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Walt Disney was a storyteller whose characters captivated audiences through their unique personalities and distinct designs. Students will learn the fundamentals of character design through the use of shape language, silhouette, and personality traits, and uncover the creative process towards developing unique and memorable characters.

Animators often start their journey with a piece of paper, a pencil, and their own imagination. We will explore the traditional practices and principles of hand-drawn animation. With a few simple techniques, students will bring their drawings to life in the same way that animators in the 1930s did.

When creating theme parks, designers and architects apply their creative minds and technical ingenuity to design ambitious projects. Students will plan their own innovative theme parks using creative thinking, problem solving, and teamwork. They will create their theme park’s rides, shows, food options, and more all within their provided budget, and see if they can run a successful park!

Benefitting from embedded digital media content, this walk-through the museum brings Walt’s inspirational message to life. Classes learn about his early failures, the art of animation, storytelling principles, and the technological innovations that made classics like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) possible.

Before the use of cels, paper cut-out figures were a common form of animation. Join us as we create paper creations with simple shapes and designs using construction paper and glue, then animate our creations to make our own silent stop-motion short films.

Background design is an important part of the storytelling process as it helps give context to the narrative by showing the world in which the characters live. Although not the main focus, backgrounds can amplify and fully immerse an audience. We will discuss industry-standard practices as students delve into perspective fundamentals. Students gain an understanding of overlap, depth, and atmospheric perspective, then apply these concepts to design a layered background.

The Ink and Paint Department was an invaluable part of the animation process, especially with the addition of color to animated films. In this School Experience, students will learn about the relationship between colors, and how color theory utilizes both art and science in color mixing to achieve a particular visual effect.

Walt Disney knew that at the heart of every animated film is a well-told story. Join us on this School Experience as we investigate the basics of narrative structure, establishing interesting and dynamic plots, and creating internal and external challenges that can impact a character’s journey. Students will then develop their own short story.

The Walt Disney Studios pioneered storyboarding—an innovative way to convey an artist’s vision and the film’s story for those around them. Join us in this School Experience as we delve into timing, camera angles, camera shots, and how to plan out a visual project in a sequential and visual form. Students will then take on the role of a storyboard artist as they envision their own version of a scene from a script.

Discover how Walt Disney encouraged his staff to experiment with special effects technology to make animation more compelling and realistic, and how the resulting advancements inspired the industry as a whole. Students will experiment with a miniature multiplane set up—focusing on design elements that will explore how depth is created in animation—then animate their own characters and props to create a silent stop-motion short film.

How we travel around the world—in trains, cars, planes, and rockets—has evolved exponentially over the past century as new innovations have been developed. Join us as we explore various modes of transportation, and use colors and shapes to create and design our own scenes with two-dimensional trains and railcars.

Create fun and unique art pieces with a painting technique involving small dots, patterns, and colored paints. Students will learn about impressionism and gain a basic understanding of color filling, shading, and tints to create a cohesive art piece.

In this workshop, students will learn the history of Audio-Animatronics® technology during the early 1960s. This hands-on activity will challenge students to collaboratively work in teams to navigate a Sphero SPRK robot through trial and error, using math-based calculations and computer block programming.

Sundays this November, The Walt Disney Family Museum presents a special sensory-friendly film screening of The Little Mermaid (1989). To make this film a comfortable experience for all, lights will be dimmed instead of off, volume will be slightly lowered, and closed captioning will be turned on...

Join us for a journey under the sea with Ariel and her aquatic pals! “Scuttle” into our theater to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the beloved animated film The Little Mermaid (1989). (Runtime: 82 minutes)

Studio Nights is a fun and hands-on evening workshop where adults can put their creativity in the spotlight and learn step-by-step how to make their drawings truly come to life.

For artists of all ages, join us in our Art Studio where an instructor will teach you step-by-step instructions on how...

This November, we are celebrating the traditions, languages, contributions and stories of Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and affiliated Island communities as part of National Native American Heritage Month. Join us for a special screening of the 1983 Disney film Running Brave, the...

To show our appreciation, members will receive an additional 10% discount on any in-store or online merchandise purchases made Saturday, November 16 and Sunday, November 17. Shop exclusive merchandise from our Museum Store before attending Stop-Motion Magic: Behind The Wonderful World of Walt with...