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

2025: Ninth Pilgrimage Course is expected

NEWS COVERAGE OF THE COURSE

2018 Walt Disney Day in Kalamazoo:

OTHER COVERAGE:

2024: Mineral King Preservation Society Blog Post

2024: Being a Fan of Disney Podcast: Walt’s Pilgrimage

2024: Mineral King Preservation Society Newsletter

2023: Laugh-O-Gram Newsletter

2023: Wisdom of Walt Wednesday Newsletter

2023 My Disney Class Podcast

2022 Walt Disney Birthplace Newsletter (July 2022)

2022 Hyperion Hub podcast

2019 Better.net

2017 Visit to the University of Missouri-Kansas City

2016 Visit to Burbank

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.

WALT'S PILGRIMAGE LAWN BOWLING TROPHY

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.