Marcy Carriker Smothers is a radio personality and author of Eat Like Walt: The Wonderful World of Disney Food, Delicious Disney: Walt Disney World, and her latest book, published in October 2022, 100 Disney Adventures of a Lifetime: Magical Experiences From Around the World, which features The Walt Disney Birthplace!

Marcy joins us to talk about her journey of discovering Walt, the man, through her research into the history of food at Disneyland, and his upbringing in the Midwest.

Dan Cockerell, the former Vice-President of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World (leading over 12,000 cast members!), shares insights he gained while working for The Walt Disney Company for 26 years. Today, he and his wife offer management and leadership workshops, seminars, coaching and training based on everything he learned at Disney. 

Nathan Eick, Dramaturge, Creative Development at Disney Live Entertainment, joins the podcast to talk about his career with the Disney company. He also shares his thoughts on how Walt Disney's Midwest upbringing had an impact on Disneyland’s first entertainment offerings (like the Disneyland Band). Nathan also discusses about his volunteering work with Walt’s Barn and how the Barn and The Walt Disney Birthplace share a mission: remembering Walt, the man, not Disney, the brand.

This episode, The Walt Disney Birthplace Podcast: It All Started With A House speaks with Becky Cline, the Director of The Walt Disney Birthplace Archives! She discusses her long career at The Walt Disney Company and shares some fascinating stories about how the Archives work to preserve Disney history. Becky also shares how the Archives have helped the Walt Disney Birthplace answer questions about the home’s own history!

Nathan Eick, Dramaturge, Creative Development at Disney Live Entertainment, joins the podcast to talk about his career with Disney and his volunteer work with Walt's Barn. He shares his thoughts about how Walt's Midwest upbringing affected Disneyland's first live entertainment offerings (like the Disneyland Band). Nathan also talks about why he thinks both the Barn and the Walt Disney Birthplace share a common mission.

On the first episode of the Walt Disney Birthplace podcast "It All Started With a House," Maria Massad and Jacklyn Krol speak with Don Hahn, who is most well known for producing The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. In their conversation, they discuss how Don grew up in Chicago, and how he relates to Walt's life. They also discuss his personal experience in Chicago, creating Disney animated classics, documentaries, work, and what's next for him.

Join us for monthly episodes on Walt Disney's early life in his first home. We will feature interviews with Disney Legends, experts in their field who have helped with the Walt Disney Birthplace restoration project, and other special guests whose careers have been influenced by the Disneys! Our podcast is hosted by two very bright individuals on our Walt Disney Birthplace team, Maria Massad and Jacklyn Krol. Maria is the Walt Disney Birthplace's Director of Social Media and Digital Partnerships, and has been on our team for the last 2.5 years. She worked on promoting the American Experience | PBS documentary about Walt Disney and was a cast member at the Disney Store. Jacklyn joined the team in June to support this venture and has experience in journalism, content creation, and more. Both are volunteers, big Disney fans, and passionate about preserving the Walt Disney Birthplace!