Giving Lillian Her Flowers: Lillian Disney’s Window on Main Street, U.S.A.

Lillian Disney played a quiet, yet deeply influential, role in her husband’s career from the start. A steadying presence, Lillian was Walt’s sounding board over their nearly four-decade marriage, offering insights that guided some of Walt’s most important decisions. From helping to name Mickey Mouse to asking tough questions during the development of Disneyland, Lillian had an unshakable belief in Walt’s dreams and was always happy to offer her opinion about his big ideas.

The Walt Disney Family Museum Board—which includes four of Walt and Lillian Disney’s grandchildren and five of their great-grandchildren—were consulted in the design process for the window. When brainstorming window ideas with Walt Disney Imagineering, the family members felt it would be meaningful to highlight at least one of Lillian’s three big passions: flowers, antiques, and jewelry. An original shop name suggested by Jennifer Miller Goff, one of Lillian’s granddaughters, was “Lilly’s Boundiful Blooms”—a play on her maiden name “Bounds.” In the same spirit, the window reads: “Lilly’s Bountiful Blooms/Flowers and Fancies/Lillian Bounds Disney/Inspiring Worlds of Color and Happiness.” As the dedicated windows on Main Street are advertising fictional businesses, it was fitting to create a florist-themed tribute to Lillian, a nod to her lifelong love of flowers.

When she and Walt purchased land to build a new home, Lillian envisioned extensive gardens around the north side of the property. Walt had made other plans for that area of the property, imagining his miniature railroad going through the same space. “I made it clear that I wasn’t thrilled,” Lillian shared. “His train was going to run through the middle of an area where I had planned to grow a beautiful flower garden.” Walt’s solution to save Lillian’s flowers by including a 90-foot-long tunnel that ran beneath her flowerbeds. True to the spirit of their long marriage, they reached a heartfelt compromise that allowed them both to indulge in their hobbies—Lillian kept her cherished flower garden and Walt got his beloved Carolwood Pacific Railroad. (You can read more about Walt’s dedication to trains in our new book, Walt Disney’s Trains: A Grand Circle Tour Through His Life and Legacy, available at the Museum Store). The deal was consummated by a legally binding right-of-way contract, which, to this day, is likely the only such agreement between a married couple.

For decades afterward, Lillian’s garden flourished. She took pride in landscape design and seasonally planted her garden. “Granny loved her garden and walked through it daily,” Lillian’s granddaughter Jennifer Miller Goff recalled. “It was a beautiful mix of flowers, trees, and raised beds of berries and vegetables, surrounded by the paths that had been Lilly Belle train tracks. She had a separate beautiful rose garden in the front of the home by the driveway, and she loved to pick and arrange bouquets for her home, which made the house smell of roses.”

This window honor is made even more distinctive by the addition of decorations adorning the balcony. The beautiful blooms are accompanied by charming detail—including an artist’s easel and palettes. The artist who created the artwork displayed next to the window, Hayden Evans, shared, “I was asked to make a painting of the Fire Station as if it were being painted from the vantage point of the balcony it now rests on. I tried to stay as loose and painterly as possible and tried to keep the tones rich—almost golden—to capture the special 'morning magic' that awakens the Park before its guests arrive.”

Lillian’s support for her husband is now cemented in Disneyland history for all to admire and appreciate. Jennifer shared of the honor, “It was particularly meaningful that the Company waited to celebrate Granny and Grandpa’s 100th wedding anniversary by honoring her with the window. And the details were thoughtful. She never wanted or asked for attention, but she deserves to be honored for her contributions, and it was done beautifully.” We invite you, on your next visit to Disneyland Park, to “stop and smell the roses” at Lillian Disney’s well-earned window.

Image sources (in order of appearance):

• Lillian Disney’s window display on Main Street, U.S.A, 2025; Christian Thompson/Disneyland Resort © Disney 
• Walt and Lillian Disney pose in front of his electric car, cased on a 1903 Oldsmobile Runabout, at Disneyland, c. 1960s; courtesy of the Walt Disney Archives; © Disney
• Lillian Disney’s window display on Main Street, U.S.A, 2025; Christian Thompson/Disneyland Resort © Disney
• Museum board members and Lillian’s grandchildren at the window dedication ceremony, left to right: Jennifer Miller Goff, Tamara Miller, and Christopher Miller, July 13, 2025; Christian Thompson/Disneyland Resort © Disney