For several months now, the world has been dealing with a mysterious, unseen virus. So it is only fitting that we devote an entire article to a mysterious, unseen detail that we discovered in the Living with the Land barn.
It is almost impossible to state just how meaningless this detail is. It’s extreme overkill. A Steve Jobs-level obsession with making the inside of the machine just as beautiful as the outside.
The Living with the Land barn scene at Epcot is a mere transition. Riveting 10-second movie clips about crop rotation flash across the walls. It’s where you leave the animatronic set pieces behind and enter the greenhouse of the future.
So obviously we’ll focus on the clever way they hide the air conditioning ducts.
Already you don’t believe me. This must be one of those silly Parkeology jokes, like when we made fun of Disney’s dance parties or overstayed our welcome in a clap box.
But no, we’re the same guys who track down long-forgotten parking spaces at Animal Kingdom and over-analyze Stupid Judy’s Jeopardy score (seriously, that one was really cool).
Which leads us back to air conditioning.
You remember the Living with the Land barn scene, right? It’s a literal barn. It comes right after your boat floats past animatronic goats and a chicken that is way too loud for some reason.
On your left is a farmhouse. The mailbox reads “B. Jones #82,” which is itself one of those entry-level hidden details people like to find. But that’s child’s play for Parkeologists.
Also don’t get distracted by the farmhouse itself, which hides another great Parkeology discovery that’s not even visible from the boat ride.
No, you keep your head turned to the right. And ignore the goats.
As you enter the Living with the Land barn, you can tell right away that things are a-changin’. The on-boat narrator goes silent while a female narrator takes over, talking about natural predators like ladybugs and wasps.
All the movie screens are on your left. Don’t look at them! They are a classic magician’s trick to misdirect you from the real magic of the air conditioning vents.
The barn itself is well-themed. There are wooden lofts, mid-century farming implements, wagon wheels. They kind of overdid it, really. It’s like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but Amish.
They’re just shadows in the background, illuminated only by small orange embers. 99% of the riders are missing this, you understand. Their eyes are glued to those screens.
You should ignore it too. It is fool’s gold compared to the real theming treasure.
By the time you exit the Living with the Land barn, the ride has made a solid transition from animatronic storytelling to a real-life technology showcase. It’s hot in here, because it’s a greenhouse. And already you’re missing that cool Epcot air-conditioning with the distinct Epcot air conditioning smell.
And you did miss it! You have to rewind — all the way back through the barn to just before you’re about to enter, with that big barn facade in front of you and that goat bleating in your ear.
Let’s hope your night vision is up to the task. The entryway to the Living with the Land barn is in complete darkness, with only ambient light from the farmhouse behind or the screens ahead. It’s your very own Tunnel of Love, heightening the anticipation for your deep-seated romantic feelings about seawater irrigation.
But you are, after all, in a barn.
So the Imagineers have cleverly added three fake grain chutes leading down from the loft to the ground level, where they terminate in boxy feed cribs. The cribs are covered over by metal grates. If you look closely, you can see that they actually disguise the air conditioning ducts.
Gasp, if you must. Revel in this obsessive attention to detail. The concealment of air conditioning ducts in a pitch-black fake barn is the very height of Disney magic.
But this — I say again, this — is not the detail we care about.
Think about all the grain chutes you have observed in your life. We’re all experts by now. We’re not going to buy into this grain chute sham willy nilly.
We know about gravity. Any loose grain trickling down from the loft of a barn into a chute (that may or may not contain an air conditioning duct) is bound to spill just a little bit — especially if said chute is only sealed off by a metal grate.
And that accounts for the tiny piles of loose grain accumulating at the base of each chute.
This isn’t the first time Disney has added simulated piles of grit into an attraction. Avatar Flight of Passage contains extensive examples of this. But to put this detail into the Living with the Land barn is beyond obsession. Maybe there’s something in the water that causes all the weirdness on this ride. I mean, we’re talking about a ride that recently treated guests to a special backwards version, all on its own.
So, just to recap:
- You need a theater for your screens about crop rotation, so you create a fake barn.
- Now you need to hide the AC vents, so you create fake grain chutes in a darkened area of the fake barn, where nobody is even looking.
- Because fake grain chutes would leave behind trails of fake grain, you create little rubber piles at the base of each chute.
Not big piles, mind you. Tiny piles. Basically it would look like those vaunted Disney sweeper people are slacking off — if anybody ever turned on the work lights.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what Parkeology has been focusing on for the last six months.
Oh my gosh, I have not seen this post until today and it is giving me Disney thrills and chills. This is the emotional equivalent of squirming beetles under your butt at Tough To Be A Bug. This is the content that bounces on my head throughout the day, and will be on my mind when I can’t sleep. This is why your site is so fun and unique. Thanks for sharing your weird gifts with the world and I will definitely be sitting on the right side of the boat next time I get out there!
As well it should! It’s possibly the most important piece of Disney news of last year!
Missed you guys.
This felt like classic parkeology stuff.
Something thats sorely been lacking in this strange year.
Also can’t stop laughing at the comments for this one. Some newbies here that haven’t quite adjusted to your sense of humor yet.
In addition to the obvious anagram, my hot take is that B. Jones is a reference to Barnaby Jones, the beloved detective from the 1970’s tv series of the same name. Barnaby Jones was, of course, played by Buddy Ebsen, who, among other things, performed a soft-shoe dance for Walt Disney, which provided the basis for an early prototype of Audio Animatronics. As likely as not, both Buddy Ebsen and Barnaby Jones would have grown up on a farm not unlike the one in Living with the Land, playing among the piles of loose grain at the base of the chutes. On the other hand, maybe it’s just the anagram…
Disney World is full of surprises and hidden objects that’s no secret. To find them is half the fun!
