There are so many cool details you can spot all around Walt Disney World.
There are tons of cool things you can spot around Disney World!
From hidden Mickeys to movie references and everything in-between, the Imagineers have added so much extra thought into every inch of the parks and resorts! You can really see the evidence in the artwork around the resort, and today we’re sharing some tidbits that you probably didn’t know about a rather famous Disney mural.
If you’ve ever visited Disney’s Contemporary Resort, then there’s pretty much no way that you missed the GIGANTIC mural.
Have you ever seen this artwork at the Contemporary?
This area is known as the Grand Canyon Concourse, so the mural here was created to fit the name. It was designed by Mary Blair, the talented artist behind the concept art for many Disney films and the character designs for “it’s a small world.”
It’s a MASSIVE creation.
This is Blair’s largest mural ever, and it has been here since the resort first opened back in 1971. It’s made to look like a stylized interpretation of the Grand Canyon, complete with animals, foliage, and Native Americans.
Can you spot the Grand Canyon themes?
In her artwork, Mary Blair was paying homage to Southwest Native Americans, so she wanted to include one of their beliefs in her design. They believe that nothing made by man could ever be perfect since man is imperfect.
She wanted to include some “human error” in her design.
To reflect this belief in her mural, Blair included a 5-legged goat. It’s a reminder that human error exists and that people make mistakes in their artwork.
That goat has 5 legs!
Next time you’re at the Contemporary, make sure to look for that 5-legged goat and say hello, especially now that you know the meaning behind it!
Next time you’re here, check it out!
Stay tuned to DFB for more news, updates, and details from the Disney World parks and resorts. We’ve got a lot to share with you, and we’re grateful that you trust us as your Disney news source!
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I know the artist who painted the five legged goat! My high school art teacher helped create this mural and told us she was painting with little sleep and was rushing to finish, and accidentally painted five legs on the goat. Every time I visit the Contemporary resort, I always look for it and think of her.
I love it, and will be sure to look for this created “fo-pa” on my next visit. Got any more?
There was also an unintentional goof the day the official opening was held. A stage was set up for Bob Hope. The lower right corner of the mural facing the Park was chipped by the staging! A replacement piece was made for the cracked one.
About 2010, I visited the Contemporary with Disneyana expert Dave Mason. He not only showed me the spot that was damaged on opening day, but he showed it to one of the on-duty managers and connected that manager to the guy Dave knew who saved the broken-off piece. I never checked to see if the original piece was ever reinstalled, or if they just went with the replacement.
I believe Christina’ s explanation for the 5-legged goat is more plausible than the Native American imperfection explanation. To my knowledge, there are no existing interviews or writings from Mary Blair that state the imperfection angle and that this was intentional for this reason. It’s an interesting idea but it lacks any confirmable data to back it up.