Walt Disney Family Museum, San Francisco, CA

[ependydad...Doug 176]

Has anyone been? Or know anything about it? It just came up on Google Maps as I was virtually exploring San Francisco.

http://waltdisney.org/

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I have not been, but it's on my bucket list.

The museum gets consistently good reviews on Tripadvisor. 

I know that some of the stuff that was on display at Hollywood Studios at WDW, including Walt's desk and office furniture, was shipped out to the museum for it to put on display.

I plan to visit the next time I'm in the San Francisco area.

TCD

[ftwildernessguy 778]

I was there but it was an army post.

[ependydad...Doug 176]

Looks fairly pricey to get the 4 of us in. But, I'm betting dollars to donuts that we'll end up going.

If anyone has any other San Francisco recommendations, I'm all ears.

[ftwildernessguy 778]

Don't stay at the Alpha Inn.

[dvccamper 32]

50 minutes ago, ependydad...Doug said:

If anyone has any other San Francisco recommendations, I'm all ears.

If you're planning to visit Alcatraz, get your tickets well in advance.

When we visited last summer we did all the typical tourist things, Fisherman's Wharf, Ghirardelli Square, etc. If you're venturing outside the city, Sausalito is very nice. Had a great lunch there right on the water at Spinnakers.  Also, we didn't stay in SF, we stayed in Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco. Very nice spot, stayed at the Beach House, ate a few times at Mezza Luna, fantastic Italian restaurant.

Not sure where else you're visiting in CA but Yosemite and Sequoia were the most beautiful places I've ever seen.

[lightbikes 73]

The museum is interesting - in some ways though it seems almost "quaint" when you look at what's happending at WDW.  It makes me very nostalgic!!! 

But all of SF is fun.  It's a very walkable city if you like to do that.  

We have stayed several times at a very nice campground (KOA Petaluma) just North of SF and then, rather then park downtown we just drove down to the ferry and took it across to the harbour. You can spend the day roaming around and then catch the ferry back whenever you like.  It avoids having to find parking which is at a real premium!!!!

Enjoy the city - it's one of our favourites.

And, if you need another suggestion, you can also hit the wine country north of the Bay area - there are a couple of really great day trips that are very easy drives through the different wine valleys and some lovely small towns with great restaurants and shops.

 

[ftwildernessguy 778]

Santa Cruz is nice.  Coastal redwoods are beautiful.  We used to camp in that area a lot when we lived out there.  Closer to SF than Sequoia or Yosemite. 

[Friend of a Fiend ... Pam 8]

We were in the area last week. Our daughter just moved there and we helped her move cross country. We added a few days into the end of our trip with a stay in Santa Cruz. It was absolutely beautiful. Whale watching cruises are great there if you enjoy the ocean. There is a cool boardwalk there to enjoy with kids. Eddie Money performed a free concert on the beach while we were there. If you are a foodie, you can't beat the fresh seafood, fruit, and vegetables in the area. We stayed in the hills and the evergreens smell like Christmas. Then you drive 10 minutes downhill to the beach and enjoy the ocean. We will be back. I have a close friend who highly recommended the Walt museum, but we'll have to do that on a future trip.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ependydad...Doug 176]

Good stuff everyone. We are coming down California out of Oregon along the coast to San Francisco. We are staying the the San Francisco RV Resort in Pacifica. It's a parking lot atmosphere, but the proximity is right in the thick of everything.

Once we leave SF, we beat feet to head east towards Albuquerque in time for the Balloon Festival. There's some rumblings about maybe adjusting dates slightly to try and get down to Anaheim for Disneyland, but we'll see. We were trying to get to ABQ a week early (which is still a full week ahead of the Balloon Fiesta) to explore some sights there. So we'll see. Our plans are always in flux!

I didn't think of trying to get Alcatraz tickets early. We're usually of the mindset of "hey, we'll just walk up". It usually works.

