Emma Rosling - Smith
Set Decoration & model making
Disney Passion


I have always adored the artwork behind the Disney films, theme parks, and the warm hearted moral of Walt Disney from a young age. Visiting the parks on amazing family trips, as many others before me, and reaffirming my belief in everybody's own personal magic; the fact you can do anything you want to do and pursue your dreams.
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Having worked in Epcot in Florida and having dreams of being an imagineer following my film career, it is only fitting to include this section as one of my main sources of inspiration, the Disney company pioneering many forms of entertainment including motion pictures, anime and countless others including themed story telling and immersive experiences.
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In my spare time I have always loved exploring information and places relating to the Disney ancestors. When I was driving through my local countryside and came across a village called Norton Disney, I was therefore excited and curious if this place could really have some connection. Through research I learnt that before the Disney family had migrated to Ireland and the states after leaving Isney-sur-mer, they had settled in this town in Lincolnshire! The ancestors anglicised their surname to Disney due to the French saying “..les gens d'Isney Sur Mer” being translated as “..the people of Isney Sur Mer”. I thrived in searching the church records, looking at the graves for any relations and seeing four statues of Disney ancestors. In the local pub, I discovered images and newspaper cuttings from 1949 when Walt & family had visited Norton Disney! He was searching for his roots. To be re-tracing Walt's footsteps touched me and I still enjoy researching this, having found his family tree in the archives at Lincoln library, and Robert Disney's engravings in the old school house in Newark.
More recently, I have visited D'isney place in Lincoln, built by John Disney around 1735 and been researching the family descendants in the area. It feels truly close to home to find such rich detail in my local area and I found it particularly fascinating learning about the first Disney settlers in Lincolnshire during a time of civil war and battle between the royalists and parliamentary soldiers hence the reason some of the family uprooted to Ireland. As ever, I am excited to continue growing my knowledge of the family and would be happy to discuss this with anyone.







