Join us as we explore animation through the lens of race, ethnicity, and culture from around the world. In this two-week class, students will study diverse stories, writing tropes, and prominent figures within the animation industry. Using paper cut-out animation skills, students will then design
Whether it be by painting self-portraits, identifying personal traits within their characters, or making caricatures of colleagues during studio meetings, artists have long used themselves as a source of inspiration and reference. In the upcoming set of Studio Series workshops, look inward and use
“Ten years of fantasy, ten years of fun, ten years of growing, and we’ve only just begun…”
In its first decade of operation, Disneyland Park welcomed nearly 50 million guests, its attractions and shows multiplied, and its creator entertained increasingly bigger plans. The Park’s 10th anniversary in 1965—dubbed the “Tencennial Celebration”—proved a significant turning point in its history, as Walt Disney made sure it would.
Join Academy Award®-Nominated Director and Tony Award®-Nominated Writer Roger Allers for behind-the-scenes stories from his career in animation, including The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), The Lion King (1994), The Little Matchgirl (2006), Open Season (2006), and The Prophet
Join Voice Actor Jim Cummings for behind-the-scenes stories from his television and film work on The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1988-1991), A Goofy Movie (1995), Pocahontas (1995), Hercules (1997), Tarzan® (1999), The Tigger Movie (2000), Piglet's Big Movie (2003), The Princess and the Frog
In February, The Walt Disney Family Museum closed the popular and beloved exhibition, Mickey Mouse: From Walt to the World. After its final close, the Collections and Exhibitions team began deinstalling the exhibition. When objects are slated for removal from an exhibition, they are carefully removed and either returned to their original storage location or sent back to their lender. With the unique Carousel Mickey—created by Henry De Vos circa 1930—there was more work needed to securely
Watch any Disneyland fan walk into the park, and you’ll see their eyes glance up to the left just before they reach Main Street, U.S.A. Walt Disney’s apartment sits nestled above the Town Square Fire Station, easily invisible to those who don’t know of its existence, while remaining an iconic part of Disneyland to those who do…
Whether capturing an iconic moment in a film narrative or an attraction experience, posters have played a crucial role in Disney history and served many purposes. In this workshop, join us as we explore the history of Disney poster designs and learn what elements are utilized in developing a
Before Walt and other early animators produced hand-drawn animated short films, innovators in the 19th century created optical toys like the zoetrope. By spinning a zoetrope and peering through the viewing slits, one could watch the images inside move and appear to come to life. Inventions like the
When Disneyland first opened its gates 65 years ago, one of the attractions that opened with the Park was Mad Tea Party. On this dizzying ride, guests sit in oversized teacups which spin wildly to the accompaniment of jaunty music. Each teacup features a unique painted design that is simple, yet
Whether it be by painting self-portraits, identifying personal traits within their characters, or making caricatures of colleagues during studio meetings, artists have long used themselves as a source of inspiration and reference. In the upcoming set of Studio Series workshops, look inward and use
Located in the historic Presidio of San Francisco, California, The Walt Disney Family Museum is a center for art, animation, and inspiration. Since October 1, 2009, our nonprofit museum has celebrated the remarkable life and legacy of Walt Disney, thanks in large part to Walt's daughter, Diane Disney Miller, who wanted to share her father's story with the world. Now, in recognition of the museum's tenth anniversary, this podcast will do its part to honor the man behind the magic.
Join us for stories and conversations about the remarkable life and legacy of Walt Disney as we reflect on The Walt Disney Family Museum's first decade as an institution. Subscribe on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, and TuneIn.
The Walt Disney Family Museum is pleased to announce a range of innovative virtual offerings designed to make the galleries more accessible to guests of diverse abilities, economic circumstance, geographic location, and language. These initiatives include a new mobile app featuring a Virtual Tour and Highlights, an audio guide translated into 12 different languages (including American Sign Language), and an Audio-Described Tour for guests with vision impairment.
