The Walt Disney Family Museum
Located in the Presidio area of San Francisco is the wonderful Walt Disney Family Museum. The area was a former army fort. It opened on October 1st 2009. This museum came to be by from the work of Walt’s daughter Dian Disney Miller. It fills 40,000 square feet of space with Walt’s story, from before he was born to after his death in 1966.
The Front of The WDFM
His Early Years
The first few rooms of the Walt Disney Family Museum showcase the Disney Family tree. From such places and north east Kansas and Florida. It speaks of his birth in Chicago and then the move to what Walt would always consider his home town of “Marceline” and then into his time in Kansas City as a youth and a young adult. A little about his first studios that he opened and then closed in KC before his move west.
Walt Heads West
Once you are done learning of his time in KC you get in an elevator themed to look like an interior of a train car taking you west to sunny Califorina. This was a neat touch, because the railroad was a big part of Walt’s life. Marceline was a Rail Road Town, and that clearly had an impact on him. If you ever have the chance to get to Marceline to check out his Home Town Museum you will really see how important the Rail was to his childhood.
Walt in Hollywood
There are so many great exhibits that show the evolution of the Disney company as well as the man himself. You get a run through the the animation and live action films. Lots of great things about the movies themselves and the processes to use make them. Walt pushed the boundaries on the story telling side of things as well as the technology side. The exhibits show both sides of this.
It was fun to see things like Mr. Toads and a nautilus from 20,000 leagues under the seas!
The view out of a back hallway reminds you of where you are.
For park fans the best part is the park map of Disneyland!
Looking right down Main Street U.S.A.
In end you get to read some about Walt’s final days and the time afterwards.
After our time in the museum we stepped out to this nice food truck gathering on the parade grounds! So it was great to hang out with the locals to end our morning.
Here is the link to the official WDFM website!
Also check out our bonus episode about Doug’s visit to The Walt Disney Family Museum.
