I hope we never lose sight of one thing—that it was all started by a this man, a visit to The Walt Disney Family Museum #Waltagram

I’ve been lucky in that I’ve had the opportunity to visit The Walt Disney Family Museum twice before including this past June. So when we had the chance to visit this wonderful museum again on The Good Dinosaur trip, I was just as excited as I was the first time I visited here with my family a few years ago. Located in the Presidio, in San Francisco, the Walt Disney Family Museum houses so many Disney family artifacts that even after visiting three times there are things I’m sure I missed! 

Artifacts, sketches, photos, props and awards are just a few of the things you’ll get to see when you’re touring the museum. 

You start out learning about Walt’s early years and seeing corresponding photo’s, you learn about his family and how his father was a bit of an idea man who would have a multitude of business idea’s but none of which seemed to work and that’s why the family moved from Chicago, to Marceline and then Kansas City.

It’s fascinating to see how and what shaped the man that has touched so many lives, lives of people that born years after his death. From actual furniture from the Disneyland apartment the Walt shared with family members. In the picture below you can see my family and I in that actual apartment in Disneyland, and the corresponding photos of the museum artifacts. 

 Moving along we see an ambulance similar to what Walt drove during WWI for the Red Cross and how being away from home at such a young age shaped him into the man he would become. 

You can spend hours in each room reading about how this struggling artist started to make his mark on the world of animation (Laugh-O-Gram & Alice Comedies) and how the rug got pulled out from underneath of him when he lost not only Oswald the Lucky Rabbit but most of his animator’s as well to Universal.  

Thankfully a rodent problem in Walt’s Kansas City studio turned things around. Walt while dejected from losing Oswald and his animator’s began sketching a new Oswald and it was a mouse he had adopted in Kansas City that turned his life around. Originally named Mortimer, Walt’s wife Lillian thought that name wasn’t appealing and renamed him Mickey and the rest was history. 

You not only read stories about the history of this great man but the artifacts are there as well and seeing some of the earliest sketches of Mickey is awe inspiring. 

As you make your way from room to room it’s like you’re going through the 
decades of Walt’s life and as we move along we move into the 50’s and that’s the Disneyland decade and you’ll get to see what is the coolest diorama in the world a functioning model of Disneyland. 

It’s massive and beautiful and is something my husband would love to take home with us. When we visit as a family and if we get separated I know I will find him there staring, mouth agape, and wide eyed, like a little kid on Christmas morning. 

This model is that spectacular. If you’re a fan of the movies, or the theme parks, or both there is something here for you to see. Think that is amazing, this museum has a bench from the park where Walt Disney brought us daughters and thought there has to be a better place where families can enjoy their time together, and came up with the idea of Disneyland.
And you’ll get to see something my husband deemed the million dollar view. In a hallway leading from room to room is a wall of glass, and outside of that glass just off in the distance is the Golden Gate Bridge and this view is breathtaking. 

As you wrap up your tour the last room you’ll walk through, on the wall, contains copies of the Western Union telegrams Lillian received upon Walt’s untimely death. I was told specifically by my husband to pay attention and read them if I had the chance, I did and it was moving. It was moving to see people from all walks of life, from Hollywood big shots, to Politician’s, and just regular everyday people just pouring out their sympathy for a man who touched them in a significant and meaningful way.

The out pouring of love and respect was evident when you read those telegrams, it really was moving. People would think that well you’ve been there three times you’d never go back! False! When we head back to San Francisco again, I know for a fact we will make the time to visit this wonderful museum. I haven't even scratched the surface of everything, you really do get a sense of and a glimpse into the life and family of this man. If you have the chance to visit do it! You won’t be disappointed.

ADDRESS:

The Walt Disney Family Museum

104 Montgomery Street

The Presidio, San Francisco

San Francisco, CA 94129

MUSEUM HOURS:

Open daily 10am–6pm, except every Tues, Jan 1, Thanksgiving & Dec 25

Last ticket sale and entry is 4:45pm

Visit the official Walt Disney Family Museum Site
Like the Walt Disney Family Museum on Facebook

Follow the Walt Disney Family Museum on Twitter #Waltagram

 Have you ever visited The Walt Disney Family Museum? Is this a place you would like to go to one day?


****Disney provided me with an all-expense paid trip for me to cover this great event ****  

Disclosure: The reviews and or opinions on this blog are my own opinions . No monitory compensation was received. I was not required to write a positive review. Your experience may differ. The opinions I have expressed are my own I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsement and Testimonials in Advertising .