Roadtrip: Disney Country
This past weekend, our family made the trip to Marceline to celebrate ToonFest, an annual Cartoon Celebration in Walt Disney's Hometown. Our second daughter is celebrating a birthday this week, and she LOVES Minnie Mouse (and Mickey), so attending ToonFest as a Birthday Weekend treat has been on our family Bucket List for a while! What beautiful weather we enjoyed for this trip. We chose to spend Friday night at a hotel in Chillicothe (30 minutes from Marceline) and then attended the Festival on Saturday (parade started at 10am).
Walt Disney lived in Marceline Missouri from 1906-1911. According to Marceline tourism documents, Walt once said, "More things of importance happened to me [in Marceline] than at any other time in my life." The town, about 2 1/2 hours from Kansas City, is home to several fun Disney landmarks and host of ToonFest every September.
Main Street Marceline inspired the now famous Main Street USA in the heart of Disneyland.
Main Street USA, Marceline Missouri
Disney Barn and Dreaming Tree
The Disney Barn became known as Walt's Happy Place, a place where he created childhood memories. Visitors are invited to write notes on the walls of the barn (inside only) sharing favorite Disney memories and drawings. And, you will also see the Dreaming Tree on the property where he loved to dream of new ideas.
Walt Disney's Happy Place: The Disney Barn in Marceline Missouri
Kayla Writing a Disney Note in the Barn
The Dreaming Tree
Marceline is also home to the Walt Disney Hometown Museum
The Walt Disney Hometown Museum is a self-guided tour through the life of the Disney family. You will see family photos, letters, and records. Watch a Disney documentary, learn about Walt's love for trains in the Great Locomotive Exhibit, see the artwork of other cartoonists, take your photo with the Railroading Mickey Statue, and see a model display of Disneyland. The Museum is open from April 1 to October 31 each year (Hours of operation: Tuesday - Friday 10am - 4pm; Saturday 10am - 4pm; Sunday 1pm - 4pm; The museum is closed on Monday's.) and located in the historic Santa Fe Depot at 120 E. Santa Fe Street. Admission is Adults (11 and older) $5.00, Children 6 - 10 are $2.50, Children under 6 are admitted free.
Be Sure to take a Picture with Mickey
It's a Small World section of the Model Disneyland
ToonFest
ToonFest is held annually in September. The Festival has a small town feel, but it was still great fun for young children. The Festival begins with a parade on Saturday. The Pirate and Princess Floats were favorites. After the parade, children may enjoy a Princess Tea or Pirate Adventure (fee applies). The Festival also offered traditional entertainment: Moonbounce, Barrel Train Rides, Bean Bag Toss, Ring Toss, Inflatables, Sack Races, Haystack Candy Hunts, and more. Tickets were 25/cents per attraction and many attractions were free and offered by local scouts and organizations. The girls listened to fairytales told by the Fairy Godmother, toured a cartoon exhibit (several famous cartoonists attend each year and offer presentations throughout the event), participated in a tractor pull (trophies awarded), learned to cast a fishing line (candy bars awarded for all participants), and enjoyed Mickey Mouse cupcakes and homemade ice cream. My husband enjoyed the Disney steam engine (feature photo) and train talk. The fair was small enough that lines were short and prices were very reasonable, but large enough to be great fun.
Our family had a great time in Marceline... the trip was easy, fun for young children who love Disney, and a great way to enjoy Fall Festival Fun with small town charm!
Note on Chillicothe:
We opted to spend Friday night in Chillicothe as we didn't want to miss the parade and rely on waking early enough for a 2 1/2 hour drive with young children on Saturday. Chillicothe is a small town famous for the success of the sliced bread machine over 100 years ago. To mark their notoriety as the Home of Sliced Bread, the town is decorated with 19 murals depicting early history including the famous Home of Sliced Bread Mural. The town is home to numerous chain restaurants and several local restaurants. You will find a movie theater, bowling alley, and small skating rink. We chose to have dinner, visit a town park and play, walk the square to see the murals, then head to the hotel for some family games and popcorn before the festival the next day.
On the Way Home... Locust Covered Bridge:
When did you last see a Covered Bridge, other than the pages of the occasional children's picture book? We found that Locust Covered Bridge (one of four covered bridges in Missouri) is between Chillicothe and Marceline, just about 1 1/2 miles from the highway. So, we took a detour to visit the Locust Covered Bridge State Historic Site. When you arrive, you park your car in the lot then walk 1/4 mile to the bridge itself over a gravel pathway. Once you arrive at the bridge, you'll find an exhibit explaining the history of covered bridges in general and the Locust Covered Bridge in specific. We explored the bridge and took some photos for the memory book!