As a huge Disney fan, there was no question about whether to visit Marceline during a recent (and first) trip to Missouri. My family's favorite stop was the Walt Disney Hometown Museum. From our first steps into the building, we were warmly greeted and given a brief informational presentation before venturing through the museum. The museum itself is self-paced. You have the freedom to roam around at your own leisure. The building itself is two floors with plenty of Walt Disney artifacts ranging from pieces unique to his childhood in Marceline, his impact on Marceline, and various nods to Disneyland showing how Walt's time in Marceline played a part in its development. The museum is rich with history and definitely gives any Disney fan a special feeling of historical connection that one doesn't fully receive from the Disney Parks. The Walt Disney Hometown Museum has its own free parking right in front of the building. There is a small fee to enter the museum. Additionally, there is also a cute gift shop connected to the museum that is situated at the entrance of the building. Photos were encouraged throughout the visit, however, they did tell us that videos were not allowed. Marceline and the Walt Disney Hometown Museum is a bit of a trip to make since it is out in the northern part of the state with the closest airports and cities being St. Louis (about three hours away) and Kansas City (roughly two hours away). Again, as a huge Disney fan, this was worth the drive for us and I would recommend the visit to the Walt Disney Hometown Musuem if your trip allows for it. read more

See all

This Walt Disney museum was very nice and impressive with the pictures, memorabilia and history about his legacy. The outside front entrance had a really nice garden with bench seats and a clock, I believe this building was a former train station due to it being close to the train tracks and it's a Santa Fe Engine 5008 display next to the museum that looks really nice and also a 2-8-0 steam locomotive #2546. Even though the Disney museum was small it was still very nice overall experience. Walt Disney childhood home is located not too far down the and is definitely worth checking out too. read more

See all

If you're a Disney fan, go. If you're not, it's a toss up. Disney grew up in Marceline and it continued to impact his success. There's a little bit about Walt's childhood there, and how its Main Sttreet buildings inspired Main Street USA at his theme parks. While it plays off the quote , "Jf it all began with a mouse, " there is a great gap between his childhood and the construction of the first Disney theme park -- Disneyland -- that is left unexplained. Instead, there's is a good deal of memorabilia. The museum is not affiliated with the current Disney corporation. If it were, it would have the full Disney glamour and sparkle treatment. Without that, it is a small town museum a bit out of the way, honoring a local boy who made good. read more

Walt Disney Hometown Museum - Museums Near Me - Marceline, Missouri

See all

Very cute little museum with great boyhood information. Lovely, cardboard recreations of Disneand main Street. Probably, a good 1 hr and you will see everything. Then, you can drive down main Street which is cute like many old main Streets in the US. You can also drive past his boyhood home but it is privately owned so only a drive by. All is all a cute rest stop along the highway. read more

See all

I gotta say- this one surprised me. I only wanted to see Marceline to see what Main Street looked like compared to the Disney parks I've visited. (I wasn't disappointed) I did NOT expect the volume of Disney memorabilia that was there. Many signed letters from Walt. Lots of extremely rare collectibles on display. The workers were super friendly and helpful in explaining the museum as well as sites around the town. This is a must see for any Disney fan. read more

See all

I landed in the area of the Walt Disney Hometown Museum and wanted to experience it. I came seeking history and that's definitely what I got. The entire area surrounding the building was welcoming. I was impressed right away! I came here with my significant other and her service dog. I paid Admission for Adults * $10.00 and that was a great price in my opinion. During my visit, I learned a lot about Walt Disney and his family. He definitely had a productive childhood. The information and history kept flowing throughout my time here. My favorite part was the stairs leading up to the second floor with words from Walt Disney. I feel that was a unique feature that they had. Before we exited the building, we looked at what they had for sale near the entrance. I ended up getting a Pen for $3.50. It was a reasonable price. They had the Rush Johnson Memorial Garden outside of the building. I walked around it before I left. It was cool to check out. The customer service was good. I didn't have any issues. Overall, it was an amazing experience, especially for the price it was. I'm glad I went and I might even go back again someday. Date of visit: December 3, 2023 read more

