10 Things You May Not Know About Living With the Land

1. Inspirational Words

The queue of Living with the Land contains numerous inspirational quotes from different world leaders, scientists, celebrities, and children painted on the walls. These include:
“I may only be one person, but I can be one person who makes a difference.” (From a 10-year-old child from Kentucky)
“Let us remember as we chase our dreams into the stars that our first responsibility is to our earth, to our children, to ourselves.” (From former United States President George Bush)
“The earth is like my mother. You get punished if you make a mess. Why do you think this planet’s called Mother Earth?” (From a 10-year-old child from Hong Kong)
“If we don’t save the animals, the air, and the sky, they will be gone in a blink of an eye.” (From a 13-year-old child from Iowa)

2. A Curious Address

One of the scenes in the early portion of the attraction is the farmhouse scene, complete with a dog on the front porch. A large tree in the front yard holds a swing, and a rooster stands proudly atop a mailbox. Be sure to look closely at the house number on that mailbox; it’s 82, a reference to the year that Epcot opened.

3. On to the Real Thing

The second half of the attraction takes place in the brightly lit greenhouses (well, at least it’s brightly lit in the daytime). Here you’ll find five unique “living laboratory” greenhouses where different food production techniques are being tested and expanded by Epcot’s scientists. First up is the Tropics Greenhouse, featuring a variety of different agricultural crops from areas such as Africa, Latin America, and the Southwestern United States. Among the plants that are on display for Guests in the tropics greenhouse are bananas, cacaos, papayas, jackfruits, date palms, dragon fruits, fluted pumpkins, vanilla, cleomes, and pineapples.

4. Fish Farming

Next up is the aquacell area, one of the most popular areas of the entire attraction. This unique food growth area focuses on aquaculture (essentially, growing fish). Animals on display in different tanks and tubes include tilapia, sturgeon, bass, catfish, and shrimp. Guests will even see an area that houses American alligators. The Land Pavilion produces thousands of pounds of fish each year, much of which is served in the Coral Reef Restaurant in the adjacent Seas with Nemo and Friends Pavilion and in other Epcot restaurants.

5. Nine Pound Lemons and More

The Temperate Greenhouse features, not surprisingly, crops from temperate climates. This greenhouse includes some of the most popular specimens in the entire attraction, including the famous “nine-pound” lemons and giant pumpkins. Sunflowers, beets, and turnips are also displayed. The temperate greenhouse utilizes numerous innovative growing techniques like cross-breeding of plants to create those that are more resistant to diseases, and “drip irrigation” techniques that allow scientists to deliver specific amounts of water to crops.

6. Mickey Mouse Pumpkins and Other Agricultural Innovations

The next two areas showcase some of the great innovations happening in agriculture today. The String Greenhouse focuses on innovative growing techniques that produce higher volumes of foods, including “vertical growing,” where plants are grown on specialized trellises. Perhaps the most popular sight in the string greenhouse is the “tomato tree,” which at one point produced more than 32,000 tomatoes in a 16-month period. It’s here you’ll also find those famous pumpkins that are grown in the shape of Mickey Mouse, crafted through the use of special molds. The Creative Greenhouse features agricultural growing techniques that are…well…creative! Many of the plants in this greenhouse are grown using a technique known as Aeroponics, where a mist of water and nutrients is sprayed directly onto the roots of the plants. Rather than being buried in the soil, the roots of the plants hang freely in the air. Guests will also see an innovative aquaculture system where the environments of both fish and plants are combined to create a symbiotic food growth system. Also, be sure to give the good scientists of the United States of Department of Agriculture a wave. They work in the Biotechnology Lab attached to the creative greenhouse and can be seen through a series of windows. (You’ll also find a great Hidden Mickey in the form of green-capped test tubes arranged in a familiar shape.)

7. What’s in a Name

When the attraction first opened in 1982, it was known as “Listen to the Land.”

8. Your Original Hosts

Cast Members previously provided the narration for Living with The Land as they rode with you. Their “role” has since been replaced with the recorded narration you hear today.

9. Thunder Mesa

The Audio-Animatronic buffalo and prairie dogs in the American prairie scene were not originally produced for Living with The Land. They were instead created for use in the greatest Walt Disney World attraction that never came to be: Thunder Mesa (which would have been a Wild West version of Pirates of the Caribbean).

10. A Word from Our Sponsors

Living with The Land (and its predecessor Listen to The Land) has been sponsored by numerous companies throughout its history, including Kraft, Nestle, and Chiquita.