On October 31, guests riding Living with the Land at EPCOT found themselves trapped after a boat began taking on water mid-ride. New firsthand accounts suggest the Walt Disney World Resort attraction vehicle may have been “loaded unevenly,” causing the incident that ultimately forced riders to jump onto the nearby show set as cast members rushed to respond. According to guests on social media, the issue began shortly after the boat encountered a small bump in the underwater ride track.
Disney Parks fans first learned something was wrong on November 1, when a TikTok video from @michellewalksdisney revealed that all boats had been halted and riders were escorted off Living with the Land on the day prior. The account wrote:
“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!!”
@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
Now, one of the riders on the sinking boat has detailed their experience in another TikTok video. @finleyfamily shared footage showing water spilling rapidly into the front of the vessel after everyone on board had already safely reached shore.
@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
In the caption, the guest explained that the issue had been evident from the start.
“It felt like we hit a pot hole but we know it’s on a track in the water,” they wrote. “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.”
The group began getting more concerned when the second row started moving their belongings away from the growing pool of water spreading across the floor. One guest in the front row, described as “probably 6.5’,” was among the first to feel the boat dipping lower into the attraction’s waterway. The poster continued:
“The people in the second row had about 4 inches of water they were moving there stuff around and it [alerted] 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.”
Riders chose to leap onto the nearby “stage” area beside the ride path as more water poured into the front of the boat. Fortunately, the guest confirmed that everyone made it out safely.
“Nobody was hurt just scared and wet,” they added. “Thank goodness!”
Walt Disney World Resort has not issued a public statement regarding the malfunction, and it remains unclear what caused the loading imbalance described by multiple guests. Living with the Land had reopened and was operating normally by the time of this article’s publication.
What’s the wildest thing that’s happened during your Walt Disney World Resort vacation? Disney Fanatic would love to hear from you in the comments!
Too many 300 lb whales in the boat.