See all

This is a Nostalgic gem. If you are in the area it is worth the stop. A lot of history and many artifacts you will not see anywhere else read more

Like I said in my review for Walt's Barn, if you're a true Disney nerd or fan you gotta come to Marceline and visit all of Mr. Disney's old haunts! The one thing about Marceline is there is probably no fast way to get there and it is not close to any major populated area. But if you are in northern Missouri, it's waiting for you to visit. It's hard to believe that the man whose name is on the world's biggest media company had his creative start in this town. The museum is housed in an old train station, where Walt and his family once set foot upon arriving from Chicago to live in the area. The Disneys would also catch trains here during there time in Marceline. (Oddly enough, trains go by the town every hour but they don't stop in Marceline!) The museum opened in 2001, and is a tribute to the station and the town's most famous resident. Walt Disney was, no doubt, overly fascinated with trains in his youth and adult life that he would incorporate them in his future works. There is a section in the museum that tells more about that. A lot of personal items from the family were donated by Walt's younger sister, Ruth. The museum gives a lot of perspective of what times were like in Marceline during the Disney's stay there. Walt would return to the town in 1946, as well as 1956, to dedicate a public swimming pool named after him. Lots of history are told in several rooms. I met a lady (probably in her 80s, at least) who is one of the museum volunteers and she is featured in the documentaries being played in the museum. She is probably one of the very few still alive that knew Walt Disney personally. It goes without saying, she was full of stories and she described Mr. Disney as very warm and kind. Be sure to buy plenty of souvenirs from the gift shop. Many books, collectible items, and clothes are available for purchase. I ended up buying a couple biographies about Walt. If you have extra time, be sure to walk around the town for a bit, where there are historical markers that talk about how they related to Walt Disney (like the old theater, post office, etc.). The main drag would influence Main Street USA. read more

Walt Disney Hometown Museum - selfie time - Museums Near Me - Marceline, Missouri

I'm a big fan of Walt Disney. We were visiting KC and I noticed we could detour to Marceline on the way home. It ended up being a much farther detour than I thought. The museum itself is a very low key affair. Much like the many hometown museums scattered around. I'd say actually seeing it wasn't as important as just making the pilgrimage. They have some Disney items that random people have donated and quite a few things from Walt's sister, Ruth. Upstairs is a miniature Disneyland that some guy made. Disney itself has obviously had little to do with the museum. We also visited the downtown area which is said to be Walt's inspiration for the Main Street area of the Disney parks. Walt was gifted with a very good imagination. So I crossed something off my bucket list, but unless you are a really huge fan or if you are in the area, it may not be worth the trip. read more

See all

Amazing experience! Beautiful museum and a lot bigger than I thought. Main Street is in walking distance from the museum, too. Michelle at the register made all the difference for us. She made our visit truly one of a kind. She offered to take our group photos and provided us with a lot of information. We took our 5 & 3 year old with us and they had a scavenger hunt thorough out museum that really made all the difference with the kids. Would absolutely recommend! read more

Walt Disney Hometown Museum - Museums Near Me - Marceline, Missouri

See all

Greeted by friendly museum staff. Gift shop had a lot of options and got some collectible items. The exhibits were fantastic and updated and really showed us a deeper dive into the Disney family and their connection to Marceline. Bathrooms were nice as well! 10/10 would come back again! read more

The museum was a great stop if you are a Disney history nerd. I love all things Disney history because of what Walt accomplished and how it has defined our existence. The museum was full of a lot of very cool classic Disney pieces but what was more interesting were the more obscure, personal family pieces from Walt's sister, Ruth. I spent a lot longer in there than I thought I would and came home with a deep appreciation for Walt's story. read more

Walt Disney Hometown Museum - Original autopia car - Museums Near Me - Marceline, Missouri

