Leave A Legacy: Disney's Controversial Epcot Monument

I always found it amusing how the Kingdom Keepers books referred to the monuments as, and I quote, “instead of feeling futuristic, it felt more like the cemetery where the ashes of Finn’s [the protagonist] grandparents had been buried.”

My family uses the term "leave a legacy" as a nice way of saying pooping. Inspired by this monument.

I think the whole ‘gravestone’ aesthetic definitely made walking into the park feel like some memorial or something. I think when I was young, me and my family went to Epcot around 2009 and I remember one of my parents said something like “Is this a 9/11 memorial”. Looking back, it definitely had a poor execution.

i dont know if this is a controversial take, but i thought thematically this fit pretty well w/epcots themes of multiculturalism shown in world showcase. maybe if they put it over there and designed it a little less tombstone-esque it would be a cool visualization of the diversity of people we share our planet with.

My wife and I purchased a Leave a Legacy when we were on our honeymoon in 2000. I still have the souvenir printing of the image of us.

I liked how the rocks complimented the supports to spaceship earth.

My sister and I got a tile because Disney gave it for free as part of our vacation package. They must have been desperate to fill tiles when we got it done.

Had two tiles done around the 2001 timeframe. Execution totally looked like a tragic war memorial. Not only the granite structures, but the tile faces themselves were sooo creepy! Glad they are gone.

My parents actually bought a walk around the world tile!! It was before my one brother and i were born, so its just my parents and our oldest brother. We go and find it everytime we've gone :)

my grandparents and sisters did this in the year 2000! my grandma is dead now, so it's a little comforting that part of her is on display at her favorite place on earth...and also my sisters as very young children.

Yo, I never would have thought Jeff from Kansas would make it to Disney in 2000. I never thought he'd aspire to much but here he is at the top of the world

I liked them a lot. I think they would have been cooler if they had their own subdued area originally and it didn't bring as much traction as it was quite literally right in front of the Epcot Sphere.

My mother and I did this once in 2000 when I was 15 and again the summer after I graduated high school in 2003. I always thought it was pretty neat.

The EPCOT fountain is not glass, it's acrylic. Also, people got burns from the metal plaques sitting in the Florida sun

I really like the new entrance of EPCOT myself. The return of more greenery, the iconic fountain look and even the pavilion flags at the front are all great. Can’t forget the way the new Spaceship Earth lights and general perimeter lights also create an amazing package. However, the Leave a Legacy tiles and monuments were such a big part of my childhood going to EPCOT from around 2006 until they were removed. Even more than the Sorcerer’s Hat for me, they embodied that park. Kudos to John Hench for making them look as good as they did, but their lifespan was limited in the war memorial-esque execution lol. I’m happy with the way the entrance is now, but I’ll always have nostalgia for the Leave a Legacy graveyard haha. Great video! Made me so nostalgic. ❤️

I could’ve sworn that thing has been around longer than the turn of the millennium. I could be thinking of the walkway tiles though. I do remember my mom commenting on how ugly it was.

You know, it kind of does look like a war memorial, now that you mention it. Still, its appearance is fittingly modern, it doesn't spoil any sightlines, and it was clearly thoughtfully designed by human hands. Plus, all the faces tie in pretty well with the multicultural themes of the other half of the park. Honestly, I still vastly prefer it over the soulless new Future World hub. After your apologist video about the Sorcerer's Hat, I had hoped for less negativity here.

It's always a great day when George uploads! 😊

Just took a trip to Epcot today and it was my first time seeing everything since the walls came down. Wow, what a disappointment. Wtf is the Moana water thing even doing in Epcot? It just sticks out like a sore thumb and makes no sense at all. And the new centerpiece where the fountain used to be is equally unimpressive. The last ride we rode right before closing was Soarin’, and seeing the old Epcot at the end of the ride was a stark reminder how much I prefer the old version. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but man, this current version is just a total mess.

Just found your channel, amazing video! Earned a sub!