Walt Disney, daughter Diane Disney Miller and grandson Christopher Disney Miller in an Autopia car at Disneyland. Diane Disney Miller, along with The Walt Disney Family Foundation, played a critical role in bringing The Walt Disney Family Museum to life.
It can be reasonably argued that very few men — if any — left behind the kind of professional and personal legacy that Walter Elias Disney did when he passed away in December 1966. Not only had this ceaseless storyteller and visionary with a jeweler’s eye for talent utterly changed the face of family entertainment in multiple media, he had, perhaps even more importantly, inspired millions upon millions of people around the world with his heartfelt stories celebrating optimism, self-reliance, the wonders of nature, the importance of family and the unerring belief that wishing upon a star was no foolish enterprise — but an essential one. The spectacular and improbable story of this modest man’s journey from Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, Hollywood, Burbank, Anaheim, Florida and anywhere else he touched hearts on the globe has inspired dozens of biographies and hundreds of books seeking to explain how this man became one of the greatest artists of his — or any other — time. But now, with the opening of The Walt Disney Family Museum at The Presidio in San Francisco, admirers no longer have to leaf through pages to try to get a picture of this towering talent. They can walk along with Walt on the journey through his spectacular creative and personal life. It’s an adventure not soon forgotten.
The Walt Disney Family Museum is located in three historic buildings within the Presidio of San Francisco. The centerpiece is a former army barracks at 104 Montgomery Street and uses the building’s original domestic-scale rooms to frame the story of Walt’s life and incorporates a wide range of materials and technologies, from historic documents and artifacts to listening stations, interactive displays and more than 200 video monitors. A 114-seat screening facility on the lower floor of the structure will screen movies about Walt and his world.
In the Museum’s 10 airy and brick-lined galleries, this trip through time and into the mind of the quintessential American genius follows three primary paths: The story of Walt life, the story of his career and the story of America coming of age. Sure, there are eye-popping artifacts aplenty, including original animation art, photographs and film clips; Walt’s train, The Lilly Belle; a meticulously hand-crafted model of the Disneyland of Walt’s imagination; and examples of the technologies that Walt pioneered, like the multi-plane camera and the optical printer. But what makes a trip to these hallowed halls so unforgettable are the innovative storytelling — this is a museum devoted to Walt Disney after all! — interactive displays and a spectacular venue that not only perfectly serves the stories told but also preserves the historic character of The Presidio’s Main Post barracks.
“Walt Disney reached people because he was a magical storyteller,” says Richard Bennefield, executive director, The Walt Disney Family Museum. “Now it’s our turn to tell his story, to narrate the life of someone whose name is often confused with a brand, and to present him simply as a human being with an extraordinary vision. It’s a classic American story — the story about a boy from a farm who moved to the city and made it big.”
Interactive displays, myriad treasures from Walt's personal and professional lives and a historic venue combine to make The Walt Disney Family Museum a one-of-a-kind celebration of Walt's life.
Big is the operative word for both Walt’s life and the museum that celebrates his 65 years on earth. This is indeed a place of panoramic sweep, beginning with Walt’s early years — showcasing rarely seen original early drawings, then moving on to his first creative burst, beginning in 1923 — which, as every D23 member knows, was the year Walt arrived in Los Angeles and formally began his creative career. It then progresses through each milestone in a life well lived, including the period from 1928 to 1940, when the success of Mickey Mouse let Walt Disney expand the newly renamed Walt Disney Studios and improve the quality of Studio animations and Walt embarked on a series of ambitious projects like the “Silly Symphonies”; the move to features and the astonishing success of Snow White and the Severn Dwarfs; the ’40s and ’50s, when Walt — who had a love of nature since his youth in Marceline — also ventured into live-action documentaries; and the ’50s and ’60s, when Walt installed a scale model railroad on the grounds of his new home, an event that spurred him to develop Disneyland. During this period, Walt also created pioneering weekly television shows, and the studio continued creating both animated and live-action films, including the Academy Award-winning Mary Poppins. Walt was also involved in developing new technologies for installations for the 1964-1965 World’s Fair. It was also during this time that he announced his ideas for EPCOT, the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. In this glorious 15-year period, Walt created the templates for family television entertainment and outdoor family recreation while also infusing the promise of space exploration and urban planning with a sense of wonder and awe.
Like the work of Walt and his Studio, the Museum specializes in bringing stories spectacularly and unforgettably to life. Just some of the Museum’s standout displays include:
Steamboat Willie: Synchronizing Sound to Movement in Animation
To illustrate some of the challenges of synchronizing sound to film, a table with touch-sensitive bronze instruments will let visitors try to match sounds to their cues.
The Hyperion Studio — Birthplace of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
touch-screen table will let visitors explore multiple facets of the Hyperion Studio culture in a non-linear way. They will be able to view video clips, still photos, interviews, and factoids. The Hyperion Studio was the birthplace of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Multiplane Camera — Bringing Illusion of Depth to Animation
An interactive, miniature version of the multiplane camera, which Disney used to stunning effect in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. An original, two-story multiplane camera will be on view in the Museum.
Schultheis Notebook — The Special Effects Behind Fantasia
The original special effects notebook of Disney Studios employee Herman Schultheis, which will be on view at the Museum, has been scanned. The digitized version is now an interactive notebook that will allow visitors, via a touch-screen table, to browse through the journal, zoom in on drawings, photographs, and documents, and play back a scene from Fantasia.
Walt's beloved Lillly Belle home train is just one of the treasures on display at The Walt Disney Family Museum.
Walt knew a good voice when he heard one, and what makes this pleasant walk in the footsteps of a giant so startling realistic and immediate are the recordings of Walt and his brother Roy, wife, Lillian, and other family members, co-workers and observers of Walt’s life. They animate the space, crackle with history and authenticity, make you feel as if you might turn the corner and see one of these pioneering spirits. A 114-seat screening theater, located on the bottom floor of the Museum, will present special movies about Walt and his world.
Of course, Walt was much more than a creative genius. He was also a devoted family man, and the fruits of that character are felt throughout the Museum, which was founded by the Disney family. In fact, The Walt Disney Family Foundation has assembled many of the rare artifacts seen here while others have been generously made available by The Walt Disney Company and private collectors. “My mother, Diane Disney Miller, and I are very excited about the upcoming opening of the Museum,” says Walter E.D. Miller, Walt’s grandson and president of The Walt Disney Family Foundation. “Throughout his life, grandpa pushed the boundaries of his imagination — not just to delight his children or grandchildren, but to share his love of fantastical images and worlds with everyone. To see the world through his eyes was to see it through the wonders of imagination.”
“It all started with a love of drawing, a love of working with other people, a love of entertaining them and making them laugh, and a love of animation,” Richard notes. “The Bay Area is the home of both commercial animation — with Dreamworks, Lucasfilms, and Pixar — and online animation, coming out of Silicon Valley. When the Museum opens in San Francisco in October, we hope to contribute to a deeper understanding of Walt Disney — the way he shaped animation, entertainment, and American and global culture more broadly. We hope that people will be inspired by his determination, his love of excellence, his enthusiasm and his creativity.”
The Walt Disney Family Museum opens to the public on October 1. Click here to learn more about how D23 Members can secure tickets to the D23 Walt Disney Family Museum Preview Event, to be held September 26 and 27.
