ArtsBeatLA
Tiny Tots, Trains and Mickey Mouse – Travel Town Museum, Griffith Park

Tiny Tots, Trains and Mickey Mouse – Travel Town Museum, Griffith Park

Mickey and kids

It was a special day for excitable kiddies over at the Travel Town Museum in Griffith Park this Wednesday morning. A gathering of small children were delighted to meet and hug their over-sized rodent idol, Mickey Mouse. The children played with some new train toys, learned a fun dance and even rode Mickey”™s Choo Choo train around the park. At only $2.50 per ride, it”™s one of the best entertainment values around.

Walt Disney”™s lifelong fascination with trains is evident in many of his creations. For one week only we will be able to see some of his personal train memorabilia and artwork in an exhibition that opened today at the Travel Town Museum in Griffith Park.

The Walt Disney Express exhibit captures the love both Walt and Mickey had for trains, with a nod to the life on the railroad during the early 20th Century.

The show features over twenty artworks, including rare animation sketches and cells, historic photography and some of Walt Disney”™s personal train-related artifacts. As part of the exhibition, there are photographs of Disney riding the Lilly Belle train – his backyard locomotive named after his wife – and scenes from short films such as Mickey”™s Choo Choo, circa 1929.

from "Mickey's Choo Choo," 1929

The art exhibition is sponsored by Disney Consumer Products, so naturally a new Disney train toy is being released for the holidays. In addition, a new television special, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Choo Choo Express will air on the Disney Channel on Oct. 25th.

Also present for the excitement was a mini contingent of Marines (in full military dress) to promote their Toys for Tots program. The visiting children were encouraged to take a Disney toy that had been on display and place it in a giant box for unprivileged kids. It was so nice to see kids being taught to think of others.

The Walt Disney Express exhibit will be on display at Travel Town Museum from October 21- 28, 2009.

mickey's train 2

: STOP PRESS  :  Towards the end of November, the Travel Town Museum will stage their annual Train Ride to visit Santa. Children will board the Santa Express to the North Pole. There they can visit with Santa and tell him their Christmas wishes. Santa will have a special little gift for each child and Mrs Claus will also be on hand. Tickets are $7.00 per person and a photo with Santa will be available for an additional $5.

On selected days leading up to and including Dec 23rd, between 5 & 8pm.

For more information on the Travel Town Railroad

call (323) 662 9678 or (818) 881 2586

photos and review by Pauline Adamek

Pauline Adamek

Pauline Adamek is a Los Angeles-based arts enthusiast with twenty-five years' experience covering International Film Festivals and reviewing new Theatre, Film and Restaurants.

12 comments

  • Thanks for writing about this. There’s a heap of important tech information on the internet. You’ve got a lot of that info here on your web site. I’m impressed – I try to keep a couple blogs somewhat live, but it’s a struggle sometimes. You’ve done a big job with this one. How do you do it?

  • Thanks for writing about this. There’s a mass of good tech information on the internet. You’ve got a lot of that info here on your site. I’m impressed – I try to keep a couple blogs reasonably ongoing, but it’s a struggle sometimes. You’ve done a big job with this one. How do you do it?

  • Hey I just wanted to let you know, I actually like the writing on your site. I can still basically read the articles and explore for information, but just wanted to inform you that the navigation bar is kind of challenging to use with the config I’m running. Keep up the great work!

  • Those who insist that Michael’s loss equates to that of Elvis should listen to old music, see old films, and read some history.

  • I had to refresh the page 2 times to view this page for some reason, however, the information on here was worth the wait. I loved that it is also really easy to read for the eyes.

  • I really like the colors here on your blog. did you design this yourself or did you outsource it to a professional?

Categories

Follow us

Follow ArtsBeat LA on social media for the latest arts news.

Categories