This Tiny Town In The Midwest Was The Inspiration For America’s Most Beloved Theme Parks

Marceline, Missouri was Walt Disney's hometown. The sleepy community of about 2,500 people served as an inspiration to the theme park magnate and informed a lot of his creative vision for classics like "Lady and the Tramp" and "So Dear to My Heart." The little town was home to the 40-acre farm where the Disney family lived and worked for just under six years when Walt was young.

After he achieved fame and fortune, Walt actually planned to build a unique theme park in Marceline that would honor and recreate the bucolic charm of small-town America as he knew it in his boyhood. The park was supposed to feature a hotel, buggy train, miniature golf course, and a horseshoes area. There would also be recreations of an old-fashioned barbershop, general store, butcher shop, haberdashery, pool hall, and coal mine. Sadly, the project never panned out and when Walt Disney died in 1966, the "Marceline Project" died with him.

Today, Marceline is home to the Walt Disney Hometown Museum. This attraction focuses on the Disney family’s life in Marceline and how the small town influenced his creative works. The museum features a reproduction of the Disney’s barn located on what was actually their original property, along with countless props and memorabilia from Walt’s animation days.