun for us to watch the look on the guest faces.

Do you get repeat divers?
We get a lot of repeat divers. You can always count on some of the people in our daily groups to have done the program before. We have 1 guest that has done the dive over 50 times!

Thanks Lee!

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