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Road Trip to Marceline, Missouri
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The Walt Disney Hometown Museum in Marceline, Missouri is only open from April 1 through October 31, but a road trip to the area where Walt Disney spent his boyhood years is always enjoyable, and getting there is half the fun.
The Second Star to the Right and Straight On ‘Til Morning? Umm…not exactly. But getting to Marceline, Missouri is almost as easy as that, and the trip takes only two hours from Kansas City.
The Most Scenic (aka Squirrel-Dodging) Way to Get There
Head east on US 24. You’ll pass lots of apple orchards, fruit barns, markets, and cider mills. You’ll be winding your way along a scenic byway, the Lewis and Clark trail, and your kids will be absorbing pastoral memories, much like the ones cherished by Walt Disney. They’ll see umpteen Christmas tree farms, wineries, and pecan farms. In fact, you’ll drive right by the World’s Largest Pecan (I kid you not!), a huge, 12,000-pound concrete pecan standing out in the middle of the James Pecan Farms complex about three miles east of Brunswick. This oversized nut actually inspired a question in the Trivial Pursuit board game! Let your kids get out of the car and sample some chocolate-covered pecans and old-fashioned stick candies from the Nut Hut, take a farm and plant tour, and visit the museum, which offers a video presentation of the process involved in the pecan industry. You don’t have to be nutty to enjoy the kitsch! On the east side of historic Keytesville, which boasts a statue of General Sterling Price, turn north on Route 5. When you’re about 9 miles from Marceline, you’ll see another “side-splitting” (groan) bit of rural roadside humor, a sign advertising the Mussel Fork Snipe Hunting Association.
The Quickest Route
Heading back to Kansas City, take a short 3-mile jog north out of Marceline on Route 5 to US 36 and then head west. You’ll go by the John J. “Black Jack”
Pershing Boyhood Home near Brookfield, the “Home of Sliced Bread” (and amazing murals) in Chillicothe, the J.C. Penney Birthplace & Museum and Penney Antique Mall in Hamilton, and Ma & Pa’s Kettle Restaurant in Cameron, where everything possible is made from scratch. Sip a cup of good, twenty-five cent coffee with the “Ma & Pa’s Gang” and then coast on home.
The Most Magical Way to Get There, Short of Pixie Dust
Take an Amtrak train to LaPlata, and stay in a luxurious suite at Depot Inn & Suites, a railroad-themed hotel. If you’re part of a group of ten or more, the hotel will ferry you to Disney’s “happiest place on earth.”
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