All About Epcot’s Living with the Land Ride and Tour
Facts at a Glance:
| Park: Epcot. Location: Future World West. Height Requirement: None. Lightning Lane Multi Pass: Yes. Lightning Lane Single Pass: No. |
| Quick Notes: The past, present and future of farming are displayed in this smooth, slow-moving boat ride. |
| Disney Warnings: None. |
| Our Additional Cautions: Includes scenes with lightning and thunder, alligators and large insects (they’re not real in the rain forest scene), movies showing insects, flickering movies, times of relative darkness, and live alligators, fish and freshwater shrimp. Greenhouse area is very bright during sunny days. In some scenes a lot of head turning is needed to see everything. There’s occasional mild bumping of the tracks. You’ll pass through various climates experiencing dry or moist air. There are musty-smelling portions. Pesticides are used in the greenhouse portion of the ride. See below for details and more cautions. |
| Length: The show takes approximately 14 minutes. |
| Special Needs Info: Guests in ECVs must transfer to a standard wheelchair or boat seat. Some guests using power wheelchairs may need to transfer to a manual wheelchair to use the wheelchair accessible boat, but most will have no problem boarding the boat with their power wheelchairs. Handheld Captioning, Language Translation Device, Audio Description. Children under age 7 years must be accompanied by a person age 14 years or older. Ears to the World, Disney’s Show Translator, is capable of translating this experience into French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, or Spanish. The service is complimentary and devices can be picked up at the Guest Relations service counter. |
Overview of Living with the Land
Take a smooth, calm boat ride to learn about the past, present and future of farming. First you’ll pass through various types of simulated climates such as a rain forest and a desert. You’ll then see different kinds of farming methods through time. These are displayed through a variety of means, including scenes with Animatronics and film. Last, you’ll pass through a series of futuristic indoor greenhouses with a real working Disney farm using high-tech procedures. A prerecorded narration over a sound system guides you.
Queue & seating information for Living with the Land
The queue is indoors and dull, with pretty much nothing to look at while you’re waiting. The boat seats are hard with backs.
Wheelchair/ECV and accessibility info for Living with the Land
People with wheelchairs don’t use the main queue. There should be a cast member at the queue entrance who will let you into the special queue. The number of wheelchairs allowed in the queue at one time is limited, so there may be a wait at the queue entrance before being allowed to enter. This is one of those very few queues that allow you to bypass the crowds in the regular queue. Guests with
Though Disney requires guests in ECVs to transfer to a wheelchair, there may be some flexibility here. This is at the cast member’s discretion and will depend on the crowd levels and size of your ECV. Manual wheelchairs can go on some of the boats. Power wheelchairs may or may not be permitted, at the cast member’s discretion. This is dependent on the size and how maneuverable the particular power wheelchair is. The wheelchair accessible boats have a built-in ramp, a wheelchair space and a small bench large enough for one to two people at the very rear of the boat. The rest of your party will be assigned to sit in the row ahead of the wheelchair space.
If you’re transferring to a boat seat, you’ll need to walk to the boat, step down to get into the boat, and step up to get out. If you have difficulty with steps, you can request to use the wheelchair ramp to walk on, but be aware that you may be sitting in the rear alone or with one member of your party. And if you need the wheelchair or ECV brought to you to disembark, let a cast member know.
Details about the experience of Living with the Land
Tip: If you’re riding during the day, bring your sunglasses. The ride moves through dim or dark areas, and then you’ll suddenly enter a bright greenhouse. The boat moves slowly during this transition, leaving you plenty of time to put your sunglasses on.
This is a very mild ride. It’s slow and mostly smooth, with occasional slight bumps as it hits the sides of the indoor canal. It’s also a bit bumpy when the boat rides over rollers as it leaves and enters the docking area.
Tip: You’ll have to turn your head from side to side to see everything in the greenhouse, and those with neck pain may wish to turn using the whole body rather than just the neck to avoid irritating it.
The air in each simulated climate reflects what you’d find in nature. For example, the rain forest is moist and misty and the desert is dry. You’ll encounter some light wind and hear some thunder. The greenhouses tend to be warm. Portions of this ride have a musty odor.
There are some old-time movies projected on large screens that flicker. In the first scene, there are some lightning bolt effects.
Pesticides in the Living with the Land greenhouse
We have been told that although they seek to use natural pest control whenever possible, they do use conventional pesticides as needed. These are applied at night when the attraction is closed, and they only apply it to the specific plants that need it. During the ride, guests will not have any physical contact with the plants. During the Behind the Seeds tour (see below), guests are not permitted to touch plants or to walk where there could be physical contact with the plants. In part, this is to prevent contact with pesticides.
Behind the Seeds Tour
This fascinating walking tour is available for an extra fee. Your guide will be a knowledgeable professional or college intern who really works with the plants and/or fish. They’ll walk you through the greenhouses and by the fish tanks, and they’ll teach about what you’re seeing. In addition, you’ll be given a lesson on natural pest control. A few guests will be given a vial with ladybugs (a natural form of pest control) to release on plants. In the past, guests have gotten to taste vegetables (we tried cucumbers) grown on site, and you’ll see how to create a hydroponic garden at home.
The tour lasts about 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours, depending on the tour guide and the numbers of questions the guests ask. This is the shortest tour available at Disney, making it a good choice for those with stamina issues. Those walking will be on their feet most of the time, but the tour is completely accessible. Regular size wheelchairs and most ECVs should have no difficulty maneuvering, however if you’re riding a large 4 wheel ECV, some of the turns may be challenging but not impossible. This is especially true of the fish tank area, where there are some sharp turns. Disney ECVs are large four wheelers, and may be challenging.
There are benches and a water cooler available to guests at only one brief point in the tour. There’s no restroom available during the tour. We were told that if there’s a need, you could let the tour guide know, and he/she will try to get you assistance. After having done the tour, bathroom access seems like it would be difficult. The greenhouses are on the warmer side, with some areas warmer than others.
This is one of the few backstage tours at Disney that guests under 16 years old can participate in. Call 407-WDW-TOUR [939-8687]. It may be possible to walk up and join the tour at the last minute. Check at the podium to the left of Soarin’. For more information on the Behind the Seeds tour, visit here.
View Living with the Land in this video.
Check out more rides and attractions in Epcot:
SEE RIDES AND ATTRACTIONS IN THE OTHER PARKS:
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