Celebrities need to go on vacation just like the rest of us and they enjoy many of the same locations that the rest of us enjoy. It’s not unusual to find yourself face-to-face with somebody famous if you’re in Hawaii and you might very well find yourself on a ride at Disney World with some celebrity and their kids. However, that’s not exactly how a big fan of Ariana Grande recently found the pop star, because she's always at Epcot, literally. Anybody can see Ariana at Epcot as part of the Leave-A Legacy display.
A fan of Ariana Grande has gone viral on TikTok after tracking down the image of the singer, when she and her family, circa 2000, dropped a few bucks and got their faces etched onto small plates, allowing them to be part of Disney World on a semi-permanent basis. Check out the video, with a look at young Ariana, below.
@mattywurld ♬ sweetener - Ariana Grande
The Leave-A-Legacy program ran as part of Walt Disney World’s Millennium Celebration from 1999 to 2001 and thousands of people took part in it until the sales ended in 2007. The program promised guests’ images would remain on display for 20 years, and until about a year ago they were the first thing you saw when you entered Epcot Rows of stone monoliths covered in monochrome images.
As part of the ongoing Epcot redesign, the area where Leave-A-Legacy used to be is now the home of a beautiful new fountain. Last year, Leave-A-Legacy was relocated to outside of Epcot; it was also given a colorful facelift. It actually looks a lot nicer now which makes the fact that it’s more out of the way sort of disappointing.
Ariana Grande’s appearance here is certainly a “before they were stars” moment, but she isn’t the only celebrity, or even the only pop star, to be found on the wall. If you look, you can also find all the members of N’Sync there as well. Ariana has done a decent amount of work with Disney in the past, though she’s also shown an affinity for competitor Universal’s classic monsters, so where her allegiances are in the theme park wars is unclear.
The last spots on the wall were sold about 15 years ago which means Disney World only has about five more years it will need to continue to display these pictures. Having said that, now that Leave-A-Legacy has been moved someplace where it is outside the park gates and is largely out of the way, it’s possible these will remain long after the contract with guests has expired. If so, Ariana Grande fans will be able to make a pilgrimage to see their favorite singer for years to come. If not, you only have a few years left to make the trip.
