Difference between revisions of "Living with the Land"
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|custom_label_2= FastPass + | |custom_label_2= FastPass + | ||
− | |custom_value_2= Yes | + | |custom_value_2= Yes (Group A) |
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Revision as of 18:49, 30 January 2015
Living with the Land is an attraction within The Land pavilion at Epcot.
Living with the Land | |
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The entrance to Living With the Land | |
Epcot | |
Land | Future World |
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Attraction type | Boat Tour |
Opening date | October 1, 1982 |
Vehicle names | Boat |
Vehicle capacity | 20 |
Ride duration | 14 minutes |
Audio-Animatronics | 40 |
Formally Known As | Listen to the Land (1982-1993) |
FastPass + | Yes (Group A) |
Sponsored by | Kraft (1982-1993) Nestle (1993- 2007) Chiquita Brands International (2011-Present) |
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Contents
Attraction History
The history of what would eventually be known as Listen to the Land began when Kraft announced that it would sponsor The Land pavilion, in Disney's unbuilt theme park: EPCOT Center. Original designs for the pavilion had been created with the idea that a logging company would be sponsoring the pavilion, however when the company pulled out, both the design of the pavilion and the attractions that would be housed within it were changed dramatically. With the focus of the pavilion now on agricultural, Imagineers created an open top boat ride that would take guests through the earth's many habitats, showing man’s effect on them. Still inside their boat, the second half of the attraction would allow guests to tour a working greenhouse that showcased new agricultural technologies and techniques.
During the development of Listen to the Land, two major changes took place. The first was the fact that the greenhouses were added to the attraction permanently (as opposed to being the temporary structures they were originally envisioned as). The second change was addition of a canopy to the boats themselves. When Imagineers decided to add real rain effects to the attraction, the boats were covered. Listen to the Land opened with the rest of The Land pavilion on EPCOT Center’s opening day, October 1, 1982.
Listen to the Land remained unchanged, until Nestle assumed sponsorship of the Land Pavilion in 1993. On September 23, 1993, Listen to the Land was closed for refurbishment (the rest of the pavilion would also be systematically updated over the next year and a half). During the renovation, the Symphony of the Seed opening scene was removed, and the rainforest scene was expanded. Furthermore, an automatic narration was installed for the first half of the attraction, and the ride's theme song "Listen to the Land" was removed. Finally, the Symphony of the Seed recap that concluded the original attraction was taken out and replaced with a collage of people and agriculture from all over the world. On December 10, 1993, the attraction reopened as Living with the Land. Following the changes in 1993, little of note changed with the attraction until 2006. At this time, the boat captains were removed from the attraction and replaced by a new automatic narrator voiced by Mike Brassell. On August 1, 2011 Chiquita Brands International announced it would be sponsoring Living with the Land.
Attraction Plot
Listen to the Land
Listen to the Land began with guests boarding their boats and being greeted by their tour guide. While they loaded, they could hear the attractions theme song, "Listen to the Land" playing in the background. The first scene in the attraction was known as the Symphony of Seed. This scene was a stylistic look at how plants grow and spread. Within the scene, guests could see seeds being blown by the wind while classical music played. Moving out of the Symphony of the Seed, guests entered the rainforest scene. Here, the tour guide explained that in the rainforest, plants had to overcome a lack of light in order to grow. All around them, guests could see lush vegetation and Audio Animatronic animals thriving in the rainforest. After exiting the rainforest, guests entered a dessert. Here, the tour guide would explain to them that although plants faced the threat of sandstorms and a lack of water, they were still able to grow and survive. As an example of this, guests could hear the sandstorm howling, and also see vegetation (such as a cacti) growing.
The third habitat that guests would visit on Listen to the Land was the prairie, where large bison could be seen grazing. Here, the tour guide would explain that the unpredictable weather of the prairies caused problems for the plant life there. Two examples of this unpredictability, wildfire and storms, could be seen in the horizon, as guests traveled through. Moving on from the prairie, the boats passed by a turn of the century farm, as a country version of “Listen to the Land” played. After passing by the farmhouse (which featured a dog lying on the porch), guests entered the Barn Theater. As images of various forms of agriculture were shown in the barn, the tour guide explained to guests that research was continuing to make agriculture more efficient. Examples of this progress included better machines, fertilizers, and seeds. The guide also told guests that much of the food served in Epcot was grown using these techniques.
At this point in the attraction, guests would exit the Barn Theater and enter the research half of Listen to the Land. Now touring the pavilion’s greenhouse, guests would pass by various plants being grown in a tropical atmosphere. Plants located here included: papaya, sugar cane, rice, bananas, pineapple, and vanilla. The next section of the research center focused on "aquaculture”, where fish farming took place. As guests passed by various exotic fish, the tour guide would inform them that many of this fish found here were used in restaurants throughout The Land pavilion.
The final part of the attraction showed new ways in which researchers at The Land were growing food. The first example that guests could see, was cotton and cucumbers that were shown growing in the desert. Further on, guests could see crops growing vertically which was done in order to save space. Other crops in the area were shown growing without soil, and the tour guide would tell guests that researchers were using ladybugs as a pestilent (in order to cut down on chemical use). The last thing that guests could see in the research facilities was future methods of agriculture. Futuristic ideas seen here included ideas for growing food on the moon, and genetically altering crops to make them more nutritious and resistant. Guests could then hear "Listen to the Land" one more time as they passed through the Symphony of the Seed finale, before reaching the unloading area.
If you want to hear "Listen to the Land", click play below:
Living With the Land
In 1993, following Nestle assuming sponsorship of The Land pavilion, Listen to the Land was closed for refurbishment. The attraction reopened later that year as Living With the Land. Living With the Land was almost identical to its predecessor except for a few changes. These changes included:
- The replacement of the Symphony of Seeds with a new storm scene. In this scene, the narrator tells guests that climate changes are sweeping over the land. He then goes on to say that the storm is a new beginning for the land, and that the water combined with sunlight leads to the growth of the planet.
- The rainforest scene was extended
- The finale of the attraction was changed so that it showed various humans standing in front of agriculture. The formal finale, showcasing future agricultural methods was moved to the greenhouse section of the tour.
- The removal of the "Listen to the Land" song from the attraction.
In 2006, Living with the Land was given an automatic narration as opposed to a live tour guide.
Fun Facts and Trivia
- In order to add interest, it was decided to add a mural featuring famous quotes about the environment to Living with the Land's queue. During the development of the mural Marty Sklar suggested that quotes from children should also be included. In order to accomplish this goal, Disney reached out to various children's environmental organizations. Eventually, Saving Earth agreed advertise the mural in its newsletter, and the company received 800 different submissions. Of these submission, the number of quotes was narrowed to the 10 which were chosen.
- The address on the mailbox in farm house scene has the number 1982 on. This is a reference to the year that Epcot opened.
- One tomato plant in the Living With the Land greenhouse, can produce up to 35,000 tomatoes every 16 months.
- The University of Arizona's Environmental Research Lab, acted as a consultant for Listen to the Land's second half.
- Inside of the greenhouse, RFID tags start the automatic narration. The narration is occasionally updated when there are new planting techniques showcased.
References
http://www.lostepcot.com/land.html
http://allears.net/tp/ep/e_land1.htm
http://www.martinsvids.net/?cat=14&paged=3
Pedersen, R.A. The EPCOT Explorer's Encyclopedia:. United States: Epcyclopedia, 2011. Print.