Most people visit Disney World to meet their favorite character or to experience the grandeur of Cinderella’s Castle first hand, but there is a whole other side to Disney World very few people know about: Backstage tours!

My first trip to Disney World was my senior high school class trip, and fell in love with the educational side of Disney! After college, I accepted an internship ship at The Land Pavilion at EPCOT to be a Plant Science intern and work in the hydroponic show greenhouses. You may be familiar with them, if you ever rode the Living with the Land boat ride.

During my 6 month internship, I gave tours to guests who wanted to go ‘Behind the Seeds’ of hydroponic greenhouses they saw on the boat ride. The tour desk is located near the entrance of Soarin’ (one of the most popular rides at Walt Disney World). On the tour you get to go into the backstage area of EPCOT and experience the greenhouses first hand. The tour guides guests through our entomology lab, then they catch a glimpse of the biotechnology lab, where Mickey’s Gardens are produced (check them out at the tour desk!). From there guests enter into the Creative Greenhouse, and see plants flying high in air and examples of home garden set-ups! The next greenhouse is by far my favorite, the String Greenhouse! I was in charge of this greenhouse during my internship. Take a peek at the cucumber vines…guests may find a hidden Mickey. Here guests get to see plants transformed into trees; most famously the Tomato Tree! Onto to the Temperate Greenhouse; guests enjoy this greenhouse because they get to see pumpkins resting in nets, and maybe even a Mickey pumpkin growing somewhere. Next guests experience the aquaculture area and learn about the different fish that are there and the alligators too! Finally guests end up in the most tropical greenhouse, and are surrounded by banana trees and the smell of pineapples!  This is a great opportunity to ask about anything you saw throughout the tour, the interns are would love to answer your questions! The Behind the Seeds tour is a family friendly experience for all ages, and a great opportunity to get away from the hustle and bustle of the parks for a little bit, and this tour is just the beginning! There are many more backstage tours Walt Disney World has to offer!

Throughout my internship, I visited the parks frequently and know a lot of the hidden gems of Walt Disney World. Like the animation studio at Hollywood Studios! This a great relaxing location, plus you get to draw a character and take it with you! Disney World is always changing to educate and entertain the next generation of Disney goers! So before you book your next trip, think about what you want to learn from it and ask your Starstuff Travel Planner about backstage tours to experience! 

By, Kylie Naylor Starstuff Travel Planner
for more information you can reach Kylie at Kylie@starstufftravel.com