Since 2005, our family has been going to the world every other year...and this is the other year, sad I know. Our children don't understand why they can't see Mickey every other day, much less understand why they must wait a whole 2 years. So, since we live in good old Missouri, we decided to take a day trip to see where all the magic began. Yes, we took a 2 hour drive to Marceline and I am so glad we did. Of course they assumed we were going to get to meet Mickey and the gang and some princessess' too, but instead we(I mean myself and mother) got a great look at the Disney family and their time in Marceline and how much that time impacted Walt and his future.
The road trip characters--myself Gayle, mom(grandma)Linda, children Cameron, Lindsay and Lexie.
Our first stop was the Disney Museum, which is the old Santa Fe Depot, where 70 trains go by each day, yet never stop. On our tour(a little over an hour) at least 4 went by. We were lucky enough to tour on a day when Inez Johnson worked and she was our guide. She just happened to be a personal friend of Walt's, and had the only air-coditioned house back in the 50's when Walt, Roy and families visited---so they stayed with her and her family and became lifelong friends. Her daughter Kaye Malins lives in Walt's old home and is a volunteer at the Museum as well.
My mother and I couldn't help but get emotional as we listened to Mrs. Johnson's fond memories and recollections of Walt and his visits, she spoke with great pride in recalling how proud Walt was to be from Marceline and how the little town shaped his humble beginnings and helped him to achieve a very big dream. There was no photography allowed in the Museum, except with the Mickey Mouse statue that the Museum purchased for $12,000, the statue was from the 75th Anniversary of Mickey Mouse, one that had been outside the entrance to the Magic Kingdom. And, that is where Mrs. Johnson left us to tour the museum on our own...there were several rooms that housed many family artifacts/letters, most were donations from Walt's sister Ruth. It was interesting to learn that he had other siblings other than Roy, along with his sister Ruth, he had brothers Herbert and Raymond. There was also a room dedicated to the Great Locomotive Chase, which premiered in Marceline in 1956. The most fascinating room was the Disneyland model on the top floor, it was so intricate and detailed, this was the highlight for the children. Our tour ended in the gift shop, imagine that.....and my children who asked for hardly anything while at WDW, asked for everything there...so we came home with a new pin(not to be traded)and 3 train whistles.....yes, the car ride home was horrendous to say the least, but who could resist????
Next we would eat lunch and then go to the Dreaming tree and Barn....the tree had fallen/been cut due to lightning over the years, but the remains were there as was the Son of the Dreaming tree, which was planted by Walt's grandchildren with soil from the Magic Kingdom and water from the Rivers of America in Disneyland.....and you just couldn't help getting teary eyed thinking of all that dreaming he did and what he did with that imagination of his. The children enjoyed getting to run around and was fun to put our autograph inside the barn. We then loaded up and went to have some dessert, homemade ice cream on Main Street and then we did what we came for, YES....we walked right down the Middle of Main Street USA. My children were scared, thought they would get run over, but we survived and created our own magic and some wonderful memories in Marceline.
The road trip characters--myself Gayle, mom(grandma)Linda, children Cameron, Lindsay and Lexie.
Our first stop was the Disney Museum, which is the old Santa Fe Depot, where 70 trains go by each day, yet never stop. On our tour(a little over an hour) at least 4 went by. We were lucky enough to tour on a day when Inez Johnson worked and she was our guide. She just happened to be a personal friend of Walt's, and had the only air-coditioned house back in the 50's when Walt, Roy and families visited---so they stayed with her and her family and became lifelong friends. Her daughter Kaye Malins lives in Walt's old home and is a volunteer at the Museum as well.
My mother and I couldn't help but get emotional as we listened to Mrs. Johnson's fond memories and recollections of Walt and his visits, she spoke with great pride in recalling how proud Walt was to be from Marceline and how the little town shaped his humble beginnings and helped him to achieve a very big dream. There was no photography allowed in the Museum, except with the Mickey Mouse statue that the Museum purchased for $12,000, the statue was from the 75th Anniversary of Mickey Mouse, one that had been outside the entrance to the Magic Kingdom. And, that is where Mrs. Johnson left us to tour the museum on our own...there were several rooms that housed many family artifacts/letters, most were donations from Walt's sister Ruth. It was interesting to learn that he had other siblings other than Roy, along with his sister Ruth, he had brothers Herbert and Raymond. There was also a room dedicated to the Great Locomotive Chase, which premiered in Marceline in 1956. The most fascinating room was the Disneyland model on the top floor, it was so intricate and detailed, this was the highlight for the children. Our tour ended in the gift shop, imagine that.....and my children who asked for hardly anything while at WDW, asked for everything there...so we came home with a new pin(not to be traded)and 3 train whistles.....yes, the car ride home was horrendous to say the least, but who could resist????
Next we would eat lunch and then go to the Dreaming tree and Barn....the tree had fallen/been cut due to lightning over the years, but the remains were there as was the Son of the Dreaming tree, which was planted by Walt's grandchildren with soil from the Magic Kingdom and water from the Rivers of America in Disneyland.....and you just couldn't help getting teary eyed thinking of all that dreaming he did and what he did with that imagination of his. The children enjoyed getting to run around and was fun to put our autograph inside the barn. We then loaded up and went to have some dessert, homemade ice cream on Main Street and then we did what we came for, YES....we walked right down the Middle of Main Street USA. My children were scared, thought they would get run over, but we survived and created our own magic and some wonderful memories in Marceline.
Thank you for sharing!
