The Walt Disney Birthplace, Chicago, Illinois, May 2017
OVERVIEW OF THE ORIGINAL PILGRIMAGE
FROM BIRTH TO DEATH
Day 1: Chicago
Day 2: Marceline
Day 3: Kansas City
Day 4: San Francisco
Day 5: Mineral King
Day 6: Valencia/Newhall/Los Angeles
Day 7: Disneyland
Day 8: Burbank and Glendale
TIMELINE/HISTORY OF WALT'S PILGRIMAGE
2013: Idea of the Pilgrimage is Born in December
2014: Proposal for a college course on Walt's Pilgrimage is proposed and approved
2015: Study in the States course in Western Michigan University's Lee Honors College debuts as the "Disney Pilgrimage" with 8 students participating in July
2015: Course is renamed "Walt's Pilgrimage"
2016: Second Pilgrimage Course
2017: Third Pilgrimage Course
2017: Walt's Pilgrimage The Book is published
2018: Fourth Pilgrimage Course
2019: Fifth Pilgrimage Course
2020: Course cancelled due to COVID-19
2021: First virtual Pilgrimage Course offered
2022: Sixth Pilgrimage Course
2023: Seventh Pilgrimage Course | 100th Year of The Walt Disney Co.
2024: Eighth Pilgrimage Course is expected
NEWS COVERAGE OF THE COURSE
2018 Walt Disney Day in Kalamazoo:
2023: Wisdom of Walt Wednesday Newsletter
2022 Walt Disney Birthplace Newsletter (July 2022)
2017 Visit to the University of Missouri-Kansas City
2015 Visit to the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, MI
VIDEO ABOUT STUDY IN THE STATES
Dr. Christopher Tremblay shares an overview about Study in the States at Western Michigan University using Walt’s Pilgrimage as an example.
ABOUT THE PILGRIMAGE
The idea for the Pilgrimage was born in December 2013 when Christopher Tremblay visited the Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. In that same month, Tremblay had pledge support via kickstarter for The Walt Disney Birthplace in Chicago, Illinois.
FROM TREMBLAY:
I had always wanted to visit Marceline, Missouri to see Walt’s hometown and thought about gathering some fellow Disney fans for a road trip to Chicago (to see the birth home) and Marceline. I shared the idea with my dear friend and university colleague, Julia Primavera Kuntz, who told me that my idea sounded like a “Study in the States” trip offered by Western Michigan University’s Lee Honors College in Kalamazoo. So the fun road trip became an official college course. Then the course inspired this book. I wanted others in the world to experience the life of Walt Disney in this way.
Walt's Grave at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, CA
CLASS OF 2015 PILGRIMS
CLASS OF 2016 PILGRIMS
CLASS OF 2017 PILGRIMS
CLASS OF 2018 PILGRIMS
Visting the Walt Disney Hometown Museum in Marceline!
CLASS OF 2019 PILGRIMS
Hanging out at Disneyland.
CLASS OF 2022 PILGRIMS
Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Laugh-O-gram Film Studio.
CLASS OF 2023 PILGRIMS
Students lawn bowling — one of Walt’s hobbies.