Walt Disney’s Carolwood Barn on Zoo Drive next to Travel Town is fun to walk through the barn full of memories and seeing the trains that inspired Disneyland! Nestled in Griffith Park, the greenery and hills, takes visitors into a different time. A refuge from the 134 freeway that is just over the way, peeking through the trees. There is a simple, half-paved, parking lot that leads to the fence with a small yellow shack next to it. Check out more info at: https://carolwood.com/walts-barn/. Walk around the fence and get your Walt’s Barn sticker! Then, there is a small town of buildings set against the hillside, this is more than your typical model train, it feels like a world. A water tower and a larger buildings surround the tracks of the train.
Walt Disney’s Carolwood Barn, photo by the author.
It wasn’t working because the rain made the tracks slick, but more reason to return. The tracks weave around the barn and hint at more miniature buildings. It is run by the non-profit Carolwood Foundation, but you can donate which I would strongly encourage. There are volunteers, throughout the area, who like to answer questions and point out an interesting part of the barn. It is a red barn replicating the Disney farm in Marceline, Missouri. Outside is a plaque celebrating 50 years in 1999. It feels like a workshop inside, a locomotive in the center, with displays on work benches hand made by Walt Disney. Along the left side is an iron spike from Walt Disney’s 100th Birthday Party at Marceline with a photo of the old barn.
I think what really impessed me was the diorama of the Mine Train Thru Nature’s Wonderland. The parts of the attraction still remain in the park like a lost land with tunnels and waterfalls. Outside is the full size railroad passenger car painted yellow. It feels like it is ready to leave the station. Inside are displays like the original Santa Fe & Disneyland R.R. tickets! You can feel the dream of Disneyland there in the train that will later wrap the park in its embrace. It is free and the barn is open on the third Sunday of every month. Just around the corner is Travel Town, https://traveltown.org, with its vintage trains and miniature train ride that was running at that time! Just around the corner is the L.A. Zoo and Botanical Gardens, https://lazoo.org, always fun to wander and just watch the animals! Plus, the Gene Autry Museum of the American West, http://www.theautry.org, I need to plan a visit! There is an incredible number of experiences at Griffith Park, some free, and others offer amazing rides and the chance to see more of our world!
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