Looking Back to Look Forward: The Land

Walking through CommuniCore West, we find ourselves standing in front of The Land pavilion.  

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The Land

It is here that millions of guests have learned about how humans interact with Mother Earth.  The pavilion was originally sponsored by Kraft Foods until 1992 when the sponsorship switched to Nestle.  At six acres in size, The Land pavilion is the largest pavilion at Epcot.

Yesterland

Looking Back

After Tony Baxter left The Land project to work on the Imagination pavilion, it was up to Imagineer Rolly Crump and his team to come up with the new plans for pavilion.  Crump and his team came up with the glass pyramid design that the pavilion has today.  The new plans also featured a mural that represents entering the earth’s core.  The Land featured three attractions when it first opened.  

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One was a boat ride through the greenhouses called Listen to the Land.  In the beginning, the greenhouses were supposed to be a temporary feature.  However, it was later decided they would remain a permanent fixture at the pavilion.  Very little has changed to this attraction since opening day.  The opening scene was changed from a stylized look at the growth of plants to the storm scene, and the Biotechnology Lab was relocated to the Creative Greenhouse.  The ride’s live narration was also replaced with an automated guide and the theme song Listen to the Land was removed.  

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Another attraction at The Land was the Harvest Theater, which was located on the first floor of the pavilion.  From opening to early 1995, the theater featured an 18-minute environmental film called Symbiosis.  The film showed positive and negative aspects of human interactions with the land.  Symbiosis was replaced with the Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable featuring characters from The Lion King.  

Fronterland Station

The final attraction at The Land was The Kitchen Kabaret Revue, an audio-animatronic musical revue and comedy show that focused on nutrition.  The 14-minute show was hosted by Bonnie Appetite who introduced the acts that focused on meat, dairy, grains, and fruits and vegetables.  Kitchen Kabaret featured acts from Stars of the Milky Way, the Cereal Sisters, Hamm & Eggz, and the Colander Combo with the Fiesta Fruit.  It was replaced in 1994 with Food Rocks, which was an updated version of the show meant to draw in younger crowds.

Stuff From the Park

The Land pavilion also featured a large food court on the first level called The Farmer's Market and a rotating restaurant on the second floor called The Good Turn Restaurant.  In the late 1980s, The Good Turn Restaurant was renamed The Land Grille Room, and it would later be renamed to Garden Grille.  In 1994, The Farmer’s Market was replaced with The Sunshine Season Food Fair.

Walt Disney World News

In the early 2000s, The Land underwent a major renovation, which included the addition of Soarin’ Over California as well as some cosmetic updates to the entire pavilion.  Soarin’ was an opening day attraction for Disney’s California Adventure and found it’s way to Epcot during the Year of a Million Dreams.  The attraction was an instant hit at Epcot, and it would (finally) receive a much needed update in 2016 when the attraction changed to Soarin’ Around the World.

WDW Info

Looking Forward

When the Imagineers were designing The Land, they did so with human interaction with the land as its core message.  The pavilion was designed to teach as well as entertain guests about their impact - both positive and negative - on the land.  However, much of that seems to have been forgotten over the years with the exception of Living with the Land, which still holds true to the original theme of the pavilion.

The Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable needs an update so badly it is almost begging for it.  So much has changed in the way of our impact on the land and how we can help the land that it needs to be told more effectively on the big screen.  Disney can use characters from recent movies (Moana talking about the ocean, maybe?) to update the film and bring in new audiences to educate and entertain.

Soarin’ Around the World brings in so many guests a day just for that single attraction, and if there were more for them to do in The Land, they would stay longer.  Having a new film with new characters would be just what The Land needs.  That and a reboot of the Kitchen Kabaret so everyone can learn about veggie veggie fruit fruits.

Walt Disney World

It’s time to make believe we’re a tiny little seed and listen to The Land once again.

Robyn Fleenor is a contributing writer for The Mouse Knows Best Podcast. She is an avid Disney fanatic and would rather be at Walt Disney World eating glazed almonds than anything else.  When she isn't working to pay for her next Disney vacation, she likes to binge watch TV shows and fall in love with fictional characters. She can be found tweeting at @rahrah6263.