Illinois

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. […]

Every Adventure Requires A First Step is a 2017 graffiti art installation of the Cheshire Cat on the side of a building on North Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago by the NYC-native street artist, Jerkface. You can find this very Instagram-worthy tribute to the 1951 version of Alice In Wonderland by checking out the Northwest side of the building. Address: 1170 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60642 Visitor Information: Street art, open to the public

House of Blues is a concert venue and restaurant featuring southern cuisine, juke joint decor, and a world-famous Sunday “gospel brunch”. House of Blues currently operates one Disney location in Disney Springs. Address: 329 N Dearborn St, Chicago, IL 60654 Visitor Information: House of Blues

The house of the McCallister family as seen during Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2: Lost In New York (1992) is a real house at 671 Lincoln Ave in Winnetka, IL. Both the interior and exterior of this house were used during the filming of these 20th Century Fox films (acquired by Disney in 2019). Address: 671 Lincoln Ave, Winnetka, IL 60093 Visitor Information: Private residence, not open to the public

Rainforest Cafe is a chain of rainforest themed restaurants owned by Landry’s, Inc., the same company that operates T-Rex Cafe and Yak & Yeti. Rainforest Cafe is synonymous with Disney as you can find four restaurants at Disney Resorts around the world: one just outside Disney’s Animal Kingdom, one in Disneyland Village, one in Tokyo Disney’s Ikspiari, and one in Disney Springs. Address: 605 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60654 Visitor Information: Rainforest Cafe

Rainforest Cafe is a chain of rainforest themed restaurants owned by Landry’s, Inc., the same company that operates T-Rex Cafe and Yak & Yeti. Rainforest Cafe is synonymous with Disney as you can find four restaurants at Disney Resorts around the world: one just outside Disney’s Animal Kingdom, one in Disneyland Village, one in Tokyo Disney’s Ikspiari, and one in Disney Springs. Address: 6170 W Grand Ave, Gurnee, IL 60031 Visitor Information: Rainforest Cafe

Rainforest Cafe is a chain of rainforest themed restaurants owned by Landry’s, Inc., the same company that operates T-Rex Cafe and Yak & Yeti. Rainforest Cafe is synonymous with Disney as you can find four restaurants at Disney Resorts around the world: one just outside Disney’s Animal Kingdom, one in Disneyland Village, one in Tokyo Disney’s Ikspiari, and one in Disney Springs. Address: D121 Woodfield Mall, Schaumburg, IL 60173 Visitor Information: Rainforest Cafe

Robin is graffiti installation which pays tribute to the late Robin Williams (a Chicago native) and his most famous Disney character, Genie, from the 1992 animated feature Aladdin. The piece is a 2018 collaborative work by NYC street artist Jerkface (known for his colorful intertwined cartoon characters) and New Zealand-born artist, Owen Dippie (whose focus is on hyper-realistic portraits). You can find this art on the parking lot side of Chicago’s Concord Music Hall. Address: 2047 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647 Visitor Information: Street art, open to the public

Located inside the Route 66 Association of Illinois building, the Hall of Fame & Museum pays tribute to artifacts from the Illinois portion of the historic Route 66. One of the items in this museum’s collection is Bob Waldmire’s 1972 Volkswagon Microbus. Waldmire, an acclaimed artist, had a big influence on the art and culture of Route 66 and was the inspiration for the hippie VW bus Fillmore featured in Pixar’s Cars franchise. “The Bob Waldmire 1972 VW Microbus. Bob Waldmire traveled up and down Route 66 in this van. The VW van served as the model for the character of Fillmore, voiced by George Carlin, in the Pixar film, “CARS”. Bob was a wonderful artist and Route 66 enthusiast. He passed away in December of 2009.” – Plaque posted to the car The Pixar team originally wanted to name the character Waldmire instead of Fillmore, but when asked for permission, the artist denied the request on the grounds that he didn’t want Disney to have toys based on his character in Happy Meals. Waldmire stated, “I couldn’t have them selling a bus with my name at a McDonald’s if I’m an ethical vegetarian.” Address: 110 W Howard St, Pontiac, IL 61764 Visitor Information: Route […]

Shula’s Steak House is a chain of restaurants named after the legendary Miami Dolphins‘ head coach, Don Shula. The company operates a number of concept restaurants across the US with the Steak House being the original, flagship one. The company operates one Disney location which is inside the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel. Address: 301 E North Water St, Chicago, IL 60611 Visitor Information: Shula’s Steak House

On December 5, 1901 Walt Disney was born in a small house on North Tripp Avenue in the Hermosa neighborhood of Chicago. This was the house that his father Elias Disney had build with his own hands from an empty lot at 1249 North Tripp Avenue (it was later changed to its current address of 2156 when Chicago changed their numbering system in 1909). Wanting a better life for their growing family, the Disneys moved to a farm in Marceline, Missouri in 1906, following Elias’ brother Robert who had been living there. Recently, the house was purchased by devoted fans and is currently being restored to its turn-of-the-century condition in an effort to provide visitors a place to pay homage to Walt’s legacy where it all began. A tribute to this house can be seen in the form of a photo hanging in Hong Kong Disneyland’s Town Square. Check out more of Walt’s homes in our blog posts: Living with Walt: Part I and Part II This location is mentioned in our blog post: Re-Living Walt Disney’s Past: Exploring the Grounds of the 1964/65 New York World’s Fair. Address: 2156 N Tripp Ave, Chicago, IL 60639 Visitor Information: The Walt Disney Birthplace