See all

Total gem. Building is a beautifully restored train station filled with unique, one of a kind pieces of Walt Disney history. You truly learn why Walt has such fond memories of Marceline and why he would visit so many times over his lifetime. Cannot recommend enough read more

Great place! Learned more than I did working in The Disney Stores! Just loved the Museum!! :)

I'm a huge Disney fan. I even moved to Florida so I could frequent Walt Disney World. Needless to say, when my girlfriend and I took a trip to Kansas City to visit her family, I knew we had to make a detour to Marceline to see the WDHM. The WDHM is a must do for any Disney fan. As a Disney fan who has watched documentaries and read books about Walt Disney's life and family, I still learned a lot from walking around the museum. I didn't expect to learn as much as I did. The museum isn't huge (it's housed in the train station that Walt arrived at Marceline in when he was four), but the two stories it does have are loaded with stories and memorabilia that make the ten dollar entry a great value. My girlfriend's family (who are not big Disney fans like I am) also enjoyed the museum a lot more than they expected to. The staff are very proud of their museum and their hometown. They even hand out maps showing you where you can go to see Walt's childhood home and the site of the Dreaming Tree where Walt would go to think. The WDHM also has a small gift shop in the entry. I purchased a T-Shirt on clearance for only twelve dollars and also got some cute shotglasses with the signature Marceline Mickey street sign on it. If you're a Disney fan (or even if you're not!), definitely make sure to go to the WDHM if you're in the area. read more

See all

Very friendly people. Place is very informative. If u are in area well worth the time to visit

We brought a group of 20 on a Saturday to the Museum. It was WONDERFUL! Staff was so very knowledgeable and helpful, especially Kaye, whose family were close friends with the Disneys - so many personal stories that added so much. The Museum, in the old train station, was a delight, and truly fun for adults and children. It's a MUST SEE if you happen to be anywhere close to Marceline. Highly recommend! read more

What a great museum! My guy and I are pretty avid Disney fans and we couldn't wait to visit Marceline when we got sent to Kansas City to work for an extended period of time. We're both former cast members and have seen our fair share of the parks, but have never seen the place where the magic began. The museum, itself, is in the old train station that Walt Disney himself came through during his visits back to his hometown. I really enjoyed how well this place tells the story of Walt and his family. Both of us learned so much about the Disneys and Walt's life in Marceline that inspired him. We also got a tour from a woman who is a Marceline native who actually had Walt Disney stay at her house in the 1950s! It was really great listening to her stories about Walt Disney and Marceline. After we were done walking around the museum, they handed us a map and gave us directions on where to go to see the original Main Street USA that inspired "Main Street" in all of the Disney parks around the world. We were also given directions to go visit the home where Walt and his family lived when they resided in Marceline. Marceline, MO may be a small town, but it's full of Disney love. Both of us had such a great time and highly recommend making the trip to visit Walt Disney's hometown. read more

See all

We had a great time learning about Walts younger years and seeing the memorabilia associated with Walts time here. This is the town where Walts love of trains originated. Walt visited several times and even donated a ride from Disneyland to their park. There is lots of great history here for train and Disney fans alike. read more

Walt Disney Hometown Museum - Walt Disney Hometown Museum - Museums Near Me - Marceline, Missouri

We stumbled across this place by total accident, but my family are huge fans of Walt Disney. (We all have Mickey Mouse shirts we would have worn if we knew.) So we pulled off the road, and it turned into a 3 or 4 hours stop. The museum is in the old train station in the town where Disney grew up, which is fitting of a man who so loved trains. The museum is very well done. The artifacts were left to the town by Walt's little sister, and is focused on Walt the man (who he was and what he came from) and not on the Disney company or icons. We learned more and I enjoyed it more than from the D23 exhibits we have visited at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry and Disney Studios in Orlando. This was less show and more personal. And the guides were very knowledgeable. When you finish in the museum, you can drive by his childhood home, and visit the old barn where he sat under his dreaming tree and started the dreams of entertaining the world. Then you have to visit the little town of Marceline, MO which inspired Disney's Main Street USA in both parks. (The museum talk, and the drawings and models connect all the dots.) read more

