As an adult, Walt wrote, "To tell the truth, more things of importance happened to me
in Marceline that have happened to me since or are likely to in the future ."
We decided to take just a stop off the route. And why did we do that? We're going
to Walt Disney's home town, Marceline, Missouri. And what year did they say
he came here? 1906? Yep. Yep, they said his mom and dad were living in Chicago and they
decided they didn't want their kids to have like the dangers of the city to
affect them. Okay, we're coming up into the city of Marceline. There's a water
tower. I was hoping it would have Mickey Mouse ears on it! This says Tiger country
instead of Mouse country. Marceline welcomes you.
It's not a big town. Located on the north edge of town as
you're coming in on highway five is where Walt's boyhood home was. This is
where his father, Elias, and his mother, Flora, settled when they came to
Marceline from Chicago. And behind the residence and down a side road is where
you'll find Walt's Dreaming Tree and Barn. Walt's dreaming tree and barn are this
way. This is the Son of the Dreaming Tree. This was planted in September 2004 by
Bradford Disney Lund and Disney World ambassadors. And they brought soil from
the Magic Kingdom and waters from the Rivers of America to be added to the
soil on the Disney farm for the planting ceremony. The original dreaming tree was
a large cottonwood tree and it was destroyed in a storm in 2015. And I
believe this area is all that's left of the original dreaming tree where Walt
would sit for hours. And he would do what he called Belly Botany. He'd lay on the ground
and watch bugs, animals, and the trees and everything around him. And he said on a
good day he would see Bambi. And from his time spent here thinking, and dreaming,
and planning, and playing, came the cartoons, movies, and the theme parks that
we all loved. This is a replica that was built here of the original barn that was
on the Elias Disney family farm. This barn played an important part in
young Walt Disney's life. Inside the barn are lots of signatures, and thanks to
Walt and his family. So if you come, it's perfectly okay to write on the barn walls,
and tell Walt and his family thank you, for all the memories and the dreams come true.
There's a book, and it's made out of wood.
Walt called this barn his "Happy Place". It tells the story about how he was age four
when his family moved from Chicago to the farm and Marceline.
Walt soon discovered he loved farm life. Walt made movies with real actors
and animals. One movie had a barn just like the one in his boyhood farm.
Walt wanted a workshop in his backyard he had the same barn created again.
This barn was a celebration of his hundredth birthday. So on September 22, 2001, they recreated
this replica of his original barn on the farm once owned by the Disney family.
It is a fitting tribute - the humble little red barn finally came home from its long
journey through the life and times of a small-town farm boy.
The original one was destroyed over the years, and they think some of the wood was even used for
firewood during the Depression. And his happy place barn was said to be the
birthplace of Imagineering. Walt would spend his time there coming up with
ideas for the theme parks, and movies, and cartoons. So it was definitely his happy place.
I'm going to try to find a blank spot and write something here too. Ah, I
like this saying over here. May the magic of Disney be with all who visit
Marceline, Missouri. And this this little sign here says, "This beam was on display
at Disneyland prior to being permanently installed in Walt's Marceline barn."
Somebody wrote, "You brought us together. 5/7/12 The true Disney Dream, Happily Ever After."
And we're here in Walt's barn on our 35th wedding anniversary!
We're happy to get to share it with Walt. Cuz we love Disney. He's given us a lot
of enjoyment over the years. Yeah, his dreams have made our dreams
fulfilled! You're my dream! Sweet! Corny, but sweet. And the story's funny about this barn.
Walt held his first barnyard circus in here. He charged his friends 10 cents a
head to come to watch it. And he dressed up some animals and clothes and put on a show.
Some of those that came complained that it was just a cat, a dog, and a pig
dressed up in clothes and they wanted their money back. So his mom made him refund all the money.
This is Marceline Missouri, the boyhood home of Walter Elias Disney. Now we're
going to turn off and go to his museum. Walt Disney Hometown Museum. We need to
go there to the left. We're at the Walt Disney Hometown Museum
in Marceline. This is the Santa Fe Depot, Circa 1913. Marceline used to be a big
railroad town. But the station was shut down and the stop discontinued, and
they turned it into a museum for Walt Disney after he passed away. Trains
were definitely one thing that Walt loved. His love of trains may have
started when he came here from Chicago on a train. Admission is $10 for adults,
children 6 to 12 is $5, and members and children under 6 is free. Self-guided
tour, 10,000 square feet of immersive Disney history. Exciting! Here we go.
WDHM. Walt Disney Hometown Museum.
They have a little souvenir shop here, with lots of Disney memorabilia. Magnets, hats,
shirts. Railroad spikes commemorating Walt Disney's 100th birthday party in
Marceline Missouri. It's a cool museum. Shows all kinds of things about Marceline.
And the Dreaming Tree.
Walt Disney: "I always thought, let's take time to go visit again.
