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Credit: Brian Holland, FlickrJust 18 days after the last incident, another boat sank on the Living with the Land attraction in EPCOT at Walt Disney World Resort. On October 31, several guests leaped off the ride after their vessel began tipping forward and taking on water. On November 18, another Disney Park guest shared their experience evacuating one of the ride vehicles after it sank on Tuesday.
Incident on October 31
In early November, multiple Walt Disney World Resort guests shared footage of a boat sinking on the Living with the Land ride at EPCOT. Guests alleged that Disney cast members loaded the boat unevenly, with too many guests in the front, leading to it tipping forward and taking on water.
The first video, from TikTok user @michellewalksdisney, shows a view from behind the sinking boat:
Current situation. Boat in front of me started to sink and all occupants had to evacuate. We ended up chilling in our boat until cast members escorted us off and out the back. And people say living with the land is boring!! 😆 #epcot #livingwiththeland #wdw #fyp #sinkingship
@michellewalksdisney Current situation. Boat in front of me started to sink and all occupants had to evacuate. We ended up chilling in our boat until cast members escorted us off and out the back. And people say living with the land is boring!! 😆 #epcot #livingwiththeland #wdw #fyp #sinkingship
Later, one of the guests on board the Living with the Land ride vehicle, TikTok user @finleyfamily, shared their first-hand experience of the incident. The social media user explained that after the boat started tipping forward and taking on water, the guests attempted to rock it back into position. However, once water spread further into the back of the vessel, they decided to jump off and safely onto the shore.
We were on the ride Living with the Land at Epcot yesterday and it felt like we hit a pot hole but we know it’s on a track in the water. So as we kept going the water up front kept coming in apparently a lot. We were in the back but they loaded the boat heavily upfront we had two rows of empty seats behind us. One of the people in the front was a man who was probably 6.5” we all think it was loaded unevenly. But back to what happened. The people in the second row had about 4 inches of water they were moving there stuff around and it altered us and we could see that the front was so far down/listing…we knew something was wrong so we tried to move to the back of the boat to counter balance it. That didn’t work things started to shift and the boat, because it’s still being moved by the track, started to tilt pretty abruptly and we all felt scared and jumped off of it. Nobody was hurt just scared and wet thank goodness! @MichelleWalksDisney
@finleyfamily We were on the ride Living with the Land at Epcot yesterday and it felt like we hit a pot hole but we know it’s on a track in the water. So as we kept going the water up front kept coming in apparently a lot. We were in the back but they loaded the boat heavily upfront we had two rows of empty seats behind us. One of the people in the front was a man who was probably 6.5” we all think it was loaded unevenly. But back to what happened. The people in the second row had about 4 inches of water they were moving there stuff around and it altered us and we could see that the front was so far down/listing…we knew something was wrong so we tried to move to the back of the boat to counter balance it. That didn’t work things started to shift and the boat, because it’s still being moved by the track, started to tilt pretty abruptly and we all felt scared and jumped off of it. Nobody was hurt just scared and wet thank goodness! @MichelleWalksDisney
Disney cast members evacuated everyone from Living with the Land after this incident occurred, and no one was injured. The attraction eventually reopened, and it’s unclear whether the affected guests were compensated for their experience.
Another Boat Sinks at Disney World
Now, another ride vehicle has sunk at EPCOT. On Tuesday, November 18, Instagram user @magically_michaela4 shared this video after getting stuck on a sinking Living with the Land boat. The footage shows the ride vehicle seemingly as deep in the shallow water as possible, with water rushing in from the steps (usually above water) that help guests step down into the vessel.
Well THAT’S a wrap on another Disney trip 🤦🏻♀️😂😅
Here’s the thing: when you run a property as intricate as Disney does, things are gonna go wrong. It’s pretty much inevitable 🤷🏻♀️
The top things to remember in these situations:
1) Safety is going to be the top priority of CMs, so let them insure everyone is safe before bombarding them with questions. Even if you think you can safely get out of your vehicle, be sure not to until instructed to do so.
2) It’s NOT the fault of the cast members. They are operating the ride as instructed and are going to do their best to make sure it goes smoothly.
3) Once everyone is safe, Disney wants to ensure everyone can go about with their day happily. If you want to go on the ride later, it’s ok to kindly ask for a pass to come back. Very thankful Disney helped us so I didn’t have to spend the rest of the night in wet sneakers! But again kindness is KEY!And if you didn’t get to ride Living with Land last night, sorry I guess we broke it 😅
#disney #disneygirl #disneyap #waltdisneyworld #disneyworld #epcot #livingwiththeland #disneylife
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Following the October incident where guests climbed out of their own Living with the Land ride vehicle, Disney cast members quickly urged guests not to evacuate the boats on their own. The Instagram user encouraged guests in similar situations to be patient, follow instructions, and kindly ask for Lightning Lane passes to return later if riding the broken attraction is a priority.
The video shows Disney Park guests sporting brand-new Disney Christmas Crocs, and the caption confirms that Disney cast members provided riders with vouchers to replace their soaking-wet shoes.
“Once everyone is safe, Disney wants to ensure everyone can go about with their day happily,” the Instagram user concluded. “If you want to go on the ride later, it’s ok to kindly ask for a pass to come back. Very thankful Disney helped us so I didn’t have to spend the rest of the night in wet sneakers! But again kindness is KEY!”
Despite the repeated technical issues, Living with the Land eventually reopened and was operating normally at the time of this article’s publication on Wednesday, November 19. Walt Disney World Resort has not issued a public statement about either incident.
Should Walt Disney World Resort close Living with the Land to investigate potential boat issues? Share your thoughts with Inside the Magic in the comments!