Walt Disney World ® is known for many things – Mickey Mouse, the international Food and Wine Festival, thrill rides, animal shows, and its year-round magic. But there’s one thing we don’t normally think about when we think Walt Disney World ® - record-breaking but we certainly should. The Orlando theme park has been busy breaking world records and making Guinness World Record history since 2006, and in ways you’d never imagine! From gigantic plants to the longest handshake, here’s how Walt Disney World ® made it into the Guinness Book of World Records:

Most tomatoes harvested from one plant in one year – Epcot ® got its first Guinness Book record in April 2006 when a single tomato plant in one year harvested 32,194 tomatoes! The plant weighed 1151.84 pounds! The tomato plant is at the Epcot ® Science project at Walt Disney World ®.

Largest cucumber plant – That same year in July, the park entered a cucumber plant that covered an area of 610.31 feet. Not surprisingly, it won the award for the largest cucumber plant.

Most cucumbers harvested from one plant in one year – Also in July of 2006, Epcot ® took home another world record for their massive plants. This time it was the cucumber that earned them recognition when a 2,078-pound cucumber plant harvested 2,563 cucumbers! The cucumber plant is also at the Epcot ® Science project.

World’s Heaviest Lemon – In 2011, the team at The Land attraction harvested their largest lemon yet from the living laboratories Nine Pound Lemon Trees. The lemon weighed in at 15.05 pounds, which was a record for The Land. And, a second lemon from the same tree weighed 12 pounds. These two lemons were so large they even outweighed the “World’s Heaviest Lemon” currently listed on the Guinness World Record website. In 2003 Aharon Shemoel from Israel harvested an 11 pound 9.7 ounce lemon. The lemon’s circumference was 29 inches and 13.7 inches high. Shemoel’s lemon is still listed as “World’s Heaviest Lemon.”

Largest tomato plant – In 2007, Disney ® broke largest fruit records one more time with their massive tomato plant that covers an area of 610.63 feet at the Epcot ® Science project. The plant was measured on March 27, 2007.

The incredible plant was discovered by Yong Huang, Epcot’s ® manager of agricultural science at The Land pavilion while vacationing in Bejing, China. After meeting with scientists responsible for the plant, Huang brought its seeds to Epcot ® and created a special greenhouse for the fruit to grow. The plant grows golf-sized tomatoes, which are harvested and served at Walt Disney World ® restaurants. Guests can see the record-setting tree in Epcot’s ® attraction “Living with the Land.”

Longest Handshake Chain – In September of this year, 2,380 participants from the IBM Smarter Commerce Global Summit at Disney ® came together to form the longest handshake chain, ever!

What Record will Walt Disney World break next?

Orlando, FL – 12/14/12