The Walt Disney Family Museum: Learn About the Man Behind the Mouse

Sketch from Snow White
by Anisa // 4 Comments

I’m a big fan of everything Disney – the characters, the stories, the theme parks – so when I learned about the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, I knew I needed to check it out.  

Before I visited the museum, I didn’t know much about Walt Disney and his story, and I was fascinated and inspired by what I learned.  The museum has such a great message and I think it is best stated by Walt Disney himself. “All of our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” Click to Tweet

It’s one of the most inspirational museums I have ever been to.  Let me tell you more about what you can expect when you visit the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco.

Note: This post contains affiliate links.  Please see the disclosure for more information.

The entrance to the Walt Disney Family Museum
The entrance to the Walt Disney Family Museum

Overview of the Walt Disney Family Museum

The museum covers his family history and childhood years all the way to his death in 1966.  The story is presented chronologically so that it is easy to follow.  

I was surprised to learn about the setbacks in his career and inspired by how he reacted to them.  His imagination and determination were key to his success.  He was such a great innovator, time and again, rewriting the boundaries and doing things no one had done before.  

The lobby of the museum, look at all the awards!
The lobby of the museum, look at all the awards!

He never stopped believing in himself regardless of the obstacles or naysayers.   Disney was a hard-worker, visionary, and an optimist, that inspired brilliance in those around him and made a big impact on the entertainment world.
Even though this is the Disney Museum, I do think it is better suited to adults and older children.  There are a few interactive exhibits, but for the most part you read and see pictures and other artifacts to learn the Disney story.  There is also content on the STQRY app that you can listen to as you go tour the museum.  

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Pictures of Walt Disney and family.
Pictures of Walt Disney and family.

Walt Disney Family Museum Highlights

The museum is filled with so many interesting tidbits, so I wanted to share a few of my favorite here:

  • Walt had a paper route growing up which required him to wake up at 3:30 am!  Sometimes he would play with toys that he found on his route but always made sure to put them back exactly where he found them.
Some of Walts early drawings
Some of Walts early drawings
    • He lied about his age so that he could join the American Ambulance Corps during World War I.
    • While he had his first job at a commercial art studio, he started his first animation venture, Laugh-o-Grams with another artist, but it quickly went bankrupt.  So when he moved to Los Angeles at the age of 21, he only had $40.
    • Mickey Mouse was not his first successful character, it was actually Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.  But Oswald was owned by Universal Studios so because of contractual issues, Disney had to start over again.  It was fascinating seeing some of the early drawings of Mickey.  it is also interesting to note that Walt was the voice of Mickey at times.
An early sketch of Mickey Mouse
An early sketch of Mickey Mouse
  • Steamboat Willie was the first cartoon with synchronized sound.  They have a nice interactive exhibit that helps demonstrate the technology that they used for this.

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Sketch from Snow White
Sketch from Snow White
Some sketches from Disney Pinnochio.
Some sketches from Pinnochio.
  • You can sit on a bench that Walt used to sit on as he watched his children at the park and dreamed up Disneyland.  He wanted a place where families could spend time together.
  • There is an apartment on Main Street USA in Disneyland (the second floor of the firehouse) that Walt and his family would stay in.  Walt watched the crowds come in on Opening Day from this apartment.  Now, a light in the apartment stays on, as a tribute to Walt Disney.  You can see this on the diorama of Disneyland in the museum.
The Disneyland Diaroma
Seeing this diorama made me want to go back to Disneyland!

How to Get to the Walt Disney Family Museum

The museum is located in the Presidio area of San Francisco and is accessible by car, bus, or bike.

The address is 104 Montgomery Street in the Presidio of San Francisco, California. Note that there are two Montgomery Streets in San Francisco and if you using GPS to navigate to the museum, please enter the zip code 94129.

There is paid parking available throughout the Presidio area.

Walt Disney Family Museum Operating Hours

The museum is open from 10:00 am – 6:00 pm daily except on Tuesdays, January 1st, Thanksgiving Day, and December 25th.   The last entry time is 4:45 pm.

The view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the Walt Disney Family Museum.
The view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the museum.

Is the Walt Disney Family Museum Worth it?

Tickets for the museum are $25 for adults and $15 for kids aged 5-17.  Children under five are free.  There is an additional charge for special exhibits.  It’s a bit pricey for a museum, but for Disney fans and anyone looking for some inspiration, I think it is worth it.

If you plan on doing other sightseeing while you are visiting San Francisco consider getting the GoCity Card.  It includes admission to The Walt Disney Family Museum and 25 other tops attractions in the city (like SFMOMA).  Get more information about the San Francisco GoCity Card here.

Tickets do sell out, so if you don’t have the San Francisco Go City Card and would like to visit the Walt Disney Family Museum, it is best to purchase them in advance here.

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Visiting the Walt Disney Family Museum

These are only a few of the highlights, there is an impressive collection of memorabilia and information. I would recommend allocating at least 3-4 hours to visit.  We spent a solid four hours at the museum, there is a lot of information to absorb.

And as a bonus, you get a nice view of the Golden Gate Bridge in one part of the museum.  You will leave the museum an even bigger Disney fan with a renewed sense of determination.  

Are you a Disney fan too? Have you visited the Walt Disney Family Museum? I would love to hear about your experience.

-Anisa

Expert Tips for Your Visit to the Walt Disney Family Museum

Disclosure: No financial compensation was received, but the Walt Disney Family Museum did provide complimentary tickets.  As always, opinions expressed here are my own.

This post also contains affiliate links. This means we will receive a small commission for some purchases made using links in our blog with no additional cost to you. Please be assured we would not promote any product unless we believe that our readers will also benefit. The commission does not influence the editorial content of this site.

 

Last Updated on February 22, 2021

About the Author

Anisa is an experienced international traveler with extra pages in her passport and stamps from 41 different countries across 5 continents (and counting). She was born and raised in Texas. After a 13 year stint in NYC, she moved to England to live with her husband.

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