Walt Disney Hometown Museum - Son of Walt Disney's original dreaming tree. - Museums Near Me - Marceline, Missouri

See all

For anyone whose childhood entertainment world centered around Disney, this is a sweet visit back in time. it's especially fascinating once you connect the Main Street in this town to his concept and creation of Main Street at Disneyland and Disney World. The second floor is full of the original models and stories for how the amusement parks grew. The first floor is devoted to his family, professional, television, and movie history. read more

Was a nice place to visit. Relatively small, but good size for the size of town, However, my favorite place was his farm. The original barn was destroyed so a replica of the barn from his childhood is there (built in 2001) and you can go in and sign your name wherever you want on the inside. You can also see/feel where he came up with many of the designs and themes for his movies. read more

Great museum for Disney fans. Been wanting to visit for a long time but it's not exactly near any where so when I knew we'd be within 3 hours of Marceline for another event I knew I had to make the trip. Not sure if/when I'll ever be back in the area but if I'm close enough I will definitely be making another visit. read more

Visited the museum yesterday while driving through town. The collection is nice and enjoyable to walk through. They have monitors spaced around both floors of the exhibit that provide pertinent commentary on the items in each room. The lady at the front desk did an awesome introduction of the museum. We were also lucky enough to meet the museum curator that was featured in the commentary videos that we watched. It was interesting to hear about the Disney family's life in Marceline and it was easy to see how the town impacted Walt's life and future vision for his parks, etc. This museum is worth a stop! read more

Major Disney fans will LOVE this museum and the feel of the whole town. The Museum has so much of Walt's History in Marceline and really designed the museum to feel like you were in a home. The museum is in the old train station for the town. It's so nostalgic as trains still pass through as you walk around and read all the history. My girls, 10 and 13 loved it too! I would have to stay the only thing not the greatest that shouldn't surprise me was the gift shop prices were very high. We really enjoyed the history signs throughout the town and the Disney home/barn. Completely worth the drive if you are a MAJOR Disney fan. read more

See all

For the actual Walt Disney entertainment lovers, it's a must. The Disney family story created from salt of the earth folks and Midwest values is the foundation that the Disney brand was built on top of. Walt and Roy took their childhood home and tried to share their experience with the world. Ice cream, a friendly face and the childhood joy that everyday is Independence day can be felt on Main Street USA in Marceline, MO and is replicated in California and Florida. read more

We had a great time there. If your a Disney fan, this is a must visit. Very informative and an extremely friendly little town.

Marceline is Walt Disney's hometown. After my vacation was canceled this week, I decided to have my dream stay-cation: go places that are close enough for a daytrip, where I've wanted to go for some time and where I've never been. Marceline was near the top of this list. You can read all the details of the history of Marceline online, or better yet, just hop in the car and learn about it when you get there so you can be surprised by some of it. Long story short: Walt Disney was in Marceline for his formative years. He returned to the town at every opportunity as a successful adult. The Disney family has donated a lot of items belonging to Walt and others in the family. They've also donated some money, and a few years back, the Walt Disney Hometown Museum opened. The Disney Company does NOT own the Museum, which charges only $5.00 for adult admission and I think $2.50 for kids. If the Disney Company owned it, you'd probably be looking at an extra zero before those decimals. The Walt Disney Hometown Museum is in a 100-year-old train depot. I'm not into trains, but I know a few people who are, and I think they'd love a day in Marceline. The town is full of trains. The Hometown Museum has a whole room about Walt Disney and trains. A park elsewhere in Marceline has a real train engine and a caboose. Anywho... Our visit began with a guided tour. On a Tuesday morning, there were only two other people in our group. The guide took us through the first four or five rooms, telling stories about Walt's life and his time in Marceline. This part of the tour lasted perhaps 25 minutes. Then we were encouraged to explore the museum on our own. I was impressed with the size and quality of the museum. I guess I was expecting a museum with a couple of rooms and several of items from historic Marceline. There were two floors with multiple rooms, which contained: letters, voice recordings, films playing, cool artifacts from Disney Land including part of a ride, a big Mickey statue just begging for a photo op with me, lots of information about Walt's time in Marceline and later in life as well as information on his parents, grandparents, siblings and children. I didn't know a thing about Walt Disney as a person before my trip to Marceline. I have a much better understanding of who Walt Disney was now that I've been to the Museum. How cool is it that I've seen his school desk in person?! There's a small gift shop with Disney merchandise without Disney prices. My companion purchased a brightly colored t-shirt reading "Walt Disney's Boyhood Hometown" (or something like that) for $15. I opted for a nice booklet about Walt's times in Marceline for $5 that helped me plan out the rest of my day in the town. If you need a Disney fix without having the means or opportunity to go to a park yourself, consider making a trip to the Walt Disney Hometown Museum. There is plenty to do in Marceline for a day. It will make a pleasant day of your stay-cation! read more

