A piece of the film sensation Wicked (2024) has officially found its place at EPCOT in Walt Disney World Resort. While not an official Disney-Universal collaboration, this connection comes courtesy of one of Wicked’s stars, Ariana Grande, and her family’s longstanding love of Disney Parks.
The much-anticipated Wicked film premiered on November 22, 2024, to international acclaim. The movie is directed by Jon M. Chu for Universal Pictures and features Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. The film tells the profoundly political and emotional backstory of the “Good Witch” and the “Wicked Witch” from The Wizard of Oz (1939). The star-studded cast also includes Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Ethan Slater, and Michelle Yeoh.
Ariana Grande’s Disney Legacy
Ariana Grande has long been vocal about her lifelong love for Walt Disney World Resort. Most recently, she publicly campaigned against the rumored retheme of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Her childhood visits to Disney Parks have become part of her “legacy,” immortalized in the Leave a Legacy program at EPCOT.
The Leave a Legacy program, which operated from 1999 to 2007, allowed guests to purchase a custom photo or message etched onto a steel tile. These tiles were displayed in front of Spaceship Earth at EPCOT’s entrance until the Disney park’s recent overhaul, which relocated the panels to the World Celebration neighborhood. During a family visit in 2001, Ariana and her brother, Frankie Grande, participated in the program, creating a tile that remains on display today.
Finding Wicked at Walt Disney World
Instagram user @407withkevin recently highlighted the Grande family’s Leave a Legacy tiles in a video post, showing fans exactly where to find it:
View this post on Instagram
The family’s message reads:
“Marj & Frank, Joan, Ed, Frankie & Arianna 12-30-2001”
For fans of Ariana Grande or Wicked, this small piece of history offers a unique Disney treasure to discover. Walt Disney World Resort guests can view the Leave a Legacy panels near EPCOT’s main entrance. To find a specific tile, simply scan the QR code on the nearby signage and follow the prompts on your smartphone.
Have you found other celebrities on the Leave a Legacy panels in EPCOT at Walt Disney World Resort? Let How to Disney know in the comments!
