"Just make believe you're a tiny little seed..."

Basic

Centered around argriculture and food, The Land (1982-present) was hosted by Kraft from its opening in 1982 to late 1992. From late 1992 to the late 2000s, it was hosted by Nestle, which spurred many changes. The Land has continually housed two restaurants and three attractions. The Land went through a renovation in the early 90s. It also closed completely in late 2004 for a major renovation. It reopened in early 2005.

Exterior

The Land covers six acres, making it the largest Epcot pavilion. At the front of the pavilion sits a futuristic glass greenhouse. A smaller second glass dome used to be in front of the larger one. This was taken out during The Land's 2004/2005 renovation. Tall palm trees now sit in its place.

The sign at the front of the pavilion used to be diamond-shaped. During the renovation, this sign was replaced by a trapezoid-shaped one with another sign advertising the new Soarin' ride inside.

Food Courts

The Land's food court is located on the lower level of the pavilion, which guests see right after they enter. Floating hot-air balloons and various food stalls have been constants between the three different food courts: Farmers Market, Sunshine Season Food Fair, and Sunshine Seasons.

Farmers Market - Between 1982 and 1993, the food court was called Farmers Market and was decorated more farm-like with browns and oranges. At the center of the area was a large white fountain. Guests would eat at round tables with umbrella canopies. Three hot air balloons hovered under the high ceiling, each representing a food group. They weren't really full of hot air, but suspended from the ceiling.

The eight different food stalls were lined up along the back with a sign displaying the food court's name and a rooster who would crow according to the clock he stood on. As of 1988, the stalls were: barbecue, bakery, potato, soup and salad, sandwiches, cheese, ice cream, and Disney Handwiches. Many of the meals were made with Kraft products.

Sunshine Season Food Fair - Between 1993 and 2004 the food court was called Sunshine Season Food Fair. Food Fair retained some of the same feel of Farmers Market. Differences included: a new darker paint job, ribbons strewn over the glass sky windows, five different hot air ballons representing weather and the seasons, the lack of the crowing rooster, and the food stalls changed. The stalls would retain a few of the old identites like "Barbecue," and also introduce new ones like "Pasta & Potato."

Sunshine Seasons - After The Land's major rehab in late 2004/early 2005, the food court opened as the new Sunshine Seasons. Sunshine Seasons is completely different than its two predecessors. The BBQ, pasta and other favorite options are no longer available. Cold sandwiches and Asian cuisine are now the mainstays.

The fountain has been taken away along with the umbrella tables. The eating area now features sectioned off areas themed to the four seasons. Metal trees are present. The hot air balloons were changed once again - this time the center balloon represents Earth, with the surrounding four balloons representing the four seasons. The ribbons strewn along the glass changed to yellows instead of the dark purples/blues of Food Fair. Overall, the current food court has a brighter color scheme than Food Fair.

Junior Chef

Situated near the food court, Junior Chef invited younger guests to don a chef hat and make Nestle Toll House Cookies. The guests always got free freshly baked cookies after the experience. Junior Chef ended in early 2008.

The Revolving Restaurant

Situated on a giant revolving platform on the first level is The Land's sit down restaurant. The restaurant turns giving guests a view of the boat ride as well as the food court. This restaurant was originally called the Good Turn Restaurant (1982-1986), then it became the Land Grille Room (1986-1993), and today it is called the Garden Grill.

The Good Turn featured breakfast, lunch, and dinner with regional American dishes, wines, and spirits. The Land Grille Room featured all-American breakfasts, regional American pizzas, sandwiches, steak, poultry, and fresh seafood. These items could be ordered in full entree or sample portions. The current Garden Grill features a home style buffet with characters Chip and Dale.

Harvest Theater

Located on the first level, Harvest Theater housed the film Symbiosis from 1982 until 1995. Symbiosis, an 18 minute film, explored technological progress in the environment and the partnership between people and the land.

In 1995 the film was replaced by Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable starring Lion King's Timon, Pumbaa, and Simba. Circle of Life, a 20 minute film, shows many of the dangers facing the environment and the responsibility people have to take to preserve the land.

The Boat Ride

Listen to the Land, a narrated boat ride, sailed through different environments and prototype growing areas with innovations to improve harvesting. Plants and fish are grown here that feed many of the Epcot restaurants. Listen to the Land sailed from 1982 to 1993 when it was renamed to Living with the Land. The name change also brought new beginning and ending scenes, a new soundtrack, and new narrations.