This would be the perfect time, if Roy's not busy. Roy's not busy!
Midget Autopia, like one of the little gas-powered cars at the speedway.
Disneyland speedway. It says the original was open adjacent to Storybook Land Canal boats in Disneyland.
In 1960, Walt Disney came to Marceline for the dedication of the Walt Disney
Elementary School. And it's still named that to this day. And Walt sent Bob Moore, one
of his favorite studio artists, to decorate the building with themed
character murals. Walt Disney Elementary. "Where the Magic of Learning Begins".
You think, Stan, it's a school of dreamers? I think so - I hope so!
Walt would want it that way. Yeah, I think so too.
Walt's imagination and dreams took him from the Main Street of Marceline to
Main Street USA in Disneyland and Magic Kingdom. The Confectionery, located at
this site in the Allen hotel block built in 1905, was a favorite for Marcelineans
with a sweet tooth. When designing Downtown Disney, which is adjacent to
Disneyland, the Disney Company included Marceline's Confectionery in this themed area.
Ma Vic's Corner Cafe. It even looks like it's made with a Disney font.
Inside Ma Vic's they have some pictures of Walt Disney.
A Sketch. Seven Dwarfs. On one of Walt's visits to Marceline, Roy and Walt went down to
one of Walt's favorite fishing spots and tried it out again. Walt made several
visits back to Marceline over the years and was a great supporter of the town.
And there's Walt and Roy at the Midwest premiere of his full-length feature film,
"The Great Locomotive Chase". Here's the old Zurcher's Jewelry Store.
Walt used this building as design for one of his buildings on Main Street USA.
This building now is the "Magic of Marceline" store. It has a lot of Disney
memorabilia here. The Zurcher building in Marceline is linked to Disneyland's
Coke Corner. And this Coca-Cola billboard is said to have been probably established
in 1906, the same year that the Disney's moved to Marceline. There's the Uptown
Theater. This is where Walt held some movie premieres and those drew a big
crowd and a lot of attention. In 1956, Walt and Roy Disney held the Midwest
premiere of their feature film, "The Great Locomotive Chase. In 1998, the Walt Disney
Company held another premiere, "The Spirit of Mickey", at this theater. 18,000
enthusiastic Disney fans came to Marceline for the premiere.
Wow, that's a lot of people in a small town! And Goofy is sitting in the
admission booth. He's gonna take your tickets if you come. And inside is a
Donald Duck sitting there on the floor.
A concession counter, and a sign that says, "Walt Disney's, Spirit of Mickey".
Walt credited his boyhood years in Marceline as the time when his imagination grew
and his dreams began. So these were very formative years for him here.
Marceline gave Walt his inspiration for the Matterhorn ride in Disneyland, scenes in Lady and
the Tramp, Silly Symphonies, a lot of the animals and creatures you see in his
cartoons, and his whole future started here.
Ripley Park is where the Disney family would come to listen to concerts. They
would hitch up their horse-drawn wagon and come to town and gather around the
gazebo to hear the band's play. In Ripley Park there's also the Santa Fe 2546
train, Disneyland railroad. In 2004, the Marceline post office was renamed the
Walt Disney post office, the only Federal Building named after Walt Disney.
After Walt Disney's death in 1966, the town of Marceline lobbied to
have a Walt Disney stamp made. And in 1968, the first day of issue ceremony was held
at the Marceline post office. And inside the lobby of the post office are some
Disney stamps that were issued over the years. There's the stamp that was issued
to honor Walt in 1968. Any day of the year you can go into the Marceline post
office, the Walt Disney post office, and get a special cancellation. It says, "Where
The Dream Began", Walt Disney Post Office, Marceline, Missouri. It's pretty cool.
The cancellation was free, so all it cost you is the price of the envelope. If you
don't have one, you can bring your own envelope and stamp in and they'll
stamp it for you. This is very cool! We just found this where it says, "Main
Street USA", and it's got the Mickey ears. Very cool. At the end of Main Street is
Walt Disney municipal park. This park was dedicated in Walt Disney's name.
A pool was built here. There are ball fields and playgrounds. And this is where Disney
set up his Midget Autopia ride that he brought in from Disneyland and donated
to the town and the children of Marceline. Okay, we're coming up on Main Street and
we're leaving Main Street USA which is the middle of town in Marceline. And you
really don't want to come on a Monday, because a lot of the shops and stores
are closed. And in fact the Walt Disney museum is actually closed on Mondays, so
you wouldn't be able to go through all of his different archives. And so many
neat things that they had donated to the town of Marceline, and that was the
Disney family that donated it. So remember, don't come on Mondays!
Take time out of your life and go visit Marceline, and get to see where Walt lived. We love
Disney, and we think it's special. And the town's motto is, "Where Walt found the
magic". See you real soon, Marceline!