About the walt disney hometown museum
The Walt Disney Hometown Museum was established in 2001 to help celebrate the 100th Birthday of Marceline’s favorite son, Walter Elias Disney.
Walt spent his most formative years in this magical midwest city, and injected his favorite memories of Marceline into countless aspects of his television, film and theme park projects.
Our 10,000 square feet of immersive gallery space is primarily focused on displaying The Ruth Disney Beecher Collection. Over her lifetime Walt’s sister saved personal artifacts and family correspondence that shines a light on their close relationship, and gives us valuable insight on the inspiration derived from their childhood hometown.
“More things of importance happened to me in Marceline than have happened since or are likely to in the future.”
Story Stations
Dotted amongst Ruth’s treasures are unique ‘Story Stations’ that help tell the Disney’s Marceline tale. These video monitors share heartwarming stories of the Disney family, told by locals who knew them well. Running between 2 and 5 minutes, each story station was produced internally and are closed captioned for those with hearing difficulties.
COLLECTORS GALLERY
Located on the first floor, our expanded Collectors Gallery gives Disney fans from all over the world a rare opportunity to showcase their favorite Disney collectables alongside items donated by the Disney family. The Collectors Gallery is a mix of permanent installations surrounded by items on temporary loan to the museum, giving guests a fresh injection of Disney fun every year.
THE UPPER GALLERY
Our second floor displays give a gentle nod to the overall theme of inspiration. Watch a documentary inside our Sharon Disney Lund Education Center, or pose for a picture on Walt’s ‘back porch’. Draw your favorite Disney character in our recreated Park School Classroom or walk through a miniature Disneyland, built by artist Dale Varner. The upper gallery shares stories of Walt’s earliest job in Kansas City, and his proposed ‘park’ to be built in his old 40 acre Marceline farm. Every moment spent in our upper gallery gives you a better sense of the moments that inspired one of America’s greatest storytellers.