We’re big fans of Living with the Land at EPCOT. While some may overlook the slow-moving boat ride, it’s one of our favorites because it feels like vintage Disney. After going on the ride many, many times, we knew we’d have to eventually do the Behind the Seeds tour that takes guests through the Land Pavilion’s greenhouses.
We finally made that day happen! Below we’ll walk through our full Behind the Seeds tour experience. Did this look behind the scenes (seeds!) live up to all of our Living with the Land hopes and dreams?
Registration and Check-In
Signing up for a Behind the Seeds tour is easy. Tours usually start hourly beginning at 10:30am and running through 4:30pm in the Land Pavilion. We booked our tour online (remember you have to pay in advance) and were told to check in at the desk located near the exit of Living with the Land at least 15 minutes before the scheduled start time.
At check-in, we signed a waiver and received a lanyard that indicated we were part of the tour group. Once everyone in our group arrived (about 15 of us), we were led through a door backstage. There’s something truly special about being backstage at Disney World – even if it’s just a basic room or hallway.
Inside the first room, we received listening devices that helped us hear our guide. These could be placed conveniently in our lanyards, and made it much easier to hear everything even if we weren’t standing close. Some areas of the tour are near the large, noisy fans inside the greenhouses, so you’ll want to make sure your device is working.
Behind the Seeds Tour Experience
We first learned that taking pictures is allowed on the Behind the Seeds tour! Most of the tour travels through areas you can see from the Living with the Land boats, so Disney doesn’t mind if you take a bunch of pictures. It’s practically encouraged.
On to the tour itself. We first learned about the pests that can cause harm to the many plants inside the greenhouses. Disney tries its best to combat these pests without using harmful pesticides, which includes “good” bugs that eat the “bad” bugs.
We then made our way out to the greenhouses. Our first stop was just outside the research lab before entering the greenhouses themselves. Yes, that research lab you can see from the boats is a real, functional lab! Our guide explained that they were testing growing plants under different lighting spectrums (hence the purpleish lights), and trying to simulate what it’s like to grow plants in unique environments – like on a space station.
It’s very cool seeing what’s going on behind the glass windows. And yes, we could see people working inside the lab! Hopefully that will help kill the rumors that the Living with the Land lab is just for show or not utilized.
Walking into the greenhouses, we learned a lot about the infrastructure and systems Disney uses for its plants. We walked on a paved path that runs along the wall of the greenhouses. Don’t worry, you won’t walk in any of the sand that many of the plants live in.
Our guide gave us a ton of information and encouraged us to ask questions. We learned about what was currently planted (the plants are changed out frequently – who knew!) and about the many ways Disney grows plants. You can learn a lot about the various systems during the Living with the Land ride, but we got the detailed version. The hydroponic farm is fascinating. We thoroughly enjoyed being able to view all of these unique growing methods up close.
We then got to sample a bit of cucumber grown in the greenhouses. Fresh as fresh can be! Our guide reiterated Disney’s conservation goals, and how they try to reuse and recycle as much as possible. Disney World is a massive place, and while Living with the Land can’t supply all of Disney’s food needs, the greenhouses help. Did you know the greenhouses also help supply food for the animals in Disney’s Animal Kingdom?
Next, we got to check out the fish farm. While we didn’t spend a ton of time by all the fish, we did get to feed them. This was a very fun experience after seeing the tanks countless times on the ride. And those fish were hungry!
Our last activity was a test for our nose. Our guide handed out glass jars and we tried to identify the spice inside. It’s a lot harder than it sounds! Many of the samples are commonly used as ingredients, but identifying them in their raw form is challenging.
At the end of our tour, we stopped by a nice photo spot by a Mickey-shaped tree. Our guide was happy to take pictures on our phones, which left us with a nice memory from the tour. That brought our look Behind the Seeds to an end. We returned our lanyards and listening devices, and went back into the Land Pavilion.
Who Would Enjoy This Tour?
We’ll be honest – the Behind the Seeds tour is not for everyone. You spend about an hour learning about plants while slowly walking through greenhouses. If that doesn’t sound fun to you, or if you find Living with the Land boring, then maybe you should skip this one. We also wouldn’t recommend the tour for younger guests. We’d guess the youngest in our group was in their 20s.
But, if you love learning about plants or just enjoy seeing behind the scenes at Disney World, then this tour is definitely for you.
Overall Thoughts
We really enjoyed the Behind the Seeds tour! It was extremely informative and added a ton of context to all of the plants guests see while on Living with the Land. The tour was $45 plus tax per person, which we still think is a solid value even though that price has increased in recent years. It’s easily the most affordable tour at Disney World.
A word of caution – don’t expect to see a ton of backstage areas during the Behind the Seeds tour. The vast majority of the tour is inside the greenhouses you can see while riding Living with the Land, albeit from a different location. That wasn’t an issue for us, but we could see some people being disappointed there wasn’t more time spent backstage.
Overall, we thought the tour lived up to our expectations. Everyone else in our tour group seemed to enjoy it too. This really is a hidden gem that we’d bet a lot of visitors have no idea exists. It’s affordable (as far as Disney tours go), it’s informative, and it’s fun – if you’re into gardening. We wouldn’t say it’s a must-do if this is your first trip to EPCOT, but we think it’s perfect for frequent Disney World visitors or passionate Disney fans.
Click here to learn more or book a Behind the Seeds tour.