Someone really should create a blog or website or something about all those!
Well- Living with the Land is one of my favorites, each time I ride through the greenhouses I learn & see new things. The Seed Tour is great too .
The number of people who didn’t get the anagram joke is killing me softly
I’m questioning all of my life choices right now.
#82 …when the park opened in 1982
There’s sneaky Disney trivia hidden in those scrolling movies inside the barn too. Walt and his siblings appear in at least one home pic. Look closely at the pic of the kids with the wagon for a young Walt.
I will definitely be looking for this one!
Must be nice to be able to afford to go to Disney world. Maybe if I won the lottery I could probably afford to go… once.
$7.99 for a friggin hot dog. Really?? (I’ve seen YouTube videos that show some menu prices). Disney world has their stuff marked up 3x the normal price. For 3 days, with tickets, food, drink, and souvenirs, I guarantee you are spending between $1000 and $1500. That’s ridiculous. You practically have to be rich as hell to even afford it.
No thanks. And okay you get a few pictures, get a few memories, then you get home and you stand there thinking, wow that was expensive as hell. And sure you have some souvenirs but in the end it’s just back to business as usual. Then a month later your parked car on the street is hit by a drunk driver, completely totaled, guess what?? You’re out $1500 cause you just had to go to Disney world. Damn.
Guess it really wasn’t worth going to Disney world after all, was it???
I could not agree with Harry more. Clearly Harry is wise and well informed.
Disney is a scam! $8 for a hot dog?!? I can buy an entire package of dogs from Aldi for $2! The overpriced Disney dogs don’t even use sour dough buns. Are we all Bill Bezos or Oscar Musks?!? I don’t think so.
Also Epcot is a palindrome that means “Hulk Rules” FACT! Look it up!
The next time I have $500 for a week long family vacation you can bet that I will NOT be eating lobsters and sweet breads at the Grand Floridian. I’ll be taking my business down the street to Gatorland thank you very much.
Plus my freezer just broke, thanks Disney!
I have reflected on what I originally said and have come to the realization that I a a big dumb jackass.
I mean how could I go to a forum dedicated to the love of theme parks and just complain about the very thing this site is dedicated to? Do I just hate that people are enjoying something and because they have joy in their lives and I have to point out why they shouldn’t have this joy? I mean I just built this entire weird imaginary timeline in my head just to be mad….what the hell is wrong with me?
Maybe it’s just sour grapes, maybe my Dad didn’t hold me enough as a child and any form of contentment is uncomfortable now… Either way I apologise and will try my best to not be a that type of guy that just makes sure everyone around me is as miserable as I am.
You can bring food into the parks and not have to buy the expensive food there. A LOT of people, including myself bring strollers, yes, strollers meant for children, into the parks with a foldable, soft ice chest (you cannot bring ice, but you can bring cold packs). I have drinks and sandwiches in them. I put my ice chest on the seat of the umbrella stroller and any souvenirs I buy go on the stroller, too. I’m not carrying anything. I don’t stay on Disney property – there are dozens of quality places to stay that are less expensive.
It is possible to have a great time and not go bankrupt in the process.
This is a fantastic idea!
When I visit the parks (the big ones like Gatorland or Miracle Strip Amusement Park) and don’t want to be ripped off I always bring my “baby”. The baby is actually a life-sized doll, they think it is an infant so NO CHARGE! I carry the baby in a Baby Bjorn style chest carrier. Little do the suckers know that she is totally hollow! I pop the head off and fill her with various foodstuffs. This could be a hearty beef stew for those chilly winter nights or perhaps a fresh cold gazpacho for a refreshing summer break. Regardless of what I fill “baby” with it means I am eating for free! Not paying ridiculous Gatlorland prices for hot dogs.
Your stroller idea fits with my baby theme perfectly! Now I can eat all day, breakfast lunch, and dinner! With a little pre-planning and I guess you really can beat the system.
The next time my sleep pack goes out I will be able to fix it because of these tips and tricks. This is why I love this blog!
What a whiny little bitch you are. Ok, we get it, you cant afford disney, why spend your time bitching and moaning about it? Go to gator land, no one gives a fuck.
For everyone who thinks we don’t know what year Epcot opened or what an anagram is, I think you might be new to Parkeology. Glad you found us! We have a weird and often sarcastic sense of humor. I hope you check out some of our older articles!
82 was the year EPCOT opened. How do you get an anagram of EPCOT from BJONES?
Not sure what you think an anagram is but BJONES is not one for Epcot
So you know what BJONES is about but not 82? I hope that is a joke haha
You said you don’t know what that 82 on the mailbox mean. Duh. The year EPCOT opened 1982.
1. For Halloween, they should a figure that looks like Norman Bates’s mother from Psycho in that upstairs window or maybe an animayronic of Michael Meyers with a big knife.
2. You mentioned your formal article about Disney dance parties. I recently downloaded the album “The Walt Disney Legacy Collection – Disneyland” which has this wonderful gem on it.
https://youtu.be/Nhx3SAMiQ_0
Okay so I can’t type. First paragraph should say Disney should “add a figure” and the second paragraph should say “you mentioned your former article…”
You may think I am joking, but I actually love Let’s Dance at Disneyland. They would actually have planned Date Nite events back in the 50s and 60s, with real name acts.
And if there was a Halloween version of Living with the Land (“Dying with the Land” ha ha ha!), I’d ride it.