Cinderella Castle model from Magic Kingdom® Park at Walt Disney World® Resort, on display inside the Your Disney World: A Day in the Parks gallery at “Disney100: The Exhibition.” (© Disney)
‘Disney100: The Exhibition’ showcases hundreds of artifacts from Walt Disney Archives
On May 24, Walt Disney returned to walk the floors he walked as a young man. He is being celebrated in “Disney100: The Exhibition,” the largest and most immersive project Union Station has ever produced, featuring hundreds of artifacts from the Walt Disney Archives in 14 interactive installations.
“We are excited to bring the tour to Kansas City, a place that was instrumental in Walt’s life,” said Becky Cline, director of Walt Disney Archives, at the exhibit’s public announcement on Nov. 2, 2023. “It was here where he forged his storytelling skills and his creative passion. Everything Walt did began with storytelling. It is the essence of Disney magic.”
“‘Disney100: The Exhibition” is a perfect fit for Union Station, because it ties Kansas City’s rich history with an international brand that started with just a mouse,” George Guastello, president and CEO of Union Station, remarked on opening night. “By telling Walt’s story, it offers our community a deep appreciation for our past, but most importantly, it inspires our future generations to dream big.”
Disney was born in 1901 in Chicago. He lived most of his childhood in Marceline, Missouri, before his family moved to Kansas City, where the teenager studied at the Kansas City Art Institute and School of Design.
In 1917 the Disneys moved back to Chicago, where Walt continued to study cartooning, hopeful of landing a job as a newspaper cartoonist. His progress was interrupted by service in World War I, after which he returned to Kansas City, where he found occasional employment as a draftsman and inker in commercial art studios. It was in Kansas City that he met the artist Ub Iwerks.
In 1922 Walt and Ub went into business making one- and two-minute animated advertising films for distribution to local movie theaters. They also did a series of animated cartoon sketches called Laugh-O-Grams.
In 1923, after a New York film distributor cheated the young producers — as legend has it — they filed for bankruptcy, and Walt, Ub, and Walt’s brother, Roy, moved to Hollywood, where the company being celebrated was founded.
Their breakout followed their invention of the character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and, in 1928, Mickey Mouse’s premiere in the film “Steamboat Willie,” whose roots lie in Kansas City.
At Union Station, reminders of classic films, from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” (1937) to “Cinderella” (2015), fill 10 themed Bank of America galleries. The displays include a long list of famous props and other artifacts from Disney productions such as Cinderella’s glass slipper; the Skywalker lightsaber hilt used by Daisy Ridley in “Star Wars: The Rise of the Skywalker” (2019), Captain America’s shield from “Captain America: The First Avenger” (2011), and the Mad Hatter’s teapot featured in “Alice and Wonderland” (1951). Also on display are original costumes for characters such as Cruella in “Cruella” (2021), Captain Barbossa in “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” (2003), Black Panther in “Black Panther” (2018), and Ariel in “The Little Mermaid” (2019).
Those looking for further confirmation of Kansas City’s ties to Walt Disney will find it in “Local Connections,” the space through which they will pass as they enter the exhibition. Union Station has partnered with local community organizations to gather more than 30 local artifacts from the early 1900s to the 1990s that attest to the ongoing relationship between the city and Walt Disney, his life and business.
And for those seeking yet more, especially on Disney’s Kansas City years, the University of Missouri – Kansas City is offering “Walt Disney in the UMKC Archives,” an exhibit in the Miller Nichols Library through September.
“Disney100: The Exhibition” is presented by Union Station, Walt Disney Archives, Semmel Exhibitions and Bank of America. As Matt Linski, President, Bank of America Kansas City, announced in November: “Bank of America has a storied history with the Walt Disney Company, dating back to the early 1930s, when we issued its first line of credit, initiating a decades-long relationship that includes the financing of some of Disney’s most iconic projects.”
“Disney100: The Exhibition” continues at Union Station, 30 W. Pershing Rd., through Nov. 30. For more information, visit unionstation.org/events or call 816.460.2000.
