Sometimes a Disney Dad needs to get things wrong before getting things right. Here’s how I learned to love Living with the Land.
EPCOT has changed a lot since my family and I took our first Disney World adventure, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the gentle cadence of that floating science-fair project that is Living with the Land. What is different is that I have learned that this is a good thing and that Living with the Land is the most underrated ride in EPCOT for Dads that need a break.
A Cozy Cruise on Living with the Land
“Cruise past greenhouses on a gentle boat tour and discover the surprising history of farming,” the write-up promised, and it didn’t exactly sound exciting. It was early in the morning on our first-ever visit to EPCOT, and we were fresh from rope-dropping Soarin’, which shares the Land pavilion with the boat ride. It didn’t seem like a quiet break was what we really needed at the start of the day, but we were right there, so we climbed aboard and…
…Both kids fell asleep. We weren’t even out of the rainforest yet when my son snuggled up to my side and nodded off, and it was the same story on the other side. As a brand-new Disney Dad looking to Win Vacation, it was not a strong beginning for Living with the Land.
Living with the Land Hidden Mickeys
On our next Disney trip I gave Living with the Land another try, or at least I thought I did. The truth is that I was still looking for this gentle boat tour to be something that it wasn’t. As we were boarding I told the kids that I had heard there were a bunch of Hidden Mickeys on this ride, and that they should let me know if they found any and we’d see who could find the most. And there it was, the moment that I dropped the ball by engaging their competitive streaks. All through the hydroponics labs and aquaculture experiments they reported a steady stream of mostly (or possibly entirely) imagined Hidden Mickeys, to the exclusion of anything else.
Photo by WDW Magazine Photography Team
They did have fun, (or at least stayed awake) though they were extremely dubious when I proclaimed a tie in the Mickey search. The fact is, though, they hadn’t really experienced the ride (nor, I imagine, had anyone seated nearby.)
Let the Land be the Land
It was a few years before we got back to Living with the Land. EPCOT had changed quite a bit, and so had we. The new attractions meant our priorities were different in terms of what needed to get checked off early in the day, and we were no longer hitting Soarin’ first thing in the morning. Most of all, having a bit of a quiet sit-down for 10 minutes or so didn’t seem like a crazy idea anymore. Of course it seemed like an entirely new ride, even if the projects of the “EPCOT Scientists” didn’t seem to have made a lot of progress.
“I don’t remember Living with the Land being that interesting,” my daughter said as she climbed out of the boat. I didn’t mention that she hadn’t really ridden it properly before. And I certainly didn’t mention that it was my fault.
Underrated No More
These days we always ride Living with the Land. It’s easy to say that we grew into it, but the truth is that I had just misunderstood it. I was looking for something to excite, to entertain… to do something for us or to us, but the truth is much simpler. It’s something that Living with the Land gives us. A gift. Wrapped up in that Old-School EPCOT earnestness is a chance to get off my feet and out of the hot sun for a bit, and to have a quiet moment with my three favorite people, which is a harder thing to come by than it once was.
That’s the gift that Living with the Land gives to those who are ready to receive it, as the most underrated ride in EPCOT for dads who need a break.
