Walt's Personal Life

Although the original barn on this site no longer exists, volunteers re-built an exact replica of it in September 2001 in honor of Walt’s 100th birthday. This barn in Walt’s hometown of Marceline, MO was where he first delved into the entertainment world. He would spend hours under his dreaming tree, teaching himself to draw and dream. He would dress up farm animals and charge local kids to see the “Disney Circus”. His audience left unimpressed and Walt’s mother taught him a valuable lesson: if you deliver more than your audience expects – they will never be disappointed. In 1948, Disney produced a movie called So Dear To My Heart about growing up on a small farm in the American Midwest in the early 20th century. A personal favorite of Walt’s, the film featured a barn which was based on Walt’s recollection of the one he grew up with here in Marceline. In the 1950s Walt built a barn in the backyard of his Hombly Hills home that was modeled after this one to house his “Carolwood Pacific Railroad” – this barn is currently on display at the Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum. Today, the barn here in Marceline is open to the […]

Wanting a simpler life, the Disney family moved from their house in Chicago to a forty-acre farm they had purchased in the rural town of Marceline, MO. This is where Walt spent his formative years: his days spent on the farm grew his love of animals and his time spent performing for local children in the barn sparked his interest in entertainment. Walt first learned to draw, write and dream underneath a nearby tree, known affectionately as his dreaming tree. After only about five years here, Walt’s father became ill and the family was forced to sell their farm. In 1911 the Disney family moved once again, this time to Kansas City. In 1948, Disney produced a movie called So Dear To My Heart about growing up on a small farm in the American Midwest in the early 20th century. A personal favorite of Walt’s, the film featured a farm and barn which was based on Walt’s recollection of the one he grew up with here in Marceline. Check out more of Walt’s homes in our blog posts: Living with Walt: Part I and Part II Address: 275 W Broadway St, Marceline, MO 64658 Visitor Information: Walt Disney Hometown Museum

After five years of living on a farm in Marceline, Walt’s father became ill and in 1911 the Disney family moved to a rented house in Kansas City. It was here that Walt and his brother Roy would wake up at 3:30 AM every day to help his father fold and deliver newspapers for two hours before school. The family lived here until they moved again in 1914, only a few blocks away, to 3028 Bellefontaine Ave. Today, no trace remains of the Disney family’s original Kansas City home. Check out more of Walt’s homes in our blog posts: Living with Walt: Part I and Part II Address: 2706 E 31st St, Kansas City, MO 64128 Visitor Information: Private residence, not open to the public

In 1914, the Disney family moved from their first Kansas City home to this one at 3028 Bellefontaine Avenue. On Saturday mornings, Walt would take classes at the Kansas City Art Institute. To earn extra money, he would sell snacks and newspapers on the Missouri Pacific, Kansas City Southern, and Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroads. This experience solidified his love of trains and with an interest in cartoons and animation. Walt would dream about taking a train out west, to Hollywood. I didn’t have enough money to get my ticket… I used to go down and stand there with tears in my eyes and look at those trains heading out to Union Station in Los Angeles. – Walt Disney In 1917, the Disneys moved back to Chicago, but this house would remain with the family (Walt’s older brothers Herbert and Roy continued living there, renting the house from their father, Elias) until 1921. Walt left home to volunteer with the Red Cross Ambulance Corps in 1918 and returned from overseas in 1919. After a brief stop in Chicago, Walt moved back to this home in Kansas City where he would sleep on a couch in the parlor as Herbert’s family now occupied the previously empty bedrooms – […]

Note: This is the second time the Disney family lived in Chicago. Click the following link if you’re looking for Walt Disney’s Birthplace. While living in Kansas City, Walt’s father Elias invested his life savings (and much of his children’s savings) in the O-Zell Company in Chicago. O-Zell made jelly and was developing a juice soft drink to rival Coca-Cola. In 1917, the company began facing financial difficulty and the Disney family moved from Kansas City back to Chicago so Elias could take a more prominent role in the company. While living in Chicago, they rented a small apartment at 1523 West Ogden Avenue. Walt worked for his father on the O-Zell factory floor, washing jars and packing cartons for the company. Walt would continue working at this factory, located on the 1300 block of West 15th Street, until 1918 when he left home to volunteer with the Red Cross Ambulance Corps in France. After almost a year abroad, Walt returned to Chicago in 1919 but didn’t stay long – rather than pursue a high school diploma, he was eager to start his career as an artist. Walt returned to Kansas City, where his older brother Roy was working as a bank teller. […]

In 1950, Walt and the Disney family moved from their home on Woking Way to a new estate here on Carolwood Drive in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of LA. With all the land here, Walt was able to build his Carolwood Pacific Railway, a half-mile long, 1/8th scale live-steam railroad which was inspired by his 1948 visit to the Chicago Railroad Fair with animator Ward Kimball. This new project of Walt’s re-ignited the passion he gained for trains while living in Kansas City and solidified his desire to have a train encircle his new magic kingdom of Disneyland, still in development. Walt’s Carolwood Pacific Railway included a locomotive named Lilly Belle, an homage to his wife Lillian. Today, an original set of trains and tracks including a replica of the Lilly Belle now live on display at The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. Additional original parts of the railroad are on display in the lobby of Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge (where an entire room is dedicated to the Carolwood Pacific) and at the Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum. A number of photos on display underneath the Walt Disney World Railroad’s Main Street Station show Walt playing and working on his trains. Landscaping for the […]

