If you’ve been to Walt Disney World’s EPCOT over the last twenty years, you may have seen Leave A Legacy. But, unfortunately, there’s a great chance you walked past it and had no idea what it was.
Most People Took It For Granite
The original Leave A Legacy was created on a series of red granite walls of varying sizes and heights.
They framed the entrance to EPCOT leading up to Spaceship Earth – they almost looked like they held it up.
On the granite slabs were sheets of metal that held one-inch square photo etchings.
Millennium Celebration
Leave A Legacy was initially part of Walt Disney World’s Millennium Celebration that ran from October 1, 1999, into the new millennium, ending on January 1, 2001.
EPCOT Guests could purchase a square with the photo of one person for $35.00 or with two people for $38.00. While Disney offered nearly 770,000 tiles, a lot fewer than that number were sold.
So, few actually, that Leave A Legacy was extended through mid-June of 2007. At that time, there were about 550,000 etchings on the walls.
We Got One!
Chuck and I got an etching back in 2004 on one of our first trips to Walt Disney World as a couple.
Ironically, it was offered as one of the perk options on our Disney package. At the time, we booked a Walt Disney World package that included park passes, hotel accommodations, and a Disney Dining Plan. It also had our choice of optional perks like a commemorative photo, a round of miniature golf, or a Leave A Legacy photo.
We try to visit our Leave A Legacy photo every time we come to EPCOT. So back on October 29, 2015 – the day after we got married – we made sure we got a pic!
It’s Moving Day!
When Leave A Legacy was initially created, the fine print on the purchase said along the lines of – Disney could relocate the images to anywhere at Walt Disney World at any time. Additionally, after the etchings had been up for 20 years, they could be permanently removed.
We’ve heard people laughingly joke that the images have lasted longer than their relationships with the people they posed with. Fortunately, we’ll be celebrating 20 years together in October of 2022!
During COVID-19, Disney moved the Leave A Legacy walls outside the touchpoints at the EPCOT entrance.
They were transformed into brightly colored wall panels along the walkways near parking and bus access areas. They’re super cute and much easier to navigate than the dozens of granite walls with seemingly random photo placement.
Finding A Photo
We stopped at Guest Services inside EPCOT to ask about the photo location. We were given an exact panel number, line, and photo position.
However, you should be able to find someone’s tile by going to epcottilefinder.com, which redirects you to a Leave A Legacy page on the Walt Disney World website.
With as little as a first and last name, it will search for matches and a number. Here’s how to pair up the number you find with the photo!
Hopefully, the fact that Disney invested in relocating the 550,000 images to a new location means they’ll be around for years to come.
