More information about an emergency evacuation on Living with the Land at EPCOT on October 31 has come to light via a video on social media. Those on board say the issue started almost immediately after the vehicle moved over a small bump in the Walt Disney World Resort attraction’s underwater track, causing water to pour into the front of the boat.
Early reports of the incident surfaced on November 1, when TikTok user @michellewalksdisney, who was riding in the boat behind the sinking vessel, shared a video showing Disney cast members rushing to evacuate guests. In the caption, the rider explained:
“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
Another guest, @finleyfamily, later posted footage taken after their group had already been safely removed from the ride. The video captured water streaming rapidly into the front of the boat. In the caption, the guest wrote:
“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.”
@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
The group reported that the situation escalated when guests in the second row noticed several inches of water pooling around their feet. One of the riders in the front was described as “probably 6.5’,” and his row appeared to be the first to dip dangerously low into the water:
“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.”
With the front of the boat continuing to sink, those on board made the quick decision to leap onto a nearby show platform along the ride path. Fortunately, no one sustained injuries during the incident. The guest concluded:
“Nobody was hurt just scared and wet. Thank goodness!”
Walt Disney World Resort has not publicly commented on the boat malfunction, and the cause of the uneven loading, as described by multiple guests, remains unclear. However, Living with the Land is currently operating normally at EPCOT.
Have you ever evacuated a ride at Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park? Share your story with Disney Dining in the comments!