The museum is fantastic. It is housed in what was the old train depot in Marceline, Missouri. Marceline if you did not know is where Walt spent most of his childhood, and Marceline's main street was the inspiration for Disneyland's main street. Anyway the train depot used to be a happening place to stop but over the years it had become run down. The locals decided to turn it into a museum that documented Walt early childhood. They do an excellent job of connecting the dots on how Walt grew up and who he became. We had a docent named Inez show us around the place and she was fantastic. She told us a story of how the town invited Walt and Roy back to dedicate a new community pool in the 50's and how when they accepted the town was a little surprised they wanted to come back to their home town. As it turned out Marceline had only one home that had air conditioning in that time, so the town invited Walt and Roy to stay with Inez's family as they only had the one air conditioned home in town. While the Museum is fairly small in comparison to say the Disney Family museum in San Francisco it was none the less filled with interesting exhibits and the staff is wonderful. read more

See all

This museum is absolutely charming. It's set in an old railroad station which only enhances the ambience. It's very informative and interesting, especially for avid Disney fans. It's about 10,000 square feet but its very easy to spend a few hours there looking at the exhibits and antique Disney paraphernalia on display. Thank you to Peter at the museum for being so informative and engaging. There's an activity for young children to find different animals in the different cases and displays and that helped to keep them entertained while we strolled along and read all about Disney history. Definitely worth the drive all the way to Marceline! read more

My son and I made a special trip here, driving a couple of hours out of the way to do so because it may be the last time either of us is in the area again. First, I'd like to point out that it was a little disappointing that the original dreaming tree is gone. I understand that trees die, but the area where the original tree was located could have been better maintained. In fact, the entire area of the tree and barn could have been better maintained. I realize that the effort is purely voluntary and I can appreciate that since most museums keep costs down by utilizing volunteers, but come on folks. The barn was fairly interesting. Looking at all of the names written in there, both unassuming and famous, one can appreciate how many people love the Disney legacy if not the brand. You can look at Walt's Marceline home from the road, but it is private property and closed to visitors. However, if one is still long enough and lets their mind wander, it isn't too hard to picture the area as it may have looked in 1906 when a small child name Walt Disney first stepped off the train in Marceline. The museum itself is the highlight of the experience and for a small museum it holds some fairly unique Disney memorabilia. Created from the original SantaFe train station, the museum certainly explains Walt's lifelong fascination with railroads. Moving around the museum, non Dinseyphiles can learn some little known trivia about Walt, Marceline and the extended Disney family. Each exhibit has a short video concerning the exhibit and if one is so inclined the video "Walt: The Man Behind the Myth" plays in its entirety in one of them. Being two hours long however, I don't know how many people actually sit and watch it. Local shops and eateries around town give little gifts and discounts to the museum visitors and walking down "main street" it isn't too difficult to imagine what Walt saw in the small town that kept drawing him back over the course of his life. I would point out that I was fairly disappointed in the museum gift shop. While I'm not sure about the museums official relationship with the Disney Corp., the lack of official Disney merch was quite disappointing. It would serve the museum well to either acquire or repurpose a building for an expanded gift shop containing more traditional Disney items. On the whole, the experience was worth the effort to see it and I may return to take a more complete tour of the museum and the surrounding area. read more