I have mixed feelings on not having our truck handy. We are overpackers and often take lunch/food/snacks/lots of extra water with us. It makes it a bit of a hassle for public transportation. BUT... I've heard that parking in SF is worse than most other places. I have been practicing my parallel parking lately in Moab and here in Salt Lake City.

We are currently scheduled for 2 weeks but that really only gives us 4 site-seeing days since I work. We'll see what we can do during the evenings.

 

[ftwildernessguy 778]

Looks like your route will take you past the town I used to live in.  King City.   Not worth stopping at really.  If you have time, there was a steam train excursion near Santa Cruz called Roaring Camp and Big Trees railroad.  It goes thru the redwood forest and was worth the ticket price.

[ThemeParkCommando 81]

I'll also suggest a few hours be spent at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.   They have some seriously historic rides there, that are hard to find still running in this country.

This is the boardwalk featured in the movie "The Lost Boys".   They have a 1911 Louff Carousel,  and it still has the brass ring machine for you to pluck a ring, and try to throw it into the clown's mouth as you go round and round.   I don't think there are more than 3 of the 'brass ring' carousels still running in the country.   They also have the 'Giant Dipper' roller coaster,  built in 1924.  

Another old time ride is their haunted house.  It rivals Disney's haunted mansion for history.  It's tradition for everyone to yell at the top of their lungs as they go through the first door.  The ride is built under the boardwalk, so is nice and dark.   It's a cheesy old carnival haunted house, so no dancing ghosts or hitchhikers,  but it's still a very memorable ride.

And, their metal coaster ( not the newest one, but it's like a mouse coaster), has a surprise in it that made even a jaded coaster junkie like me squeak when I saw it.

[dvccamper 32]

I agree, we went to Santa Cruz also and enjoyed it.  Our plan was to go to Roaring Camp for the railroad but we just didn't have the time.

[Duane 152]

Doug,

I was out in SFO week before last for work that straddled the weekend and I visited the Walt Disney Family Museum for something to do.  This was my second visit in over a 3 year period.  To me, it was worth the visit as it details Walt's life from before he was born until he died. 

To get the most out of it, there is a lot of reading and its pretty much laid out in chronological order. This is the primary reason I have to visit museums without my wife and daughter. They refuse to go because I actually read and study the exhibits.  

There are some interactive exhibits, especially as you get toward the end.  There is a scale model of Disneyland as well as the engine and a few of the cars that Walt built for the Carolwood Railroad he had in his backyard in California. 

You can easily spend 2 to 3 hours there.  It's located in the Presidio, which is very close to the Golden Gate Bridge and the other touristy things that SFO has to offer.

The price is $30 per person (adults) and am not sure if there is a reduced rate for kids.  There used to be DVC discount, but they have discontinued that.

[Travisma 1,317]

On 7/5/2017 at 3:23 PM, Duane said:

Doug,

I was out in SFO week before last for work that straddled the weekend and I visited the Walt Disney Family Museum for something to do.  This was my second visit in over a 3 year period.  To me, it was worth the visit as it details Walt's life from before he was born until he died. 

To get the most out of it, there is a lot of reading and its pretty much laid out in chronological order. This is the primary reason I have to visit museums without my wife and daughter. They refuse to go because I actually read and study the exhibits.  

There are some interactive exhibits, especially as you get toward the end.  There is a scale model of Disneyland as well as the engine and a few of the cars that Walt built for the Carolwood Railroad he had in his backyard in California. 

You can easily spend 2 to 3 hours there.  It's located in the Presidio, which is very close to the Golden Gate Bridge and the other touristy things that SFO has to offer.

The price is $30 per person (adults) and am not sure if there is a reduced rate for kids.  There used to be DVC discount, but they have discontinued that.

Hah, same thing.  We go to museums, science centers, etc., and all the grandkids want to do is go to exhibits that "do" things.They don't want to read what/why the exhibit is there and the eyes start rolling when grandpa tries to tell them what the boring sign/poster said.