Get your mouse ears on for the opening of the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco

Walt Disney, the man whose creativity spawned an international entertainment industry, will finally get his due Oct. 1 when the Walt Disney Family Museum opens in San Francisco.

The interactive museum is in San Francisco’s Presidio, a former U.S. military facility that is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The museum will focus on the life and times of Disney, creator of Mickey Mouse, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and Disneyland, among other internationally known characters, films and businesses.

Highlights will include Disney’s successes and disappointments and the creation of characters that have become an indelible part of pop culture in the U.S.and abroad.

“My father’s name is probably one of the most well-known names around the world, but as the brand or trademark has spread, for many, the man has become lost,” said Diane Disney Miller, one of the museum’s founders. “We are committed to telling the story of Walt Disney’s life, in his own words, and in the words of others who knew him well and worked with him.”

Among the interactive exhibits will be a digitized sketchbook from “Fantasia” that will allow museum visitors to scroll through images and make them come to life as scenes from the movie. Other exhibits will include the earliest known drawings of Mickey Mouse; original art and animation cels from “Bambi,” “Pinocchio” and “Steamboat Willie”; and the one-eighth-scale train built by Disney that helped inspire him to create Disneyland

Each of the museum’s 10 galleries will focus on a different chapter of Walt Disney’s life, from his early years in Kansas City, Mo., to his arrival in Hollywood in the 1920s to his technical and creative innovations.

Hours: The museum will be open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. [Updated at 4:40 p.m. Sept 10: The museum will be open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Mondays; closed on Tuesdays.]

Cost: Admission will be by timed-entry ticket, which can be purchased up to 60 days in advance online. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and students and $12.50 for children 6 to 17.

Contact: Walt Disney Family Museum; (415) 345-6800.

—Rosemary McClure, Special to the Los Angeles Times

Photo: Courtesy of the Walt Disney Family Foundation

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This entry was posted on Monday, September 7, 2009 at 5:59 am by Rosemary McClure and is filed under Arts & Culture, California, Celebrity, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Disney's California Adventure, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, Epcot at Walt Disney World, Family & Kids, Hong Kong Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, News, Tips & Advice, San Francisco, Theme Parks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.