Launched as part of the park’s millennium celebration, Leave a Legacy was an upsell opportunity for the park’s guests. From 1999 to June 2007, guests could have their pictures taken and etched onto one inch square steel tiles. Those tiles were mounted on large stone monoliths, creating a permanent looking way for people to be a part of the park’s legacy.
The original location for Leave a legacy was right in the middle of the entrance plaza for the park. And the cold marble appearance of the display sometimes left guests calling it the EPCOT graveyard. Not the feeling you want guests to have when they’re entering your park that is supposed to represent global community.
“To the youngsters of today, I say believe in the future…”
– Walt Disney
That’s probably why, when Disney decided that EPCOT needed a new look, the decision was made to create a new Leave a Legacy experience outside the gates.
Leave A Legacy now has an entirely new look and feel. It’s colorful and the tiles are all mounted on uniform height and width panels. It still has a bit of a memorial feel. But I’m not sure there’s any way Disney could avoid that.
Where to find your Leave A Legacy tile?
Unlike the original location, a theme park admission is no-longer required to view your Leave-a-Legacy tile. You will have to pass through security screening though.
Since the new display is split into two sections, we recommend looking up the location of your tile on Disney’s helpful locator tool before heading to EPCOT.
First, visit EPCOTTileFinder.com, then type in your identifying information. You’ll then get back a series of three numbers. Those numbers tell you which panel to look for, then which row, and finally which column you’ll find your tile in.
If you’ve used Excel before, you’re familiar with the concept.
How long will the new Leave A Legacy display be around?
Disney hasn’t said how long this new wall of tiles will be around. The original promise was for a timeless memory, but the fine print says something like 20 years. So with the last tile being sold in 2007, that would mean these walls will likely stick around until at least 2027.
That said, Disney could probably move the entire thing online at some point and have your time viewable via a tablet or VR device in a booth somewhere in the park.
We had some fun finding a few of our tiles on the new panels. There are also a number of artists and celebrities who had their own tiles added. I’m sure someone has started a list of where all those are located.
Did you ever purchase a Leave A Legacy tile? Will you look for it on your next visit?