I had the good fortune of visiting Walt Disney’s childhood home in Marceline, Missouri.
It’s a quaint town.
I was told Main Street USA was inspired, in part, by the main street in Marceline, and I can see some of that. I’ve also heard inspiration came from lots of places for lots of what Walt created. But I wanted to talk a little bit about going to see Walt Disney’s home.
What drew me to it is that, before I even knew about being a creator, being an inventor or being an entrepreneur, I was drawn to people like Walt.
These are people that look into the future and imagine, and they make and create.
In Walt’s case, it was through the art of entertaining.
That really helped form my childhood, and it helped form who I am today. My personal connections to Walt Disney and Disney were several.
As I was growing up, Sunday evenings meant The Wonderful World of Disney.
As I remember it, there were movies, TV shows and things about animals. We would watch it together as a family, and that’s something I’m not sure happens much anymore, where a family sits down and watches a show together.
It was one of our social connections. One of our personal, intimate connections.
A snack and a show.
It thrilled me.
I looked forward to Sunday nights so much because I loved the Disney product. I loved the Disney movies. Always have.
I loved that they were family-oriented. They were films that parents could watch with children, children could watch with parents, and they were just delightful.
I wanted to be one of the actors in those movies. The Apple Dumpling Gang. Herbie the Love Bug. Don Knotts. Kurt Russell.
That was my first desire to be an actor, to be in a movie, to be on TV.
Later, growing up in New Jersey, we’d make trips to Florida. We’d take the Auto Train, with our car loaded onto the train, and we’d go to Disney World.
Going to Disney World…
It was magic.
The Magic Kingdom.
And here’s what’s interesting.
The words that were used for Disney are words that I still use today when I think about how I would describe myself or how I would like to describe myself.
Magic.
Mystical.
Imagine.
Imagination.
Imagineering.
Adventure.
Enchanted.
Those words have stayed with me.
One thing I also discovered while visiting Marceline was Walt’s love of trains.
Trains still pass through Marceline today.
I recorded a podcast there yesterday, and five trains passed by in one hour.
I’ve always felt connected to trains, too.
Just another little connection.
What struck me most about visiting Marceline wasn’t just seeing where Walt Disney grew up.
It was remembering that someone who changed the world once walked these same streets.
He imagined.
He created.
And he left the world a little more magical because he did.