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Credit: Inside the Magic A piece of the film sensation Wicked (2024) officially has a place in EPCOT at Walt Disney World Resort.
Wicked premiered on November 22 to international acclaim. The book-turned-Broadway musical-turned-film stars Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, with notable appearances from Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Ethan Slater, and Michelle Yeoh. The deeply political story tells the complicated origins of the “Good Witch” and the “Wicked Witch” from The Wizard of Oz (1939).
Jon M. Chu directed Wicked for Universal Pictures, making its connection to Walt Disney World Resort all the more surprising. While any official theme park-film tie-ins will likely live down the road at Universal Orlando Resort, one of Wicked‘s stars has forever left a legacy in EPCOT.
Ariana Grande, a lifelong self-described Disney Parks fan, has spoken out about her love for Walt Disney World Resort–most recently campaigning against a possible retheme of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Her family frequently visited the Disney parks as a child, and one of their vacation memories lives on in the Leave a Legacy panel at EPCOT.
Leave a Legacy was offered from 1999 to 2007. Guests could pay for a custom photo or message to be etched onto a steel tile mounted onto a panel and displayed in front of Spaceship Earth at EPCOT’s entrance. As part of the 50th Anniversary overhaul of EPCOT, the Leave a Legacy panel was moved to a different area of the World Celebration neighborhood.
Ariana Grande and her brother, Frankie Grande, posed for a Leave a Legacy photo during a 2001 visit to EPCOT. Instagram user @407withkevin recently shared this video showing guests where to find the Wicked star’s tile:
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The Grande family also left a message:
“Marj & Frank, Joan, Ed, Frankie & Arianna 12-30-2001”
Guests can also find other famous faces on the Leave a Legacy panel at EPCOT, including the members of *NSYNC.
To find a specific Leave a Legacy panel, scan the QR code on a sign near the display and follow the prompts on any smart device.
Did your family participate in Leave a Legacy at EPCOT? Share your memories with Inside the Magic in the comments.