The Walt Disney Family Museum San Francisco [Review]

Located in The Presidio of San Francisco in the Golden Gate National Recreational Area, The Walt Disney Family Museum details the life and legacy of Walt Disney.

You’ll find contemporary interactive galleries and state-of-the-art exhibits that are narrated in Walt Disney’s own voice, and feature early drawings, cartoons, movies, music, listening stations, more than 200 video screens, and a spectacular model of Disneyland.

One of the highlights is a giant multiplane camera that helped create spectacular 3D effects and changed the world of animation forever.

The museum’s main galleries showcase the permanent exhibits, and there are also several special exhibition spaces.

On the main building’s lower level, you can find the Theater Gallery and the Lower Lobby Gallery, housing small rotating exhibitions.

The Walt Disney Family Museum is also home to the Diane Disney Miller Exhibition Hall, a separate building behind the main gallery.

This hall houses more extensive collections, ranging from artwork displays to information on the creation of animated movies.

This museum prides itself on the educational resources and programs that it hosts, inspiring creativity and innovation in those who visit.

Popular educational opportunities at this museum include art and animation classes, guided field trip experiences, outreach toward the Bay Area’s diverse populations, and Disney movie screenings.

We visited the museum this past summer with admission through Citypass. Citypass offers admission to 4 attractions as a package discount. It included California Academy of Sciences; Blue & Gold Fleet San Francisco Bay Cruise; and 2 others of your choice. The Walt Disney Museum was one of the two that we decided to visit.

We spent about two hours there browsing through the various exhibits and artwork. There aren’t very many hands-on or experiential activities at the museum for the little ones but it was nice to see all the items that were showcased.

As we moved through the museum, there was definitely a sense of nostalgia.

One part of the upper level offers nice views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay.

On your way out, be sure to check out the Gift Shop for some opportunities to pick up some momentos.

Whether you’re interested in watching a Disney film or learning how to become an animator, creative experiences abound at The Walt Disney Family Museum.

Here are a few more photos from our visit.