Disney/Reality: Main Street Cinemas and Kansas Avenue Theatres

Disney:  The Main Street Cinema in Disneyland is an idealized venue, steeped in turn-of-century nostalgia as is the rest of Main Street U.S.A.  Most Disney historians agree that the inspiration for Main Street was rooted in Walt's boyhood home town of Marceline, Missouri, although it is certainly a very generalized correlation.  But it is one we will still use here for the purposes of our very first Disney/Reality feature.  With its bright lights and elegant marquee, the Main Street Cinema is truly fantasy, not what an early 20th century theater was, but what it "should have been."

Reality:  If Kansas Avenue in Marceline is the historical counterpart to Main Street U.S.A., then the Utpon Theatre may be the closest thing we have to a reality-based Main Street Cinema. Located on Kansas Avenue in Marceline's "downtown," the Upton certainly is typical of small town America movie venues.  Similar in scale to the Main Street Cinema, it is however a generation removed from its Disney counterpart.  The Upton Theatre dates to 1930 and survived as a movie showcase up until just a few years ago.  It hosted the world premiere of The Great Locomotive Chase in 1956 which Walt personally attended.  An earlier Marceline theater, the Cater Opera House, was likely more similar to the Main Street Cinema, and it may have been the place where Walt experienced his very first motion picture.

The Ghosts of Marceline: The Midget Autopia

It was a somewhat haunting experience, to say the least.

My son and I arrived in Marceline, Missouri early on a Tuesday morning in the midst of an unrelenting thunderstorm.  It served to make this very small and quiet Midwest town even quieter.  We had some time to kill before the Walt Disney Hometown Museum opened, so we decided to drive to the south end of town and see the Walt Disney Municipal Park.  There we would find the remains of an early Disneyland attraction: the Midget Autopia.

A postcard of the Midget Autopia at Disneyland

The park seemed a quiet place, regardless of the poor weather.  It appeared as an almost forgotten area.  The nearby swimming pool was drained and apparently retired.  Playground equipment looked old and unmaintained.  I wondered if the park was more the destination of visiting Disney enthusiasts than Marceline residents.

The Midget Autopia was donated to Marceline during the summer of 1966.  The attraction had been removed from Disneyland when Tomorrowland received its famous makeover in the late 1960s.  It opened for the younger residents of Marceline following a dedication ceremony on July 3, 1966.  A faded and weather-stained dedication plaque remains:

Relocated from the Magic Kingdom of Disneyland as a gift to the children of this community from Marceline's favorite sons Walt and Roy Disney.  Accepted in appreciation July 1966 Mayor C. A. Young

It presents a mystery for the uninitiated; no sign remains of the former attraction, and it is not identified by name on the plaque.

What is left of the Midget Autopia lies now in stark contrast to the flash and flair we have come to associate with Disney entertainment.  Forgive the cliche, but it was indeed part of a much simpler time, especially in relation to the Disney Company and the corporate behemoth it has now evolved into.  A simple queue, cement tracks, a tunnel and overpass, and very sincere words on a small standing monument are what remains to remind us of this once bright moment in  both Disney history and the chronicles of Marceline.