The Walt Disney Family Museum

This museum is tucked in the back of the Presidio among the red brick buildings. There’s a simple sign out front and it’s easy to miss, but once inside, you’ve arrived at a wonderful interactive look into the life of Walt Disney.
Even if you’re not a huge Disney fan, this museum is great for anyone interested in history or technology as it covers not only Walt’s life story, but gives you a glimpse into the modernization of the motion picture industry. You travel decade by decade through his life and gain an appreciation for all the work that went into making movies in the first half of the 20^th century.
There are photos and artifacts from his life as well as Disney memorabilia. Lots of interactive exhibits allow you to hear Walt’s stories through his own words. You can end your day in the gift shop or café.

We took an Über to the Disney Museum. It was nice to see and interesting, but the entrance fee is overpriced for what you get. I liked their model of Disneyland

I spent almost 4 hours exploring the main museum and the Disney & Dali special exhibit, so I definitely got my money’s worth.
No matter what era of Disney you’re into, you’ll get lost exploring everything here.

A very informative museum, a lot of reading and not as many interactive exhibits I was expecting but still a great visit. The staff was very friendly. I liked the Dali exhibit, we also went there for a Talk by a Disney animator which was interesting. I’d suggest people to go but not to expect a Disneyland type of experience, more educational.

I must admit, I wavered when I found out the museum charged $ 20 for admission. At the last exhibit, I was ready eyed and wanted to applaud. It was a historical story that tells about Walt Disney’s rise to the top. Without being a spoiler, I must say there were many struggles building his dynasty that I did not know about. I actually give this attraction 4.5 stars. I took a half away because I thought the place could use some music to set the tone in each exhibit make it over the top!

My boyfriend brought me here for the 3 day weekend. I never been to a museum (I know such an amateur) so he brought me to a fun Disney one since we are going to Disneyland soon! :)
Super cute museum, I never knew the Disney museum was located here. There are different rooms inside like a timeline of how Disney started. It pretty interesting to see the history of how everything was created and some interesting history also! Definitely worth a trip, its a good 2 – 3 hours of discovery there. They have this whole 3-​D module of Disneyland, it was super cool and the Oscars were cool to see up close!
The location of this museum is beautiful, up at presidio and you can see the gold gate bridge and bay!

If you’re looking to have a relaxing, educational, fun, and relatively cheap activity in the city, there’s no better choice than the Walt Disney family museum.
Honestly you don’t even have to be a huge Disney fan to enjoy this place. As long as you’re a somewhat cultured person who enjoys learning and being entertained this place will not disappoint you.
If you’re a student, a valid student ID will bring down your admission fee from $ 20 to $ 15. Parking here is great too because there’s a massive parking lot across the museum with low parking fees of $ 1.20 per hour (you won’t need more than 2.5−3 hours).
The museum takes you through the life and family of Walt Disney going from his childhood to education to starting his own studio, the world war, his creation of Disneyland and eventually his death.
It’s colorful, educational, and perfect for people of all ages and walks of life.

Mark (the guy at the gift shop) Rudy (the security guard) and Jennifer (the manager) were all very nice and made our experience go from an «ok» experience to a magical one.
Thanks guys! We’ll be back soon

What a tear jerker!
The second I stepped into the museum I was transported to being 5 years old again. From «Steamboat Willie» to «The Sword in the Stone», this experience is an amazing portrayal of not only Walt Disney himself, but the franchise that is Disney. I found myself remembering films that I had seen decades ago, but didn’t know that they were Disney productions. Walt was truly a visionary ahead of his time.
Allow yourself minimum of 2.5 hours as there is a LOT to take in. Actually, it’s almost overwhelming. I went with my mother so, it was nice to be able to chat about our experiences with Disney even though we are generations apart. I suppose that’s the beauty of Disney films and productions.
By the time I had come to the end of the exhibit, I was in tears. Good tears though :) I won’t give away as to why, but you’ll figure it out during your next visit.
Thanks Walt.

As a mini Disney fan, going to the museum was a treat. It is owned by the Disney family, not the corporation. Tastefully executed. Located in the beautiful Presidio. We took the bus out here instead of driving. They offer AAA discounts.
Make sure you go there with enough time to absorb everything. Up to 3 hours. There are some pretty cool things that you’ll get to see that don’t exist at Disneyland.

Wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this place, but was pleasantly surprised! I wouldn’t consider myself a HUGE Disney fan, but I definitely enjoy going to Disneyland and such every now and then. So if you’re somewhat like me and at least enjoy Disney things, I think you’ll like this place.
Located in the Presidio, there is a lot of parking available, which is definitely on the rare side for SF. Make sure you pay for your parking tho, since the pay stations are not as abundant as you might expect. There is even a sign on the door entrance to the museum reminding you to pay, so hopefully you won’t get a ticket or anything.
The staff working at the museum was very friendly and helpful, and really explained the different options available for admission. It is a little pricey for a regular adult entrance ($ 20), and they said to block out a few hours to see everything.
The museum itself was pretty interesting. Really detailed the life of Walt Disney and all that he envisioned and created very well. The layout was great. One spot in the museum has gorgeous views of Golden Gate Bridge as well.
All in all, I highly recommend checking out this place when you’re in SF and have a couple hours free!

Went for the Walt Disney exhibit and loved it!
The museum did a stellar job laying out Walt Disney’s life in great detail. The exhibit featured a great deal of original sketches and short films created by the man himself. I thoroughly enjoyed the Disneyland room which featured original plans and models of Disneyland. The amount of thought and detail Disney put into creating Disneyland is unfathomable.
The museum really brought out Walt’s determination and his imagination extremely well. They didn’t dive to deep into dirty bigotry details though, that would have been an interesting plot twist.
Also checked out the Sal Dali exhibit. I’m a fan of Dali’s work but not necessarily a fan of the exhibit. Unlike the Disney museum which featured audible factoids at each station, I had to download an app for an audio tour which was supposed to cue up factoids as I walked thru the exhibit which sounded cool in theory, but didn’t actually work. This exhibit was also significantly smaller than the disney museum and wasn’t laid out as well.
I felt they should have done a better job tying the two artist’s exhibits together as well. They were well acquainted at a point in their lives, and I thought that was going to be the focal point/​or binding point of the exhibits but they only talked about the connection in one small area of the Dali exhibit. They should have drawn some parallel between both artists grand imagination and dream worlds they create or something but, nah. They did showcase several letters and sketches the two shared with one another which was very cool to see.
Best part of the museum, though, is when you turn one of the corners in the Walt Disney exhibit, you get an immaculate view of the Golden Gate bridge.
I’d love to go back and see what else the museum has to offer.

My dad being a Disney nut that he was, well, I guess you can say it rubbed off on me a little. I would like to say I like all things Disney (except the damn price hikes!). When I found out that there was a museum devoted to Walt Disney’s life and that it was in San Francisco, I knew that was going to be on my bucket list.
To get there, you have to drive through a neighborhood called «The Presidio». I would assume cost of living here is probably even more exorbitant than the rest of SF. Hell, you would never know CA was in a drought when driving through… When you arrive, they have street parking, a large lot out front, and a small lot in the rear. Expect to pay $ 5 at the most for parking.
The actual museum has a theatre, a gift shop, a café, and a special exhibit building as well. Buy your tickets in the main building. I paid $ 30 for the combo, which included the «Disney & Dali» exhibit which runs until early January. In the ticketing area, they have a few pieces of memorabilia before actually entering the museum (for all you cheapskates out there!).
Behind the ticket desk is the entry to the main museum. Please note you can take pictures, but not with flash. The museum pretty much is a walk through Walt’s life– which if you didn’t know about his upbringing, it is a great rags to riches story. I would like to say that a lot of people don’t realize how many times Walt failed throughout his life before actually succeeding.
During his upbringing, they discuss the birth of Mickey Mouse, and then the rest of his famous animations. A lot of stuff here are one of a kind, and you will not find anywhere else. They have a room devoted to each animation he created (Snow White, Bambi, etc) — with original drawings of the characters. Cool to see.
After a little more of seeing that, it goes to a room that is all things Disneyland. Pretty cool stuff in there. It even has a talking parrot explaining what Audio Animatronics are, and how it works– you get to play with it first hand!
At last is a room discussing Walt’s death, and the impact he had made on the world. That pretty much sums up the main exhibit. After soaking that in, you can head to the special exhibit hall, if you paid for it.
Now, for an extra $ 10, I blazed through the building in probably less than 5 minutes. However, it contained stuff that I knew I would probably never see ever again. This exhibit hall prohibited pictures of any kind as well. If you don’t mind spending the $ 10 to see it, then I would suggest checking it out.
I never got the chance to see the movie in the theater downstairs (but I know they have clips of it and stuff in Disney World, so I wasn’t too bummed). I strolled through the gift shop, but it seemed like the majority of the stuff was 3^rd party items.
Knowing that I would probably only have one chance to see the private side of Walt’s life, I figured I should spend the money on it. But I probably wouldn’t keep coming back at the cost of admission. With that being said, prepare to drop a few bucks and make sure you come here at least once if you have the time. If you are not a Disney fan, this may convince you otherwise.

