A one-of-a-kind exploration of Disney history is now open in Kansas City. See inside
Everyone has a Disney memory, according to Union Station CEO George Guastello.
A Disney memory is something from the Disney universe that spoke to you and has stuck with you ever since, he said. His memory was seeing “Mary Poppins” with his aunt in 1963 at the Midland Theater.
“It was really a moment that meant something special,” Guastello said. “Forty or 50 years later, they came out with another ‘Mary Poppins’ and those children have that memory.”
He might soon have another experience that will top it.
Disney100: The Exhibition opens its doors at Union Station on Friday, and it’s the culmination of over five years of work from Guastello and Union Station to convince Disney that the exhibition needed to be in Kansas City.
More than 250 of Disney’s artifacts collected from the archives from “100 Years of Wonder” are on display. Some of the items available include original costumes, film props and artwork — plus a section highlighting the importance that Kansas City had on Walt Disney’s life and business.
“We’re not just doing an exhibition, we’re telling memories and we’re telling stories,” Guastello said. “We may be creating a memory for parents and children or grandparents and children with this exhibition.”
Walt Disney’s history in Kansas City
The items on display in the “Local Connections” space have one thing in common — they link Kansas City and The Walt Disney Company. It’s one of the first times Guastello said Union Station could add a local piece to a worldwide exhibit and tell a hometown story.
Walt Disney’s history with Kansas City is the main reason for Disney bringing the exhibit to town. Born in Chicago, Disney lived in Kansas City from the time he was 9 and opened his first animation studio near Troost Avenue. The books he checked out from the Kansas City Public Library reportedly inspired him some of his drawings, one of which would become Mickey Mouse.
In addition, Semmel Concerts, a German-based live events company working with Disney on the exhibit, previously partnered with Union Station to bring “The Discovery of King Tut” to North America for the first time in 2014.
Guastello heard they were working with Disney and called them about it. He was told the exhibit would only be going to four important cities (Philadelphia, Chicago, London and Munich) and Disney couldn’t bring it to Kansas City.
With a little help from Hallmark, who was the first licensee of Mickey Mouse in the 1930s and hosts plenty of artifacts from Walt Disney’s time here, Union Station was able to convince Disney to bring it to KC.
Items exclusive to Kansas City’s exhibit, like the books Walt Disney checked out from the Kansas City Public Library, will be on display, in addition to artifacts from Hallmark, the Kansas City Museum, The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures, and Bank of America.
Guastello hopes that the pieces from these institutions will inspire people coming to see the exhibit to go visit the museums and libraries.
“Lauren (Kovarna, Union Station’s associate vice president of marketing) worked diligently with the archives to add these really rich artifacts from Kansas City’s collection to tell the story of Walt in Kansas City,” Guastello said. “This is a piece of the exhibition that no other exhibition has in the United States.”
.png "unnamed (13).png")
What’s in the Disney100 exhibit in KC?
Three-dimensional maquettes that show the journey of animated characters and stories from concept to screen will be in the exhibit, as will over 14 interactive installations highlighting the many properties under Disney: Pixar, Star Wars, National Geographic, MARVEL and more.
Along with that, visitors can see these pieces from the Disney archives:
A megaphone from Laugh-o-gram Films used in 1923.
An employee badge issued to Walt Disney for Disneyland Park.
- Storybooks from the 1937 animated film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and 1939 animated film “Sleeping Beauty.”
- The prop spell book from 1993 live-action film “Hocus Pocus.”
- The glass slipper from the 2015 live-action film “Cinderella.”
- The Skywalker lightsaber hilt used by Daisy Ridley in 2019’s “Star Wars: The Rise of the Skywalker.”
- The “dinglehopper” from the 2023 live-action film “The Little Mermaid” used by Halle Bailey.
The Disney exhibit is the biggest to come to Union Station. To host it, staff had to make some renovations in the gallery. They had to put in a new lighting grid and truss system to handle everything, which Guastello said cost over $200,000.
“We have to create now ‘the happiest place in the world,’ which is Disney,” Guastello said. “So we’re going to be the second happiest place in the world or just the happiest place in Kansas City.”
How do I see the Disney exhibit?
Timed tickets for the exhibit are available on Union Station’s website. Prices range from:
- $18.50 for Union Station members
- $20 for children ages 4-12
- $22.50 for adult ages 55 and over
- $25 for everyone else
- $30 if you want to visit at your convenience
- $50 for VIP, which includes a VIP pass and an exclusive lanyard and pin
The exhibit’s hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday from May 24 to Sept. 2. Its hours change to 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday from Sept. 3 to Nov. 30.
This story was originally published May 20, 2024 at 12:38 PM.
