The Walt Disney Hometown Museum in Marceline, MO has begun a Kickstarter campaign to try to re-fabricate and reopen the 10-car Midget Autopia that ran in Disneyland from 1957 until 1966.
When the construction of It’s a Small World forced the removal of the Midget Autopia, Walt Disney donated the ride to Marceline, where it operated for another 11 years, becoming the first Disneyland ride to operate off Disney property.
Unfortunately, rising maintenance and insurance costs forced Marceline to close the ride and it now sits in a barn on what was once the Disney farm.
Most of the original cars are in poor shape, so half of the money raised will be used to re-create the vehicles. The rest of the money will be used to build the 650-foot-long track.
The museum hopes to open the Midget Autopia by July 4, 2016 as a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the original gift.
The Walt Disney Hometown Museum features artifacts donated by Walt Disney’s sister Ruth Disney Beecher and welcomed 12,000 visitors last year.