I never had an interest in visiting until I started seeing the Disney x Dali ads all over the city. Thought about coming but just didn’t have the time until recently. My friend and I visited on a nice Saturday. The Presidio is really lovely, so that’s an added bonus. :) Plenty of parking in the area as well. I don’t know if you need to pay for parking on weekends… we forgot to read the signs and therefore didn’t pay. Sooo don’t be like me and make sure you read the signs just in case.
Great museum for Disney fans. I didn’t really read up on the museum so I expected more Disney film exhibits versus Walt Disney’s life. As people have said, it may not be the best museum for children… I could see them easily getting bored. I liked seeing all the original drawings and other artwork from his films. The actual history behind his life and other things were kind of a bore and had lots of reading. That’s just me though. :\
The museum was surprisingly huge! I kept asking myself when it was going to end! It was enjoyable though to have a surprise after each room. Favorite part was definitely the miniature Disneyland!
After fiiinaaally getting through the museum, we headed over to the Dali exhibit in the back building. I wasn’t that impressed with this exhibit. I just enjoyed the Dali paintings, really.
Tickets are $ 20 for adults for the actual museum itself. A little pricey if you ask me. Thankfully, I have a museum badge and get in freeeee + a friend. The Dali exhibit was extra for $ 10/​adult. Also a bit much for what we saw in there. $ 20 for the actual museum makes more sense if you compared it to the special exhibit.
This is probably gonna be a good, one time visit. Might be a cool place to take out of town visitors.

I loved this! My parents and I came here over Thanksgiving break because we really enjoy Disneyland and we ended up spending over 6 hours here and still didn’t get through everything! My dad had called ahead of time to see how long it normally takes for people to get through the museum and apparently it only takes people under 2 hours regularly, but I think that’s because a lot of people don’t read all the text and whatnot. I literally wanted to read and see everything, hence why it took so long, but I also think this is why I enjoyed it so much. There was so much history and the text, although lengthy, was incredibly fascinating. I sincerely do not believe that you will fully enjoy this museum as much as I did unless you read everything!
Anyway, I will be back for the rooms that I didn’t get to. If you’re at all interested in Disney (the man or the company), I would say go!

Pros: Honestly, this is probably the best museum I’ve ever been to. Yes, I am definitely bias because of my strong affinity and respect for Walt Disney but seriously such a well done museum. They really kept a beautiful archive of Walt Disney’s life from his humble roots to his breath taking pioneering feats! I’ve learned so much at this museum and quite inspired at the huge risks this man took to achieve his dream of blessing others. Although the outside may look small, it is actually quite large! If you have some background of Disney movies, you’ll love the history behind it! The museum is also very interactive with things to touch and play with! There is also plenty of parking next to the museum and across the way with a parking lot.
Cons: Nothing really besides maybe wishing the bookstore was a little bigger with more things.
Overall: LOVE LOVE LOVE this place! Highly recommended for Disney lovers but also museum lovers in general.

Came by here right when they opened, it covers Walts life from being a young child all the way up to his death at 65, alot of information as well as interactive pieces for people to try out.
Parking is $ 1.20 an hour around the Presidio, $ 7 dollars max, and not too long a drive down to Fishermans Wharf afterwards.

