For some reason, when someone becomes very famous, or infamous for that matter, people will want to visit their childhood home. The place they grew up. The home that made them who and what they became. It’s very common and has led to a cottage tourism industry. My story centers around the childhood home of Walt Disney.
Walter Disney was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film producer, he holds the record for most Academy Awards won (22) and nominations (59) by an individual. He was presented with two Golden Globe Special Achievement Awards and an Emmy Award, among other honors. Several of his films are included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress and have also been named as some of the greatest films ever by the American Film Institute.
He is most known for Mickey Mouse and the Disney theme parks.
So, based on all the smiles and memories that he has helped create, tourists visiting Walt Disney’s childhood home may come looking for a small piece of the magic behind the “happiest place on earth”, but what they find is a disgusting reminder of what is happening to every “Blue City” in the United States.
The Disney historic home is located on Bellefontaine Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri. The house looks as if it were taken straight from the pages of a storybook, with its perfectly charming front porch adorned with rocking chairs and bright green shrubs. It is located on a quiet Missouri street. It seems like there should be no problems.
The home’s current owner, Roberta Young, who also lives in the home, conducts tours of the picture-perfect property for Disney geeks who want to see a piece of Disney history.
But the illusion of an “old-timey” quaint home and neighborhood is slowly slipping away as more and more homeless encampments creep into the neighborhood. With the homeless camps, discarded needles, trash, and stolen cars line the town’s streets, and nearby alleyways are overflowing with garbage and debris.
Young said the disrepair is affecting the area’s reputation and giving tourists a negative experience. And besides all of this, it is unsafe.
‘I have people that come here and when they see that, it gives this place a bad name.’
The area is also preparing for a ton of visitors this summer as it will host four World Cup Soccer games in June. Young said the city is not prepared to make a good impression for the games with the garbage and the increasing homeless population.
Its streets are home to roughly 3,000 homeless, according to Fox 4 Kansas City. It has the largest percentage of homeless people per capita, it was reported in January.
The city has pledged $4 million toward the problem, but officials cannot force people to leave encampments and accept help, Josh Henges, a homelessness czar for the local government, told the outlet.
The city has already begun clean-up efforts elsewhere, including the Blue River, where 50 volunteers helped the conservation initiative, KCTV 5 in Kansas City reported.
Disney and his family moved to Kansas City when he was nine years old. The young boy was deeply immersed in his community, having taken drawing classes at the Kansas City Art Institute and attending Benton Elementary School, according to the Kansas City Public Library.
Disney would later return to the area after serving in the Red Cross during the First World War. He worked as an artist for an advertising agency. In 1920, he created an animated film with an old mentor, Ub Iwerks, which debuted in local theaters in the area. In 1923, Disney left the area and moved to Los Angeles to live with his brother.
