HI October 2004 082 MK Resorts 1 HI October 2004 083

An outpost at the intersection of Life and Disney

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Creative Connections - Family Crests

In my last dispatch, we were looking at a creative connection between Epcot's UK pavilion and present-day England -- namely, the signs hanging from several of the buildings.

As we saw in both Epcot and the Cotswolds, these signs incorporate images that evoke the name of the establishment, provide some clues as to what may be found inside, or even relate to the lineage of the owning family.

Consider, for example this sign from The Redesdale Arms in Morton-on-the-Marsh. Here is another case where a few internet queries suggest that the sign incorporates images from the Redesdale family crest:
Morton-on-the-Marsh UK 21 Sept 2004 (3)
More family crest imagery

In Epcot's UK pavilion, the "Sportman's Shoppe" displays a sign boasting a whimsical graphic design that is part family crest, part sporting-goods store, and part hidden Mickey:

World Showcase 39
The Sportsman's Shoppe, Epcot

Sportsmans Shoppe

While this is all in good fun, if we look beyond this sign to the window on the second floor we see some other crests worked into a nearby window:

UK Crests
What are those crests in the window?

Consulting The Imagineering Field Guide to Epcot at Walt Disney World (a nice resource, by the way) provides some insight:
"The crests... represent the four regions of the 
United Kingdom - England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Whales.  
When the first three are overlaid, they form the Union Jack flag of the United Kingdom".

Just across from the Sportsman's Shoppe, we find this sign outside the Rose and Crown:
Rose and Crown - Leisure with Dignity
Mmmm.... Guinness...

Compare this sign to Redesdale Arms sign above.   Here again, the Disney Imagineers combine history with whimsy. The image of a rose wearing a crown seems obvious enough, but digging a little deeper reveals that the two-color flower is The Tudor Rose -  the symbol adopted by King Henry VII at the end of the "Wars of the Roses" to symbolize the reunion of the royal houses of York (white rose) and Lancaster (red rose).

Consulting the Field Guide once again reveals that the motto under the rose "Otium Cum Dignitate" is Latin for Leisure With Dignity, which we at the Veranda strongly endorse.

And on that note, it is time to bring this dispatch to a close. I have more to say on the subject of family crests, but that will have to wait for another day. Storytelling is thirsty work, and I think it is time to enjoy some dignified leisure.

- The Management

P.S. - I've also been fortunate enough to visit the Rose and Crown Pub in Palo Alto, California.  Nice place for a pint.

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