A gem deep in San Francisco’s Presidio is only a short trip away. All the fun, excitement, and magic associated with Disney is awaited at The Walt Disney Family Museum. You can enjoy the ten main galleries about Walt Disney and his journey in animation and life, as well as various exhibits the museum offers like special galleries, many original movie posters, and the movie of the month.

The first exhibit starts by exploring Disney’s early life with drawings from the early 20th century. A room is dedicated to his first pieces and detailing his bad business deal which led to the bankruptcy of his first animation studio. It was “a good, hard failure” as Walt put it.

The museum transitions to his time in Hollywood and ambitions moving forward. Not all stories start out as a fairy tale, but through belief, anything can happen. And in Disney’s journey, it all started with a mouse. After losing Oswald the Lucky Rabbit that is. In this exhibit lies the first sketches of the iconic Mickey Mouse along with various sculptures, toys, posters, and original Mickey Mouse comic strips.

Disney was an innovator and an experimenter.  His work in bringing color and sound brought new life to animation and exposing the use of technicolor, synchronized sound, and the use of the Moviola to capture each detail.

A portion of this area is very interactive with recreating sounds using the mini instruments set on a table, using the Moviola to view artwork as the editors did in the 1930s.

Each innovation helped produce the world we know and add depth to the images. After his success, Disney always liked to raise the bar and try new things. Some of this is focused on creating personalities for the seven dwarfs.

In order to accurately capture the animal cartoon form in the movie “Bambi,” Disney’s first film with only animals, he would bring in actual animals and visit wilderness sites.

The museum features snippets of the films and posters to supports the war. Among those is the famous Der Fuehrer’s Face featuring Donald Duck.

It’s the little things that make the museum a special place. In the room after Disney’s effort to support the war the legacy of Disney movies is immortalized with a screen beautifully shaped in a waving ribbon stretching across the entire room. This room showcases everything Walt had a hand in creating.

The sketches, memorable movie moments, and live action films are featured around the room. Below the screen sits four interactive touch screens on everything from the story development, Disney at work, about Walt, Alice in Wonderland, and so much more to view about Disney’s legacy.

Toward the end of the museum, everyone enters a land of magic, or at least the beginnings of one that is. One of the very last rooms in the museum contains the entire creative process and the details of the opening of the world-famous Disneyland.

When I asked an employee what their favorite part of the museum is, the employee said, “Definitely being able to see how it all came together.” After witnessing the creation of Disneyland the museum ends with a room that perfectly sums up the museum and its tribute to Walt Disney.

Once you exit the main portion of the museum and go on to the lower level lies the museum’s special exhibit Deja View: The Art of Andreas Deja which opened March 23 and closes Oct. 4.
This unique exhibit showcases original works on paper and maquettes of Deja’s most iconic Disney characters, from the fearsome villain’s Scar and Jafar and larger-than-life muscle men Gaston and Hercules to the beloved Mama Odie and Lilo Pelekai.

Unfortunately, due to the museum not owning the pieces, photography is not allowed inside this exhibit. However, inside the Andres Deja exhibit is a theater which plays the movie of the month. Every month there is a new movie and for the month of May, Old Yeller is on their screens, so bring your tissues.

However, inside the Andres Deja exhibit is a theater which plays the movie of the month. Every month there is a new movie and for the month of May, Old Yeller is on their screens, so bring your tissues.

Starting May 18 to January 8, 2018, the museum will host the Awakening of Beauty: The Art of Eyvind Earle.

This original retrospective showcases the life and work of Eyvind Earle. Earle is best known as the lead stylist for Walt Disney’s classic feature Sleeping Beauty and for concept art that shaped everlasting favorites such as Lady and the Tramp and Peter Pan.