Sea Life answers our burning questions about its scuba-diving Santa

By DEWAYNE BEVIL

ORLANDO SENTINEL

DEC 07, 2021 AT 6:32 AM

A scuba-diving Santa waves to 4-year-old Bryce Jackson of Ocoee during an appearance at the Sea Life Orlando Aquarium on International Drive. The Christmas-themed dive coincided with a reading of 'Twas the Night Before ‘Fish’mas.' (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

You’ve seen Santa Claus in North Pole mode or maybe imagined him on a Florida beach come Dec. 26. Sea Life Orlando Aquarium has us wondering about an underwater St. Nick.

Visitors to the Icon Park attraction on International Drive can see Scuba Santa at 1 p.m. on Thursdays. That time slot includes an outside-the-tank reading of “Twas the Night Before ‘Fish’mas” along with the Santa sighting (there’s a sidekick elf in there, too) and a photo op. You’re likely to see sharks, stingrays, sea turtles and other marine life.

Sea Life’s eight in-house divers — a.k.a. friends of Santa — portray the submerged character.

“Scuba Santa is a certified rescue diver, which is pretty cool,” said Kelli Cadenas, Sea Life curator.

She answered our burning questions about that sopping-wet Santa.

Is he cold in there?

It’s about 75 degrees in the water, Cadenas said.

“That’s where the animals like it; that’s a perfect temperature for them,” she said.

“Under the Santa suit, Santa wears a wet suit, which is a thermal outfit that you wear,” Cadenas said. “Basically, it keeps a small layer of water up against your skin. Your skin heats it up, and then it holds it there. So you can dive for a really long time with this little buffer of warm water against your skin.”

Is that a special Santa suit we see?

“It’s like a fluffy, normal furry suit. And it looks furry underwater because it kind of floats around and does the whole thing.”

Does it get dry-cleaned between uses?

“We have a Santa suit sanitizing procedure. You don’t want any kind of algae or food that we’re feeding to get stuck on it and sit for a week. It gets cleaned, dried out, refluffed. … Ready to go back in.”

Are the fish excited to see Scuba Santa?

Ordinarily, the divers are cleaning the tank, and the fish are unmoved. Before the holiday season, they start feeding the animals a little to encourage more interaction.

“When we do our Santa dives for the public, we want the fish to come over. We want them to be interacting with us. Santa is throwing out a little bit of kale. They’re getting all excited,” Cadenas said.

They also love pumpkin, which the divers give around Halloween time, she said, “but they love kale more.”

Can Scuba Santa see us from in there?

“We really want the exhibits to shine so most of the walkways through are kind of dim. Because of that you can see 8 feet out,” she said. “The team member on the outside is really good at catching our attention.”

Does tapping on the glass get Scuba Santa’s attention?

“We can’t really hear it. Our large ocean tanks are 3 to 4 inches thick. And that is for the safety of the animals and hold all the water also to hold the temperature.”

Is that beard a challenge?

“It is a challenge. But it’s doable. We basically hook it onto the regulator, which fits into your mouth. The regulator you hold in your teeth, so the back kind of holds the beard in place,” Cadenas said. “Then, this year, we put a little weight on the bottom of the beard to keep it kind of down, so that it doesn’t quite float into your face.”

Is it better than being an outdoor Santa in Florida?

“It’s quite refreshing. But I’ll tell you when you’re getting ready to get in, it’s hot. You’re putting on a thick wet suit to keep yourself warm, which is hot. Get on all the gear, which is hot. You put on a beard and a hat, and everything gets quite warm,” she said. “So when you get in the water, it’s like … yes.”

Do the Sea Life divers like playing Santa?

“It’s fun because it’s seasonal. We get all excited about it. You know, it’s something that we only do one time a year. … And, honestly, when you see a kid out front get so excited, it’s amazing.”