Nature-Inspired Design Segway Tour

Discover the wonder of nature-inspired design as you glide through land, sea and air at Epcot. This 3-hour backstage tour allows you to experience the symbiotic relationship between nature and the nature-inspired designs incorporated into Epcot pavilions and attractions. Glide over California on Soarin’, tour the greenhouses at The Land pavilion, explore The Seas with Nemo & Friends and visit Life Support scientists to learn how technology helps us maintain a better balance with nature.

After completing a required product overview and training, you will be equipped with a helmet and a Segway Personal Transporter X-2 to experience this unique off-road tour. Epcot Cast Member scientists share how their work environments are inspired by nature’s own design and how they use evolving technologies to maintain a balance with the world around them. After experiencing “air, land and sea” you will have the opportunity to ride your Segway X-2 in a designated off-road backstage area at Epcot.

Time & Location : 8:15am Tu & Sa on the following select dates: 3/6, 3/27, 4/10, 4/24, 5/5, 5/15, 6/5, 6/19 and 7/3. This tour will be discontinued July 2012.

Note: Reviews for other Epcot tours mentioned it was hard to enter through the International Gateway entrance before park opening.  Guests entering the park before opening through the normal entrance, can enter through the turnstiles on the far left side.

Duration: 3 hours

Cost: $129 + tax (Discounts Available: AAA Diamond, AP, DVC, Disney VISA)

Theme Park Admission: Required

Park Visited: Epcot

Includes: Pin (At least one reviewer said they received a Nemo & Friends-themed Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund pin, not a tour-specific pin)

Sample Tour Content*:

• Indoor Segway training session
• Segway in an off-road area behind Epcot
• Ride Soarin’
• Tour green houses in the Land Pavilion (same area seen as on the Behind the Seeds tour)
• Explore The Seas with Nemo & Friends Pavilion & visit with a Life Support scientist

*Disney’s tour schedules and content can change at any time due to a variety of factors. Rest assured, if for some reason the tour can’t or doesn’t go to one of the stops you’ve read about here or on other websites, your Tour Guide still has plenty of magic up their sleeves to make sure you have a wonderful tour experience.

Maximum Group Size: 10

Listening Devices Available: No

Hearing Disabilities: Yes

Wheelchair Accessible: No

Requirements:

• Guests must be 16+
• Guests under 18 must a parent or guardian sign their waiver at the beginning of the tour (but the parent/guardian does not have to accompany them on the tour)
• Guests must weigh between 100-250 lbs
• Riders should be in good health and able to stand for the duration of the tour
• Not for women who are pregnant

Photography Restrictions: No photography is permitted during the backstage portion of this tour.  Guests can take photos in the green house as that is considered onstage.

Bag Storage: Per discussion with Disney, no storage is provided for guest’s bags while they are on the tour.  There are small storage bags on the Segways, but if you have a large volume of “stuff”, consider getting a locker.

Additional Notes: This is an outdoor tour – dress appropriately, wear suncreen & good shoes.  In the event of rain or other weather which prevents the use of Segways outdoors, Disney will provide a 50% refund for this tour.  Guests will still complete the first hour of the tour, which consists of an indoor Segway training session.

Book: Call (407) WDW-TOUR (407-939-8687)

DTR has not yet reviewed this tour. For now, check out the Other Tour Reviews & Links section below.

You can also find other DTR posts about the Nature-Inspired Design tour here.

• AllEars.net Guest Blogger Review by Ashley Livingston from April 2011.

• AllEars.net Reader Reviews 5 reviews, latest from April 2011. Includes a review from from a guest who has done two other Disney Segway tours.  Also, one reviewer’s comments on an intern leading the green house tour is similar to our experience on Behind the Seeds (which is lead by the same group of interns/College Program Cast Members).

• Extra Walt Disney World Magic Review by Nora from April 2010.  Nora includes plenty of spoilers in her review.  We have not been on this tour yet – but it sounds like a light version of Behind the Seeds & UnDISCOVERED Future World on Segways.

• If you are interested in reading more reviews about Segway Tours at Epcot, check out our Around the World tour and Simply Segway pages.

• If you want to read reviews about another tour that uses the same off-road Segway X-2 vehicle used on Nature-Inspired Design, check out our Wilderness Back Trail Adventure page.

• None yet!  Know of any podcasts that discuss Epcot’s Nature-Inspired Design tour?  Let us know at DisneyTourReviews@gmail.com