Saturday, June 12, 2010

The Walt Disney Family Museum

Last March I had the opportunity to tour The Walt Disney Family Museum

Walt DIsney 
Family Museum 6

If you are a fan of Walt Disney, or a Disney fan that would like to learn more about the man who started it all, then a visit to this museum is time well spent. 

I spent about 5 hours there (including a lunch break at the museum cafe - try the chili ;-]), and had a great time.  I feel like I could have easily spent two days exploring the galleries. (Full disclosure: I'm a Disney geek, and also one of "those people" who likes to read the plaques/etc). 

The museum is located in three beautifully restored buildings at The Presidio of San Francisco 

Walt DIsney 
Family Museum 2 

Walt DIsney 
Family Museum 1

In addition to the permanent exhibits, the museum also has an ongoing calender of special events, which include film screenings in their on-premesis theater.  Check out the event calendar on the museum's official website.  You can also subscribe to their twitter feed (@WDFMuseum).

According to wikipedia, the museum is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Family Foundation - a non-profit organization which is not formally associated with the Walt Disney Company. 

One tip -- plan your visit in advance.  Admission is controlled by timed-entry tickets to avoid over-crowding in the galleries-- you reserve a specific date and time for your visit.  The web site should show current ticket availability. 

The museum strictly forbids photography inside, so I won't be able to share any images with you.  However, you can see select images from the galleries at the official WDFM website. 

Below the fold, I briefly list some of the things which stood out in my memory (with some mild spoliers).