If you weren’t lucky enough to attend Jeff Kurtti’s session at this summer’s NFFC Convention, then LaughingPlace.com has your best chance to see a preview of the Walt Disney Family Museum. It’s great that Jeff was there to provide this sneak peek, but the death last year of Bruce Gordon is still deeply felt. Bruce had joined the Walt Disney Family Foundation to ‘Imagineer’ the WDFM after his untimely layoff from Walt Disney Imagineering. So what you’re seeing here is a lot of Bruce’s work.
The WDFM is currently scheduled to open in summer of 2009. It certainly appears much bigger than I thought it would be, which only shows the lack of my imagination in the area. It appears to be a very proper sized museum. Larger than the Gene Autry Museum located in Griffith park, which is about the size I was thinking before. The museum will also host events and lectures related to Walt Disney and his legacy.
I’m beginning to warmup to the location of the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. It’s likely the distance from any existing Walt Disney Company property has given them the freedom to operate outside the thumb of the Walt Disney Company. Still, a compromise should have been reached that would put the story of Walt Disney, his family, and his legacy within easy reach of his millions of fans. A trip to San Francisco is a major add-on to a fans visit to Disneyland requiring transport and hotel costs. Costs not easily absorbed with the higher cost of travel we must get used to. Griffith Park, somewhere in Anaheim, or a location between those two points was the right location for this museum.
Think of it as if you go to San Fran, you still get to do something Disney. It’s such an amazing city, and now, you get a glimpse of Disney while you are there. I’d give anything to go back there and this gives me something new to see!!
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