Guests visiting EPCOT can now enjoy the wonderful Living with the Land: Glimmering Greenhouses holiday overlay. While the Living with the Land attraction has had some form of holiday decorations for years, it was only recently that the holiday overlay was given a name and recognized for the excellent experience that it is. We made it out to EPCOT last night to enjoy a few rides and snap some photos of the Glimmering Greenhouses!
2024 Living with the Land Glimmering Greenhouses
During the Festival of the Holidays, the greenhouses in the Living with the Land ride are adorned with holiday decorations, vibrant lights, and themed displays, all nestled among the innovative crops and sustainable farming methods the ride is known for. This seasonal transformation has grown through the years and is a must-do when visiting EPCOT.
Living with the Land Glimmering Greenhouses began in 2019 as the “Merry and Bright Nights” offering. That was the first time that the holiday overlay was marketed as something special for the EPCOT Festival of the Holidays. Merry and Bright Nights returned in 2020 and 2021 before being renamed “Glimmering Greenhouses” in 2022.
While the first half of the ride remains the same, the greenhouse portion of the ride contains the best Christmas lights display at Walt Disney World. Full stop. There are thousands of lights strung throughout every greenhouse room in the second portion of the Living with the Land ride, and I’m honestly a bit shocked that this isn’t more popular. Of course, right now the majority of guests aren’t expecting the Glimmering Greenhouses to be available until November 29th, so go enjoy it while you can!
The best time to ride is after sunset when the lights are best experienced. Once word gets out that the holiday overlay has been activated, wait times can oftentimes be longer at night than during the day. While the displays are available throughout the day, you can only experience the full effect of the stunning Christmas lights after sunset.
Our photo tour of Living with the Land Glimmering Greenhouses starts with the Production & Research Center sign, which has been updated to reflect some of the festive food finds that we’ll spot along the way. As you can see, we’ll be focused on citrus, spice, sweets, and feasts as we move through the various greenhouses. We can already see the illuminated tunnel and some of the Christmas lights ahead!
This first tunnel sets the mood for the rest of the ride, with green and blue Christmas lights shimmering off of the flowing water carrying our boat into the first greenhouse.
As we exit the tunnel, the first greenhouse reveal is stunning from the front row of the boat. We’d recommend waiting for the first row, if you can, for this view alone. Nearly all of the crops have been decorated for the holiday season, and specialty lighting makes this the most colorful time of year.
The snowman is a holiday staple at Living with the Land, and his family has expanded over the years. Note that there is even specialty wrapping paper for the present scattered throughout the attraction.
Moving past the snowmen, there are large ornaments on either side of the river, and the crops are lit beautifully.
Keep reading on the following pages for more photos and information about the Glimmering Greenhouses!