A day trip to the Walt Disney Family Museum is undoubtedly enough of an activity for a day trip the whole family will enjoy.
The Walt Disney Family Museum encompasses three renovated buildings at the Presidio in San Francisco. It is not owned by the Disney theme park giant but by a group of Walt Disney’s heirs and family members.
The museum lets visitors explore in detail the artistic, technological, and societal accomplishments of the man who founded the Walt Disney empire, Walt Disney. You will get a chance to understand and assess all aspects of Walt Disney’s work, as well as the history of the man himself.
In the museum lobby, you will have the chance to review awards garnered by Disney during his life, including the Academy Awards for several of his films and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
From there, you can choose ten galleries to begin your exploration of Mr. Disney. On the museum’s lower level, a theater with décor that will fascinate fans of the movie “Fantasia” shows Disney classic films.
The museum’s ten galleries are split into two types of organizations. Galleries 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, and 9 take the viewer through Walt Disney’s story from his birth in Chicago in 1901 to his death in 1966.
Galleries 4, 5, and 8 focus on aspects of Walt Disney’s artistic story. Gallery 4 is dedicated to the story of the creation, filming, and release of Disney’s “Snow White,” a technological marvel for its time and the first feature-length animated film ever made.
Gallery 5 explores some feature films that followed Snow White, such as “Fantasia.” Disney’s nature films were an essential part of the Disney legacy, and Disney’s love of nature is displayed in Gallery 9.
Gallery 10 stands alone, dedicated to documenting the worldwide responses to Walt Disney’s death.
As interesting as the galleries are, they are far from all that is available at the Disney museum. The museum also sponsors lectures and discussions about Walt Disney’s personal history and the Disney brand’s artistic and historical legacy.
Workshops are held on the first two weekends of each month, using many different art mediums and teaching people of all ages.
They are designed to match the theme of the special exhibits that the museum hosts. In the “Learn from the Masters’ series, some of the best artists in their medium teach artistic techniques during two-hour workshops.
“Animate Your Night” events occur when the Walt Disney Family Museum throws an after-hours party. Each night has a unique theme, such as “Fantasyland Flair” and “Tinsel in Tomorrowland.”
Some of the workshops and other events are free, while others have an additional fee, so be sure you make your reservations for any of those when you purchase your tickets.
Getting to Walt Disney Museum
The museum is open every week except Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the last admission starting at 4:45 p.m. each day.
If you visit the museum with tiny children, you can use reasonably sized strollers in the galleries. The museum is wheelchair accessible as well—104 Montgomery Street, The Presidio, San Francisco, California.