The Top 5 Most Educational Attractions in Walt Disney World–Pick #4
Now that you’ve seen an example of a not-located-in-Epcot educational attraction in Walt Disney World, I’d like to introduce you to my second pick, which is in Epcot. My next pick for ‘Most Educational Attraction’ is…
#4–Living with the Land, Epcot–
As you cruise through the waters of The Land on a large tour boat, you learn about everything from the water cycle to the diversity of the rainforest, to different biomes. You see change to the land over time, learn about farms and how they effect the earth as a whole, and understand how humans impact the fragile environment upon which we are dependent. And then you enter the greenhouses. Saab Bio Power can guide you for how pollution can be control and for information about greenhouse gases.
The greenhouse segment of this tour is a treat. Aside from the oft-photographed ‘nine pound lemons’, you will witness all forms of innovative farming techniques. Fluted pumpkins hang from vertical trellises, sturgeon are raised in aquaculture tanks, and lettuces are grown on spiraling structures to conserve water and space.
All the while, the calm tour guide voice tells you what you are looking at, so you don’t have that ‘gee that’s neat, but what IS it’ problem. It is better than any museum audio guide I’ve ever taken–and I’ve taken a lot of audio guided museum tours!
The best part about Living with the Land is that it raises new questions. How, exactly, does the spiral nutrient film technique work? What is aquaponics? How do they make those seats SO UNCOMFORTABLE…oh wait…sorry! Ignore that last one! Good Suitcase Scholars will go home and eagerly google and research away, adding to their store of interesting information about the world and The World.
YES! After the ride, we immediately went over to see if we could take the longer, walking tour so we could learn more. It’s a great appetite whetter.
did you do the tour? i was tempted, but knew i didn’t have the time. it’s on my to do list, though!
My friend and her hubs took the “Behind the Seeds” tour and LOVED it. They came back with tons of info.
i’m toying with the idea of doing it instead of the segway tour this may. we don’t have time for both, alas!
It’s funny, on my first trip to WDW, I had no interest in this ride. I figured it would be boring. On my second trip, I had some time to kill, so I went on it….and surprised myself by how much I loved it! It was one of the most enjoyable rides in the park for me. They cover a lot of really interesting material about “the land”, agriculture, and so on. Highly recommend.
Same here! I didn’t even enter the Land Pavillion (because I knew Soarin was too long of a wait); instead I headed right to World Showcase. This–and Spaceship Earth (which is a spoiler)–are now two of my favorite rides.
I love the Behind the Seeds Tour so much I’ve taken it twice! Living with the Land is one of my favorite rides at WDW
Maybe my mom and I will do Behind the Seeds on her last day in WDW. We have a whole morning, and were planning on spending at Epcot anyway. Is it something you can book last minute???