Set aside at least 3 hours to visit this museum.
Thankfully we came here on a leisurely Sunday, but we spent 4 hours in the museum and had to quicken our pace after 2 hours because we realized we were still learning about Snow White (what about technicolor?). Full disclosure: I don’t consider myself a huge Disney Enterprise fan, but it was fascinating to learn about Walt Disney, his lesser known brother, and the creativity behind this enormous cultural and business (and technology) influence that is Disney. Great story, wonderfully told.
Also visited the Disney/​Dali exhibit which is in a building behind the family museum. Much shorter, less than an hour needed. Has a fun drawing area for kids.
Pro tip: Walk faster in the beginning so you aren’t pooped out by the time you reach all the colorful and interactively techie stuff.
Great for the whole family, ask for a AAA discount!

Location: The Walt Disney Family Museum is located in the Presidio in SF. Translation = lots of relatively cheap parking (for SF that is!) and a GREAT view of the bay and Golden Gate Bridge if you walk around the back of the museum. There are not many places that are easy to park and feel so open in SF but the Presidio is one of them! It doesn’t hurt when you run into a pop up food truck event there once in awhile too!
Museum stuff: As far as museums go, if you are a Disneyphile like myself — this place is a must. TONS of memorabilia from the development of Walt’s first cartoons and movies to the idea and development for Disneyland and WDW! It’s a little pricy to get in — $ 20 for adults ($ 15 for students) but to me its always worth it to see the collection of pure Disney in one place. Also, take note that they have different speakers and events once awhile — last time we were there, they were screening a couple of early animated movies (can’t recall which right now — sleeping beauty maybe?) which were FREE. You just had to let them know earlier so they could give you a ticket for the theater and reserve your seat. There’s a small café inside the museum which serves some pretty nice food — pricy of course, since theres usually not a lot of options for food around there, but good for a small snack.
Overall: Of course we will probably be back someday. Disney fans — go as soon as you can if you haven’t been yet!

The Disney museum is located inside Presidio park in San Francisco. Parking is metered and needs to be prepaid at the meter terminal. Display your paid receipt on your dashboard. I paid for 2 hours and found that it was enough time to go through the museum. If you decide to watch the featured Disney classic movie, an additional couple hours may be needed.
The museum provided me with lots of info and history of the Disney Family and how Walt started. After touring here I appreciated the brand and looking forward to my next visit to the themed park.
Some additional notes:
–If you get hungry during your visit, there is food available for purchase at café.
–Disney movie classic played in the theather and is included with your admission ticket.
–Open studio (hands on learning experience) is currently only available during the weekends.
Enjoy your visit as I have.

Le musée Disney est situé «within walking distance» du Golden Gate Park, même s’il vaut mieux s’armer d’un plan du coin.
Situé dans un chouette quartier, le musée a l’air beau et neuf.
A l’intérieur, le personnel d’accueil et de la cafétéria sont adorables.
Le musée en lui-​même rend hommage à Walt Disney et il y a en a pour tous les goûts.
On peut parcourir les salles en s’attardant plus particulièrement sur les dessins, qui deviendront les films d’animation désormais cultes; ou on peut s’intéresser au côté biographique.
Les salles se suivent et né se ressemblent pas. Les installations sont très belles.
La fin présente, selon moi, moins d’intérêt mais l’ensemble vaut vraiment le coup d’oeil!

Un musée entier consacré à Disney ??? Le pied :-)
Une expo consacré entièrement à «Blanche Neige et les septs nains», 1er film d’animation de l’histoire ??? Le rêve :-)
C’est cette dernière qui m’a donné envie de venir au musée. Il se situe dans le quartier de Présidio, à l’extrême nord de SF, avec le Golden Gate Bridge pas loin. Le plus compliqué a été de s’y rendre finalement. Mais ça en valait la peine.
L’exposition temporaire se fini le 14 avril, donc je suis vraiment ravie qu’on est eu la chance de la voir !
Comme à chaque fois que je vois des story-​boards, des esquisses de recherché, des ébauches d’animation… mes yeux pétillent et je redeviens une gamine, large sourire aux lèvres, pieds qui trépignent de voir la suite… C’est pas pour rien si j’ai choisi de travailler dans ce domaine ^^
Bref, on a passé un super moment. On n’a pas fait le reste du musée car on avait envie de manger et de bouger, mais un rapide passage à la boutique de celui-​ci né laisse présager que de belles choses !
Donc si comme moi vous avez gardé votre âme d’enfant, allez-​y, vous né le regretterez pas !

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!