Dive-in Theater with Acadia National Park Ranger

Loved it. Not sure who loved it more the adults or the kids. A fascinating concept to watch DiverEd under the water and get a true perspective of sea creatures habitat. Since I'm not sure I'll ever scuba dive this was a way to explore an area of our world I'd otherwise never see. Diver Ed and the ranger were very knowledgeable about what we were seeing and great with explaining to adults and kids! We went on a cloudy/foggy day and it was a good activity since we may not have seen much of Acadia that day. Also neat to see how the harbor can become all fogged in.

We have had the pleasure of going on the Dive-In Theater at least four times over the last ten years. It never fails to please our whole family - including children and grandparents. Ed was using Mini-Ed number 21 on our first trip. Now that he is on number 78 it is still wonderful. Might even say it gets better and better every time. Looking forward to another return trip.... And.... love the dogs!

My sister and I and our 4 kids went on Diver Ed's tour recently and we loved every minute ! We actually took the longer version of the trip with the park ranger. We saw so many things. We were lucky enough to watch an eagle diving for fish. The park ranger was good and very informative but we LOVED Diver Ed and Mini Ed. He and Captain Evil were very friendly and good with the kids. Diver Ed showed us many things that we hadn't seen before (the biggest sea cucumber ever!) and let the kids hold everything and even put the starfish on their heads. He was very funny and fun to watch and listen to. The kids still talk about the trip every day and say it is one of their favorite things that we did while on vacation. We can't recommend this trip enough. If you only get to do one boat trip while in Maine make this the one. You won't regret it.

The boat ride was smooth and comfortable and our children 4 and 3 loved it. We had friends with us and their children are 4 and 5. Both families had a blast! The adults got to touch creatures we had never touched (or seen) before. The staff and Diver Ed have great personalities and make it fun. We opted for the longer ride with the park ranger and got to see harbor seals and an eagle as well as other birds. The only suggestion I have is to do the ranger part after the diving because of the kids were anxious for Diver Ed to go under!

amusing, informative, enjoyable. I've already raved to many other potential customers who love vacationing in Maine and have children.

The Diver Ed activity includes a nice boat cruise; viewing of seabirds, eagles, seals, islands, and a lighthouse; and, the highlight, participation via live videofeed in Diver Ed's exploration of the ocean floor. This offered a great look at the creatures which live under the sea, particularly when many of them were brought aboard the ship for close-up viewing and even touching! The combination of presentations by Diver Ed, his wife (the boat captain), and the National Park ranger made the information educational and entertaining, a nice mix. Our children ranged in age from nine to fourteen and all enjoyed the cruise very much. The boat crew was very attentive to comfort, adjusting plastic window sheeting as needed when water spray started to blow into the boat and get passengers wet. They seemed to genuinely enjoy showing folks the sea creatures and took care to be sure everyone had plenty of time to examine everything. While this cruise was a bit pricey, we were out for three and a half hours, so we felt it was money well spent, given the time we had out on the water and the things we learned.

We took our 3 year old son on this cruise because it seemed to be more geared to children - my son was glued to the screen showing Diver Ed underwater collecting different sea creatures and then all the children (and adults) got to hold the various creatures - there was plenty of creatures to go around - the amount of people on the boat was not too big, so everyone could hear the ranger narrating and see what was being discussed - if you have kids, this is the cruise to take.

My family just returned from a fabulous week spent in Acadia National Park and the Bar Harbor area. We spent the week camping, hiking, kayaking and exploring this wonderful area. My wife and I have a 7 year old daughter and 4 year old son. Both rated the 3 hour experience aboard Ed's Dive-in Theater tour the highlight of their week. We would recommend this experience as a must for any family visiting Bar Harbor or Acadia National Park.

We participated in the Dive-in Theater tour with a park ranger and it was a great educational and fun experience! The ranger was very informative and kept the groups attention. Diver Ed was great! We saw all kinds of aquatic life both above the water and in the water. We were able to hold starfish, sand dollars, sea cucmbers, lobster, crabs, hermit crabs, etc... The tour was thoroughly enjoyed by both kids & adults.

Diver Ed was very entertaining and wanted to make sure his guests were comfortable and entertained. Everyone gets a chance to hold and touch all the seas creatures that Diver Ed brings back to the boat with him. He was funny and we enjoyed his interaction among the groups of people. When we went out with him his camera broke so we weren't able to see what the water was like underneath. Diver Ed was very apolegetic and gave everyone on board free return tickets. I was not expecting him him to do that at all as I thought that was just a minor inconvenience. Cheers to Diver Ed and his crew. I will mention that he did have 2 huge black dogs on board that were wet ,so if you don't like dogs I suggest you skip the boat ride or sit well in the back where the dogs cannot get to you.