First off, let me just say that I never thought one of the best parts about a Walt Disney World trip would be a one hour tour about plants. Seriously.

But it was. That’s right, the Behind The Seeds tour at Epcot was one of the coolest things I’ve done at Walt Disney World besides meeting Mickey Mouse. And it’s only $20.00 for adults – which is probably cheaper than whatever god awful Disney swag you’ll probably regret purchasing later when you come home with bags full of Mickey Mouse – EVERYTHING. Check out all of my photos from the tour and consider it next time you visit Disney World!

Good friends at the Mickey Mouse pepper (pepper grows on trees, what???) tree. Sarah, Kathleen, and Alexis – click on their names to see their blogs! One of the coolest things – see photos below – were aquaponics. These awesome plants are grown by FISH POOP! Check out these tilapia that are swimming around helping to grow these plants! Also, don’t you love the bottom photo? See that one in the top left? He’s my soul mate – I make the face often. These guys work so hard to grow plants for Disney World to use at their top restaurants! Imagine that – grown in fish poop! I got so excited about this, that I was inspired to investigate my own aquaponics using Back to the Roots fish tank water garden!

Also, I got to see baby alligators. Okay, I honestly don’t remember why we saw these guys on the tour. Do they do anything with plants? I’m not sure, but they were super adorable and I could have sat all day and watched them if the “fish farm” room we were at didn’t smell SO awful – as there were a trillion tilapia in the tank next to it. There was also a few huge shrimp, and honestly it made me never want to eat shrimp again. I met my meat and I was not impressed.

We saw all sorts of grain grown – sorghum, millet, even wheat! There were also a ton of melons and odd ball fruit that I would probably have never seen in real life without taking this tour. I thought that seeing plants, fruits, and veggies growing would be so boring – but it was fascinating to see them on trees, how they grew (From the ceiling! From the ground! In the air!) , and how Disney could modify them (yes, pumpkins and cucumbers shaped like Mickey Mouse).

We also got to check out a few of the working labs with the horticulturists and entomologists. They are studying wasps and parasites that destroy plants, and how to breed beneficial predators to help keep the “pests” down. While kids may not enjoy these parts because there’s not much to see, it’s pretty cool to see actual work being done with insects at Disney World. It’s a real life BUGS movie!

And yes, when you walk to the quick service restaurant as soon as you leave the tour, you can pick up these SPECIAL DIET TREATS! Check out these Enjoy Life Foods, Way Better Snacks, and Surf Sweets treats! So amazing to see these all over at Walt Disney World!

Thanks again to Sarah for the invite to this from FACCWDW! You can visit her blog here at GF DF WDW.

Tagged: Behind The Seeds, Behind the Seeds Tour, FACCWDW, Walt Disney World