How Walt Disney World’s Farm Grows the Most Magical Produce on Earth
In partnership with: Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, is known for being many things: The place where dreams come true. The place where magic lives. The place where you can eat as much dessert as you want because you spend so much time walking. (See: the place where dreams come true.)
But did you know that it’s also the place where innovative farming technology is developed?
To see this technology in action, ride the monorail over to Epcot, Disney’s theme park dedicated to experimentation and innovation. Epcot has a whole pavilion that focuses on humanity’s interaction with the earth, and it’s not just for show. There are 2.5 million square feet of active greenhouses on Epcot’s property, which produce much of the food served in the park’s restaurants while providing a space for scientists to research, test and utilize new high-yield indoor plant growing techniques.
There’s even a ride about it. (We’re talking about Walt Disney World, after all.) Living with the Land is a soothing 13-minute boat ride that takes you through a thunder-shaken forest, a blustery desert and the pastoral slopes of an American farm to showcase how people are making agriculture more efficient and environmentally friendly. The second half of the tour takes you directly into Disney’s “Living Laboratory,” where you can float through Epcot’s lush greenhouses to see exactly where those Mickey-shaped cucumbers in your salad came from.
Here are a few of the amazing agricultural technologies you can see for yourself on your next trip to the most magical place on earth.
Vertical Growing Techniques (Not Just for Beanstalks Anymore!)
What if there were a way to increase food production while using less water, less fertilizer, fewer pesticides and even less space? At Disney, this isn’t just fantasy. Traditional growing methods require huge, horizontal plots of land, but at Epcot, produce is climbing upward to achieve this dream. Plants are grown vertically using either stacked gardens or specialized trellises that allow crops to reach gravity-defying heights. Produce grown in this way uses a fraction of the space required by conventional methods, saving water and increasing yields.
Hydroponics, Aeroponics and Aquaponics – Oh My!
Another groundbreaking way to grow food more efficiently is to grow it without the ground. Seriously. Hydroponics is a method of growing plants using just water and nutrients, and Disney uses this technology throughout their greenhouses.
Aeroponics is another form of dirt-free farming you’ll see at Epcot. It’s similar to hydroponics, but instead of feeding the plants with a stream of water, their roots dangle free in the air and are periodically sprayed with a fine mist of atomized nutrients. If you think this sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, you’re not far off. Epcot has partnered with NASA to pioneer new ways of growing food aeroponically since it’s exactly the sort of technology that could be used for a long-term space mission.
Food for the Young and the Young at Heart
Not every agricultural innovation at Walt Disney World is used to outshine nature or send humans to space. Some of it’s just for fun!
One of the most popular attractions on Living with the Land is the Mickey-shaped pumpkin. Growing a pumpkin with two round ears isn’t especially high-tech – you just grow a regular pumpkin inside of a plastic Mickey-shaped mold – but the effect is spectacularly whimsical.
Another sight to behold is Disney’s famous nine-pound lemon. While most of these lemons weigh exactly what you’d think – around nine pounds – they’ve been known to get even bigger. In 2011, Disney broke another world record with a lemon that weighed 15.05 pounds.
This brings us to the end of our agricultural journey, which just happens to be the best part: eating. Disney serves between 20 and 30 tons of their own produce in their restaurants every year, including nearly 5,000 pounds of fish.
So next time you’re enjoying the Chip ‘n’ Dale Harvest Feast at Garden Grill or the Land Greens Salad at Artist Point, you can savor your meal a little more knowing it was grown with innovative farming technology that borders on magic.
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I went on the ride at the land and was so surprised how well the vertical plants grew would love to research this more. Whoever is taking care of it is doing a great job and I love the hidden Mickeys
When you update this to the latest technology you can grow food in one fifth the space and only 2% as much water with no fertilizer run-off.
Walt Disney was a genius.
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Alfred Schrader
[…] to Farm Flavor, there are 2.5 million square feet of active greenhouses on EPCOT’s property. These greenhouses […]
[…] to Farm Flavor, there are 2.5 million square feet of active greenhouses on EPCOT’s property. These greenhouses […]
Im actually doing a paper & speech on the History of Urban Farming. My speech ends describing how Disney has adapted this type of farming and is the leading innovator in this type technology. I cant wait to come visit at the end of this month.
you have to do the behind the seeds tour!!!
Everytime we go to Disney, this is a must-do ride for me. I am trying to get my little garden to do better. My tomatoes refuse to die (not that I’m trying to kill them but they have over run everything). I am seriously looking at the doing the tomato tree and would love to try the aquaponics (hydro is too expensive and I have not time nor money). I really want to experiment with Disneys techniques
I had tomatoes also and they ran over everything else in my little garden too. I’m looking at doing a tomato tree. We live in a neighborhood where we have limited space so my garden is very small and saw the tomato tree and said “That’s it!” I also want to try aquaponics and the vertical gardens.
I wish you could order the Mickey Shaped pumpkins in the fall, I just love this concept. Please make shipping available. There’s nothing like a real pumpkin in the fall verses plastic! Just a thought and thank you!☺️
[…] is working to make the world happier and healthier. All of this agricultural magic happens inside 2.5 million square feet of greenhouses at Disney’s Epcot theme park, where over 30 tons of produce is grown and harvested […]
[…] Land Pavillion has 2.5 million square feet of greenhouses growing to produce supplied to many restaurants on-site. You can explore these greenhouses with […]
[…] How Walt Disney World’s Farm Grows the Most Magical Produce on …May 2, 2018 … Hydroponics, Aeroponics and Aquaponics – Oh My! Another groundbreaking way to grow food more efficiently is to grow it without the ground. […]
[…] Land, a 2.5 million-square-foot pavilion dedicated to human interaction with the earth, is home to one of Epcot’s most popular rides, Soarin’ Around the World. But […]
Loved what I saw. I went on the ride 3 times last week (January 1-8, 2023) to see how they do it. Amazing! Am going to learn more about it. My question: Is it economically feaseable for the every day small garden person?