Disneyland Without Kids

Recently opened, the Walt Disney Family Museum offers a unique opportunity to look into the history of Disney, the movies and even the theme park. Ok, we know what you’re thinking — this isn’t exactly about Disneyland but since there’s park history included in the museum it’s worth including for those interested. So let’s begin.

The museum is comprised of 7 galleries walking through Walt’s life with stops to discuss a lot of the company history along the way. It all starts with background on his family, childhood and upbringing before diving into the earliest Disney cartoons (not the ones you’re familiar with but rather what he started on long before Mickey), his time in world war I driving for the red cross and up through the advent of the Disney we know today, the inspiration for the park and finally his passing almost 50 years ago.

What you’ll find is pretty typical of a museum only with Disney content. There are tons of photos and displays of all sorts of art from sketches of early projects and events to video and audio interviews of Walt and his close associates talking about his entire life.

The museum is a tour of the adventure that is Disney from its earliest days up to what was left when Walt passed away. The famous characters and movies are all there along with a lot you may not know about. It’s truly interesting content but presented in a very modern, sophisticated and yet still fun environment.
And of course there’s the park from the earliest inspiration to first stage sketches, even a large model recreation of the park as it existed for Walt. You’ll find photos of the opening, VIP visits, information on the rides and all sorts of other interesting tidbits ending with press coverage on the park from the 50s. Pretty cool!

A few tips for museum goers…
1. The museum is just that, a museum. No photos, no video, no rides. There’s a lot to look at and do but an hour is more than enough time unless you plan to reach every word.

2. The museum is located in the back of the Presidio in a restored and now beautiful building. If you catch it on a good day, you’ll get a great view of the Golden Gate bridge and the SF Bay.

3. Parking is open, vast and free. Tickets are not. $20 per adult. $125 for a dual membership.

4. Even hardcore Disney fans probably won’t find themselves going back that often. It’s interesting but it’s not exactly something that changes on a daily basis.

5. Take your time when you visit. It’s not just about a little reading, there’s lots of video, lots of history and even a whole bunch of cartoon clips. Like we said it is only an hour but you should spend that hour… the exit door sneaks up very quickly.

6. And don’t forget to book your tickets in advance. We were lucky to go on a slow weekend (which was surprising since it was the first weekend it was open) but this is a queit museum and they only sell so many tickets per hour.

Our advice…
Go. It’s a great way to spend an hour (plus a few bucks in the museum gift shop) and it really does provide insights into Walt, the history of Disney and the movies that you probably don’t know and have definitely never seen like this.

Sorry, no photos. We’re not allowed to take them either.