Listen to the Land - Listen to the Land was narrated by a live Cast Member at the head of the boat. At the beginning of the ride, the boats would go through the "Symphony of the Seed" segment. Here, light and sculpted elements would give the illusion of seeds and plants growning. The song "Listen to the Land" was heard here. After this area, the boat ride continues through the different climate areas and the greenhouses like in the current version.

The original names for the various greenhouses were (in ride-through order): Tropics House, Aquacell, Desert House, Production House, and Creative House. No longer in the current version, was a revolving drum display. The huge drum would spin rows of lettuce around, giving them a gravitational force. This was a method which could be used in space.

Living with the Land - For the new version, the "Symphony of the Seed" segment was replaced by a new rainforest scene. New crop growing feats like the tomato tree are also in this current version.

Living with the Land would retain the live narrators until circa 2008. The ride now has a prerecorded spiel about the greenhouses. Circa 2003, boats were taken out of the ride to make the fleet somewhat smaller. Also at this time, FastPass was introduced to the ride. Currently, FastPass is rarely in operation at the ride.

Tours

Since its opening, there has been a greenhouse tour at The Land. The first tour was called Tomorrow's Harvest (a.k.a. the Harvest Tour). On the walking tour, guests would be guided by members of The Land's professional agriculture staff through the greenhouses.

The name would change to Greenhouse Tours in 1993, and later change to the current name Behind the Seeds in 1996.

Audio-Animatronics Food Shows

Located to the left, when entering the food court, used to be the theater for the two Audio-Animatronics shows: Kitchen Kabaret and Food Rocks.

Kitchen Kabaret - Kitchen Kabaret would run from 1982 to 1994. It was a 14 minute Audio-Animatronics stage show lead by Bonnie Appetite and included acts of the Stars of the Milky Way, the Cereal Sisters, Hamm & Eggz, and the Colander Combo with the Fiesta Fruit. The show's introduction was sung by Bonnie with the the Kitchen Krackpots playing their instruments. All of the characters would come out and sing the big finale. In all, 28 Audio-Animatronics made up the group. The lobby area had a brick building motif, showing billboards of the acts inside the theater.

When Nestle took over in late 1992, Mr. Mayonnaise was repainted as Mr. Tomato Sauce, with the other Kitchen Krackpot members being repainted as well. In early 1994, Kitchen Kabaret was closed to make way for a new show called Food Rocks. Kitchen Kabaret will forever be remembered with its most famous song "Veggie Veggie Fruit Fruit."

Food Rocks - Food Rocks opened in 1994 and was themed around rock 'n' roll, with many of its characters impersonating real singers and musicians. Whereas Kitchen Kabaret had fully sculpted animatronics, the majority of Food Rock's animatronics were flatter with less dimension.

Led by Fud Wrapper (a nutrition wrapper), the show had 12 acts: The U-Tensils, The Peach Boys, The Refrigerator Police, Pita Gabriel, Fud Wrapper, Keep it Lean, Tuti Fruiti, Neil Mousaka, Chubby Cheddar, The Junk Food, Moderation (Just a Little Bit), and a finale. The lobby area featued billboards and a small hands-on nutrition area with smell boxes. Food Rocks shut down in 2004, forever ending the Audio-Animatronics food shows.

The Shop

The Land's shop was located right next to the the food shows. In both of its incarnations it sold seeds.

Broccoli & Co. - Broccoli & Co. would last from 1982 to 1993. It was themed around its neighbor Kitchen Kabaret. It sold various Kitchen Kabaret items, such as stuffed toys (plush), jewelry, kitchenware, and pins.

Green Thumb Emporium - The Green Thumb Emporium was very similar to Broccoli & Co., except that it would lack the Kitchen Kabaret merchadise once the show changed to Food Rocks. There would hardly be any Food Rocks merchandise here, though. The Green Thumb would close during The Land's 2004/2005 renovation and no new large store would take its place.

Soarin'

During the 2004/2005 renovation, the Kitchen Kabaret/Food Rocks area and the shop would be transformed into the queue area for the new Soarin' ride.

Soarin' (a hang-glider simulation ride from Disney's California Adventure) would open in 2005. A large hangar-like building was built to house the attraction with a queue tunnel connecting it to The Land. The whole Land pavilion is now centered around Soarin'. This is reflected in the clean-lined sterile atmospere in the Sunshine Season food court.

A small counter shop was introduced to the Soarin' area sometime after it opened. The shop would grow to also include a rack or two of Soarin' shirts and candy.

Created April 2001
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