A VISIT TO WALT DISNEY FAMILY MUSEUM

OCTOBER 20l0
VISIT TO WALT DISNEY FAMILY MUSEUM. LOCATED IN THE PRESIDIO OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF.

Open Wed-Mon. l0AM to 6PM closed Tuesdays...Plenty of free parking across street..


My visit to the Disney Family Museum was on the night of museum's first year ann. Disney's family opened the museum in Oct. 2009. There are 50 employees, and each room in the building, like Disneyland itself, is spotlessly clean. Museum also has a lovely theater downstairs, on night of my visit, Disney cartoon shorts were being shown all evening long, they also used theater for special events, such as Fess Parker's family, who recently showed his "Davey Crockett" TV series, and did a Q.and A. afterwards.

Before I started on the tour, I bumped into, downstairs, ROD MILLER. Rod was a ragtime pianist on Main Street in Disneyland, starting in l969, he retired in 2006. The Disney family flew Rod up to play ragtime tunes in the lobby during the ann. weekend. Rod worked at the Carnation corner cafe on main-street, Rod told me many stories. Disney had a personal apartment above the main-street Fire House in Disneyland. He could watch people come into his park, from his private patio looking out on the town square. Apt. today is still used, by Disney executives and Walt's family. Rod use to see Disney, early in morning, in his slippers crossing street from his apt. to a Disney cafe for coffee. Rod told me Walt liked to board the MARK TWAIN boat, and go for rides, sometimes he'd dress in costume as MARK TWAIN. On more than one occassion Rod said Walt, who had a drinking problem, would get tipsy, and a special code number would be called to security staff, and they would come with a diguise costume to get Walt out, unseen by the public.

It took my nearly 2.5 hrs. (self guided tour) to visit all ten galleries in chronolgical order recounting the history of Walt Disney's life and career. I learned about Walt's childhood, youth, and early adulthood, illustrated by many family mementos, including early drawings. The tour ends when Disney died, in l966, l0 days after his 65 birthday at St. Joseph's hospital, which is locate directly across street from Walt Disney Movie Studios, in Burbank, Calif.

In one room, a wall had 348 frame enlargments and cartoon shots of ,"STEAMBOAT WILLIE", comprising of less than one minute of screen time in actual movie. The museum tells you all about Walt's success with his creation of Mickey Mouse, and other Disney cartoon characters which lead to a revolution in the art of technolgy in animation. Another part of museum explains how Walt had the idea to build an amusement park. He knew that most were dirty, not well maintained, Walt's Disneyland would always be very clean. Walt once said, "Disneyland is like a piece of clay, if there is something you don't like, I'm not stuck with it. I can reshape and revamp.

Walt Disney came to Hollywood in l923 with just $40.00 in his pocket. And look what he accomplished. Disney was very enthusiastic about everyting, he never thought things would turn out badly. He was such a creative man, how many of the kids going to the park today, actually know who Walt Disney really was? This museum, by the time you exit, you'll have learned so much about the man. I highly rec. this museum, so much to see, you'll have to go back again.