November 18, 2011
Location: The Land, Epcot
Let me start off this week's Fun Find Friday by
wishing a very Happy Birthday to my good friends, Mickey Mouse and
Minnie Mouse! 83 years old today and still looking as good as ever!
If you've ever been to Walt Disney World there's a
strong possibility you have been on the attraction Soarin' (it is
the most popular attraction in Disney after all. If that is the
case, then you have probably run past our Fun Find so many times
without realizing what you are passing since you desperately want to
beat the rush into The Land pavilion. If that's the case, I'm going
to share with you an image you may have only seen in passing before:

This is the mosaic that is found on both sides of
the entrance that leads into The Land. However, as always, there's
much more to this than it seems. First off, if you take a look at
the pictures above you will see that both sides are identical (in a
mirrored image) to one another. So what is exactly going on here?
Well, what you see here is the representation of the layers of the
land as seen if you were actually walking through the earth. Due to
this, both sides of the earth would be identical to the other side.
It's pretty cool how much detail was put into this
mosaic and how the artist that created it made sure that each side
would reflect the other side as well. But, we need to dig even a
little deeper for yet another fun find (that's right, I'm using puns
this week!)!
In the past we've discussed the fact that it is very
hard for artists to make their signature in their artwork throughout
the Disney parks. This is mainly due to the fact that Walt never
wanted guests to be distracted by the story at hand. He felt that
while walking through the park a guest would be transported out of
his world if they all of a sudden stopped to think, "Hey look! This
person created this mosaic, and this person created this picture."
Instead, all art (including paintings, buildings, attractions, etc.)
would remain unannounced with the exception of some sly little
detail left by the Imagineer at hand.
These mosaic is no exception. While both sides of
the mosaics are identical (again, in mirrored form), there is one
spot that has been slightly altered. If you take a look at the two
pictures below, you may be able to spot it:


Where is it you may ask? Well, if you look at the
picture below (taken on the wall to the left while facing the
entrance) you will notice all of the tiles appear to be a more
natural color that would fit well with the layers of the earth.

However, if you look at it's mirrored image
(found on the right wall), you will notice that one tile is of an
emerald color. Why is this tile different from the rest? The artist
was actually born in the month of May, so to make their signature on
the mosaic, they included their birthstone to make their mark at The
Land!