With the success of Mickey Mouse and his first Oscar win, Walt set out to build a mansion for his expectant wife here on Woking Way after living on Lyric Avenue for over 5 years. In 1932, the Disney family moved in. Architect Frank Crowhurst designed this 12-room home with a pool, theater, gymnasium, and acre and a half garden. Here in our grounds we have foxes, quail, ‘possums, rabbits, chaparral cocks, and a lot of other animals and birds, and we try to make them feel right at home. – Walt interviewed in the January 1940 issue of Better Homes and Garden magazine. This is the home where Walt’s daughters Diane and Sharon were raised and would spend hours reading Winnie the Pooh and Mary Poppins books which prompted Walt to acquire both and to turn them into the classic Disney properties they are today. They would also spend their Saturdays in the nearby Griffith Park, riding the Merry-Go-Round which sparked the idea for Disneyland. While living at this home, Walt’s career also included the release of, among others, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio (1940), Dumbo (1941), Bambi (1942), and the studio’s first all live-action release, Treasure Island (1950). In 1950, […]

Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a cemetery in Los Angeles which is the final resting place of Walt Disney. Following his death in 1966, Walt’s remains were cremated and a burial plot was established in the eastern section of the park as a memorial. His parents Flora and Elias, wife Lillian, brothers Raymond and Roy, and daughter Sharon are also memorialized in this park. Other notable Disney related people that are buried at Forest Lawn: Frank Churchill (1901–1942): composer with notable work on the music of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1938), Dumbo (1941), and Bambi (1942). Winston Hibler (1910–1976): screenwriter with notable work on Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Peter Pan (1953). Eustace Lycett (1914–2006): special effects artist who worked early Disneyland attractions as well as Disney films including Mary Poppins (1964), Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), Freaky Friday (1976), and Pete’s Dragon (1977). Jimmy MacDonald (1906–1991): original head of the Disney sound effects department and second voice of Mickey Mouse from 1948-1977. Bill Walsh (1913–1975): writer and producer with notable work on The Absent-Minded Professor (1961), Mary Poppins (1964), The Love Bug (1969), and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971). Michael Jackson (1958–2009): Star of the Captain EO attraction Check out more of Walt’s homes in our blog posts: Living with Walt: Part I and Part […]

This ‘S’ shaped canal runs through the center of the city and acts as a highway of sorts to the complex network of canals that make up Venice. This waterway inspired replicas that can be found in both Epcot’s Italy Pavilion and Tokyo DisneySea’s Mediterranean Harbor. It’s famous gondola rides inspired a Venetian Gondolas attraction in DisneySea as well. In film, the canals are heavy featured during Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019) during Peter Parker’s class trip to Europe. Harrison Ford spent the day here on August 8, 1988 as he filmed scenes for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Walt Disney himself even visited the majestic canals during a family vacation in 1951. Address: Venice, Metropolitan City of Venice, Italy Visitor Information: Venezia Unica

This carousel, built in 1926, in the heart of LA’s Griffith Park was the inspiration for Disneyland: The idea for [Disneyland] came about when my daughters were very young and Saturday was always Daddy’s day with the two daughters…. I’d take them to the merry-go-round… and as I sit while they rode… I felt that there should be something built where the parents and children could have fun together. So that’s how Disneyland started” – Walt Disney The Merry-Go-Round that Walt references is the one here in the park, between his Los Feliz home and the Disney Studio in Burbank. The Disney+ series Prop Culture filmed a segment here in an episode exploring props and costumes from Disney’s 1964 film, Mary Poppins. In the episode, host Dan Lanigan brings Karen Dotrice, the actress that played Jane Banks, here to discuss how the carousel inspired a fantastical scene in the film while checking out the iconic yellow dress and hat costume that she wore in the movie. Read more about the real-life locations featured on the show in our blog post: 7 Real-Life Locations From The Disney+ Series Prop Culture. The ride is still open to the public, though operating on […]

This golf resort near Smoke Tree Ranch was a favorite of many celebrities in the 1960s including Walt Disney who would frequent the club during his stays in Palm Springs. Walt even owned a house at 2688 S Camino Real, near the 2nd hole on the north golf course. In 1961, Walt personally donated a large, copper, lily pad-shaped (assumable a tribute to his wife, Lillian) fountain to the resort that shoots water over 100 feet into the air. The famous Disney fountain can still be seen operating today between the 9th and 18th holes on the club’s north course. Address: 1097 E Murray Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92264 Visitor Information: Indian Canyons Golf Resort

Lincoln Memorial Park is a cemetery in Portland where Walt’s younger sister Ruth is laid to rest. Ruth lived in Portland from 1921 until her death in 1995. Address: 11801 SE Mt Scott Blvd, Portland, OR 97086 Visitor Information: Lincoln Memorial Park