A beautiful and wonderful place to visit. Staff is incredibly friendly and very helpful. The museum has a great selection of rooms that touch on the various aspects of Walt, his family, his contributions to Marceline and finally a wonderful room of collector's items that have been donated by fans for the museum to borrow. You can also visit the farm he grew up and "walk right down the middle of Main St. USA" :) If you're in the area and a Disney fan it's something you should definitely see. read more

DISNEY FANS UNITE! OK... So we all know what unites us, the TRUE Disney fans; The stories, the animation, the attention to detail, and for the parks, the sheer passion that most of the Cast Members show when doing everything they can to make you feel welcome. All of these aspects are here in this tiny town of Marceline, MO, where Walt himself spent 5 short, but incredibly inspirational years as a boy, and where the legacy clearly lives on. I always can remember myself as a boy, growing up in Metro Detroit, and having incredibly distinctive memories of learning about the world, and little curiosities around me. That must've been ten-fold for Mr. Disney, because the impact that this small town had on him as a young boy is present in everything he had a hand in following his departure. All of these tales are proudly told through people who lived through it (the 86 year old tour guide was a gem) as well as the other staff, who are clearly just as passionate about this man's life and impact. The thing I liked most about this museum, and surrounding, was learning more about the family, and more intimate side of the Disney's. You definitely get a sense of where all the inspiration came from with Walt Disney, and it adds some "humanity" to the legend that has become Walt Disney. From the hand-written letters to family members (along with a sizeable collection of original signatures!) to original Disneyland ride memorabilia, this place is well worth the drive, and admission price. I suggest taking your time to read through all the plaques, and literature, to get a true sense of what they are trying to convey here, you won't be disappointed! read more

Nice museum of Disney artifacts from his childhood and adulthood. For those who like to listen to the display, make sure to bring headphones. The museum has 2 floors, the first floor is his childhood and a little of his adulthood, other than the cool display of fan art from Disney fans. If you or your kids like Disney, this is a great place to check out! read more

We made the pilgrimage to Marceline to visit the Walt Disney Hometown Museum. What a marvelous place. Peter made the visit special by helping our goddaughter Molly's day so enjoyable. I also loved the exhibits and memorabilia. read more

For years I would pass Marceline, on my way to my brother's house in Northern Missouri. I finally got a chance to stop over the Thanksgiving holiday to find out that the museum was closed. But the atmosphere of the town that celebrates one of the most beloved men of our time is awesome. I plan on visit the museum the next time it is open and can't wait to see what all it has to offer. read more

We stumbled upon this fantastic gem of a museum and it was well worth the $10 admission. Learned a ton. Staff was informative and enthusiastic. Great exhibits. read more

The Walt Disney Hometown Museum is more than a piece of Disney trivia. It is a loving history of the man who so many people only know as a brand name. My wife and I are true Disney fans, so we were surprised to learn so much that we didn't know. The museum tells about the family and Walt's roots in Marceline, Missouri. Being in the town, and in the museum particularly, is a wonderful insight into Walt Disney's past. Many historic sites have little to offer other than a few trinkets and stories. The Walt Disney Hometown Museum is filled with memories and history in the middle of small-town America "Where Walt Found the Magic." read more

Wonderful museum! Happened upon this thanks to a sign on the road. Your tour begins with a personalized recollection of Walt Disney and his families' connection to this lovely little town. Then, you can tour the museum on your own. Extremely well done. So thankful we found this place. A great gem! read more

See all

A Disney must do! So much memorabilia about Walt Disney and his ties to the Marceline community. We were thoroughly enchanted with all the stories, exhibits and displays. Inez is a true delight. read more