Living with the Land at Epcot (An Attraction Guide)

Living with the Land is a slow-moving boat ride that travels through Epcot’s greenhouses along with scenes of Earth’s biomes. Narration provided by a speaker system helps educate guests about each environment. The attraction’s entrance is on the lower level of the Land Pavilion at Epcot. It’s a fan-favorite for many. Below, we’ll take a virtual ride with photos and discuss the best times to experience this attraction.

Fun Fact: When this attraction first premiered, a live cast member attended each boat and provided narration during the tour. Now, let’s look at some of the more modern elements.

Below are a few quick reference details for Living with the Land.

Living with the Land	Epcot Attractions
Location:	The Land Pavilion
Height Requirement:	None
Lightning Lane:	Yes (Multi Pass Tier 2 Category or Premier Pass)
Early Theme Park Entry Eligible:	It’s not on the official list. But it often opens early.
Extended Evening Hours Eligible:	No
Our Traffic Signal:	Green Light
Stroller Parking:	Outside the Land Pavilion’s entrance
Ride Type:	Slow-Moving Boat
Seats Per Vehicle:	Averages four per row
Rider Switch:	None
Good For:	Everyone
Scare Factor:	None
Must-Do List:	High Priority
Perfect For:	Those with a green thumb!
Special Mention:	During the holidays, there’s a special ride overlay: Glimmering Greenhouses.

Accessibility: Some of the boats are wheelchair accessible. However, guests must transfer from ECVs to a wheelchair to board.

Living with the Land Review

Living with the Land is located on the lower level of the Land Pavilion. There are two lines for this attraction: a Lightning Lane entrance and a standby queue. Unfortunately, there is no single rider line. When you enter the pavilion, you are on the second floor. Therefore, you’ll need to use the stairs, escalators, or elevators to get down to the main level.

Living with the Land sits across the lower level from Soarin’ Around the World.

Typically, the best time to ride Living with the Land is earlier in the morning or after 4:00 p.m., when lines in this area tend to die down a bit. However, it’s essential to know that Living with the Land usually closes earlier than other attractions. On average, the ride closes around 7:00 p.m. So you’ll want to experience the attraction before it closes.

However, there are a few exceptions. For instance, Living with the Land often stays open later during the holiday season, between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Due to a special overlay, you’ll probably want to experience this attraction twice during the holidays. So ride it once during the daylight hours and then again after dark.

Living with the Land offers a Lightning Lane with Lightning Lane Multi Pass. However, you won’t need to use one for this attraction in most cases. Since it is a high-capacity attraction, the line tends to move quickly.

Living with the Land is a slow-moving boat ride that journeys through four different ecosystems. You’ll float through representations of a rainforest, prairie, desert, and farm. At the beginning of the attraction, you’ll travel through a simulated thunderstorm. Some of these areas are relatively dark and cool, making this a great attraction to visit during the hotter portions of the day.

You’ll then float through a tropical rainforest and the American prairies. As you pass the farmhouse, remember to look up. This is where guests dining at the Garden Grill Restaurant can see portions of the ride.

After this area, you’ll pass through several screens that provide a film. The ride’s film was updated a few years back.

After the film, you’ll approach the Sustainable Agriculture Production and Research Center.

This is where you will begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel as your boat approaches the greenhouses. Everything begins to brighten up at this point.

Living with the Land has several greenhouses. You’ll first travel through the tropical greenhouse, where cacao, bananas, and Dragon Fruit are grown.

Bougainvillea grows wonderfully in the tropical atmosphere. As a result, we often see it incorporated into the landscaping at Walt Disney World.

Here is a Papaya Tree.

Edible flowers, like these Zinnias, are grown in the greenhouses at Living with the Land.

This nice zen-like area has floating water lilies, bamboo shoots, and waterfalls. I spot a hidden Mickey below.

Depending on what time of year you visit, you’ll see various displays throughout the greenhouses. They represent whatever festival is going on at Epcot at the time.

Here are a few more plants in the tropics greenhouse.

After the tropics, our boat turns into another tunnel. This is where we start to see hydroponic fish tanks.

Aquaculture is an important part of how food is produced. These fish farms contain tilapia, catfish, sturgeon, bass, and other fish.

There are also a few hidden Mickey in the aqua cell area.

As we make our way into the temperate greenhouse, we see another Mickey reference.

Here is a pergola with some of the crops grown in this greenhouse.

This is usually where you’ll see sunflowers planted. They grow rapidly.

As you float down the little greenhouse river, you’ll see a variety of vegetables growing in unique ways. We see a few tomato trees.

Nothing in this area appears to be rooted in the ground.

You’ll find that most plants are hanging from above, like these snake gourds.

As you come around the bend, you’ll probably find it challenging to take in everything.

Every time I ride this attraction, I smile when I hear others sharing their amazement at how things are done here in the greenhouse.

It’s always fun to hear people call out common vegetables as if they have never seen them before. But I get it. Oh, look, there’s an eggplant.

Here, we have pumpkins.

Mickey, except in lettuce form.

Here, we have more peppers and an exceptionally productive tomato plant.

They even grow rice and cotton on Living with the Land.

I’m unfamiliar with this cherry sage, but it’s a beautiful plant.

Toward the end of the ride, you’ll see a variety of edible flowers and herbs.

At the end of the 15-minute tour, you’ll pass by the Biotechnology Laboratory. Here, you’ll usually see a few cast members at work. I’m pretty sure if I ever had to have a job at Walt Disney World, this would be the place I wanted to end up.

Behind the Seeds Tour

During your greenhouse tour, you might see a few guests walking through with a guide. These guests are taking part in the Behind the Seeds Tour.

At the end of Living with the Land, there’s some information about an additional walking tour of the greenhouses.

The Resorts Gal Spin on Living with the Land

We give Living with the Land the green light. This is my favorite attraction (other than Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind) at Epcot. It’s a ride that will make you roll your eyes out of your head for the first couple of minutes. Then, you’ll get it, and you’ll know exactly when you do. Anyone who cares about living things can appreciate the subtle simplicity and beauty of this attraction.

Final Thoughts

Overall, Living with the Land is an excellent and relaxing attraction. Don’t miss it! Hopefully, you enjoyed our spin through the greenhouses. Some of our other Epcot attraction reviews include:

• Journey of Water Inspired by Moana
• Spaceship Earth at Epcot
• Soarin’ Around the World
• Turtle Talk with Crush
• The Seas with Nemo and Friends
• Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival

For more on Epcot, you might also enjoy the following:

• List of Epcot Attractions and Entertainment
• Our Complete Guide to Epcot’s World Showcase
• Epcot Festivals Guide

For more planning details, refer to our Disney World Parks Planning Guide, or you might enjoy our complimentary course offering below.