The streamlined, easy-to-use WDFM mobile app has been carefully created to enhance the guest experience in a variety of ways—both for guests visiting The Walt Disney Family Museum in person and for the public to virtually enjoy from the comfort of their homes or anywhere in the world.
The WDFM app utilizes a number of innovative features and helpful educational tools that allow users of all ages and abilities to explore the museum galleries at their own pace and learn unique facts about Walt Disney. For those visiting the museum, the app provides gallery-by-gallery tours in 12 languages, as well as an Audio-Described Tour for people with vision impairment and a Scavenger Hunt designed to engage with younger guests. Translated languages include American Sign Language, Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Spanish.
Other features of the app include a Social Story for families with children on the Autism Spectrum, a list of Top Ten Things to Visit, WD-FM Podcast episodes available to stream, and accommodations for iOS accessibility features.
The app also features the museum's new Virtual Tour and Museum Highlights and first ever virtual community art exhibition, The World of Tomorrow: A Virtual Community Art Exhibition.
To download the WDFM mobile app for Apple and Android devices, search for “WDFM” or click the provided links to download directly from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
If you experience any issues or have any feedback about the app, please email publicprograms@wdfmuseum.org.
Anyone in the world can experience and enjoy The Walt Disney Family Museum with our Virtual Tour and Museum Highlights. Benefitting from a wide range of embedded digital media content—including exclusive archived audio clips from a 1956 interview with Walt—the Virtual Tour brings Walt’s inspirational message directly to people’s streamable devices. Guests of all ages can learn about Walt’s early endeavors and struggles, his storytelling principles, and the technological innovations that made classics like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) possible. Narrated by voiceover artists and producing partners Camille Dixon and Bill Rogers—recognized for their contributions to commercial broadcasts and theme parks—the Virtual Tour will be offered free to the public on the museum’s website and the WDFM app for a limited time.
The Virtual Tour was soft-launched in a live format by the museum’s Education Department in 2019, and initially designed for school groups. High-resolution videos of the galleries were merged with Disney film clips and narrated by a museum educator, allowing for a more customized experience for students unable to visit the museum due to geographic or financial constraints. Since the live Virtual Tour’s debut, the museum has been able to reach classrooms across the world, including a homeschool in South Africa.
In light of the museum’s temporary closure, The Walt Disney Family Museum team recently transformed the Virtual Tour into an immersive experience for people of all ages who wish to visit the museum and learn about Walt’s life in a streamable format.
To view the Virtual Tour, download the WDFM mobile app or view the video directly below.
The Walt Disney Family Museum is excited to premiere The World of Tomorrow, a new virtual exhibition featuring works created by the museum’s global community. Inspired by each artists’ vision for a “world of tomorrow,” this diverse selection of works includes paintings, drawings, photographs, and 3D objects in a 3D-rendered virtual gallery space.
During our temporary closure, The Walt Disney Family Museum has continued to share Walt’s story across social media and virtual platforms. As part of the museum’s mission to enlighten and educate future generations, we strive to highlight the importance of growth through adversity, and how the adversity Walt faced shaped him to be one of the great innovators of the 20th century. The World of Tomorrow draws inspiration from Walt’s ambition to keep moving forward and design a brighter future.
The Walt Disney Family Museum received hundreds of contributions from adult and teen artists in the Bay Area and all around the world, including India, the UK, Spain, Finland, Romania, Nicaragua, and Australia. Submissions were then entered in a juried pool, with just over 175 pieces selected to be displayed in a virtual recreation of the museum’s Diane Disney Miller Exhibition Hall, which has previously hosted world-class exhibitions including Disney and Dalí: Architects of the Imagination; MAGIC, COLOR, FLAIR: The World of Mary Blair; and Mickey Mouse: From Walt to the World.
Artworks have been arranged throughout the virtual exhibition hall by medium. Viewers will have the opportunity to independently navigate around each gallery space with 360° views and options to zoom in on each piece, as well as read more about the artist and their submission.