Disney World mixes gardening with science and takes it to the extreme in the Living With The Land attraction in Epcot.  This opening day attraction has been an Epcot staple since October 1, 1982.  The Living Laboratory section of the attraction features real gardens utilizing state of the art farming & gardening techniques to grow prodigious amounts of fruits and vegetables that are actually used by some of the Disney World Restaurants.


Living With The Land
In what used to be the featured attraction within the Land Pavilion, Living With The Land now settles for second class status behind the uber-popular Soarin'.  The 14 minute boat ride still is very much worth your time to explore.  The gardens in the 2nd half of the attraction continue to be the star of the show, with an impressive line-up of giant sized fruits and vegetables and plants that deliver quantities far more than you will ever see in your neighborhood garden.

The Living Laboratory is divided into five sections.  As a picture is worth a thousand words we will show a bunch of pictures of what you can expect to see in each:



1. Tropics Greenhouse - This greenhouse features crops that you will find in the tropical areas of the world as the name would imply.  Here you will find: Bananas, Papayas, Coconuts, Cacoa, Dragonfruit, Miracle Fruit, Pineapple, Jackfruit, Cleome,  Java Apple, Fluted Pumpkin, Peach Palm, Ginger, & Coffee.



2. Aquacell - The Aquacell shows commonly farmed aquatic life such as: Sturgeon, Hybrid Bass, Hybrid Tilapia, Channel Catfish, American Alligator, Freshwater Shrimp, & American Eel.



3. Temperate Greenhouse - In this greenhouse you will find the larger sized crops  and grains such as: pumpkins, winter melons, "Nine Pound Lemon", pummelo, brussel sprouts, kale, millet, habenero peppers, sorghum, cotton, corn, and amaranth.



4. String Greenhouse - This greenhouse is where you get to see some amazing demonstrations including the famous tomato tree that made the Guinness Book Of World Records for producing over 32,000 tomatoes in a 16 month period.  Each of the plants are grown using high density growing techniques.  Besides the tomatoes you will find: eggplant, sweet potato, bell peppers, lettuce,  and strawberries.



5. Creative Greenhouse - The 5th greenhouse houses truly innovative growing techniques including versions of hydroponics (without soil) and integrated aquaculture with the plants in a symbiotic growing environment.

Living With The Land Is An Epcot MUST SEE
When you head to the Land Pavilion to ride Soarin' don't forget about this old favorite attraction.  Lines are using short and fast moving and the attraction is one that is educational and enjoyable.  Make sure that you don't pass it up during your next visit to Epcot.