Behind The Magic: 50 Years of Disneyland The Exhibit in DETROIT

[a2grafix]

(unsure exactly where this goes, even though this is about Disney in general, but Disneyland in specific) ...

Hi everyone,
Just received an email from a friend of mine in Detroit stating that in September, The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich., about 10 miles west of downtown Detroit, will host one of the first stops of the Behind The Magic: 50 Years of Disneyland The Exhibit. Like 2003's James Bond exhibit and the 1970s Disco exhibit in 2004, this Disneyland exhibit is sure to be a BIG hit.

The exhibit will run from Sept. 23, 2005 through Jan. 1, 2006, but noticing how popular these exhibits are, including Disney, I think it might get extended.

From the Henry Ford Web site about the display --

For the first time in history, see how Walt Disney's visionary creation was born, how it grew and, feel the moments and memories they have held for you.

An amazing collection of artifacts, never-before-seen original artwork, models, drawings, character sculptures, photographs and more!

Step aboard authentic Fantasy Land vehicles from Peter Pan's Flight® and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride®; View up close Disney's first Audio-Animatronic® figure, Abraham Lincoln; Experience the magic behind The Haunted Mansion®, Toontown®, Space Mountain®, It's a Small World®, The Jungle Cruise and more!

I understand this exhibit will travel to other prestigious American museums. So hope you can catch it in Detroit or a city near you in the next set of months and years.

a2grafix/Kongaloose

 

[raven]

Hmm. I'm up here in Detroit. I'll have to check that out! Greenfield Village was the inspiration for the river boat around the island for Disneyland. Walt visited in the 1930's and loved the look of the place and used the idea years later. :wave:

 

[Master Yoda]

I understand this exhibit will travel to other prestigious American museums. So hope you can catch it in Detroit or a city near you in the next set of months and years.

a2grafix/Kongaloose

Well that counts Jacksonville out.

 

[joel_maxwell]

Well that counts Jacksonville out.

bham too. that stinks.

 

[CoffeeJedi]

aaaaaah, THAT'S where it is

we went to the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. this past weekend, because there was supposed to be a Disneyland 50th anniversery exhibit. it turned out that it was just a Dumbo, a Teacup, and some (preserved) old maps in a very small area. it was neat, but not what i expected. i KNEW that i heard about a "real" Disneyland exhibit somewhere, i assumed that this one from Detroit was the one in D.C.

hopefully it will come around close to everyone's home towns

 

[bigwoowoo248]

Thats awesome i live in the Detroit area and will defintely go!!!!!!:sohappy:

 

[a2grafix]

If like past displays at The Henry Ford, like the Bond 007 exclusive exhibit, I'm sure this Disney exhibit will go over its Jan. 1 end date. Maybe it will be so popular that The Henry Ford will extend the exhibit to just around the Super Bowl XL game.

Regardless, I'm looking to visit The Henry Ford multiple times before the end of the year.

 

[a2grafix]

For whatever reason, the Disneyland exhibit at The Henry Ford in Dearborn (Detroit), Mich., has been delayed.

The new opening of the exhibit is now scheduled for next Friday, Sept. 30. The exhibit will run through the first of the new year, maybe beyond (I hope).

I was in Detroit this weekend for a wedding and coming home for the night to a friend's house I spotted a "BEHIND THE MAGIC: 50 Years at Disneyland" billboard on I-96 right near the Evergreen/Telegraph Road exits. For those in the Metro Detroit region, be sure to check it out. There are probably more billboards around town and in the region.

I have my camera and will snap a few of the billboard. I'll post what it looks like soon on my site to this site. But first I have to get my film developed! I'm not digital yet.

 

[FrumiousBoojum]

From what I heard, it just took longer to set up and get everything to the museum than originally expected.

I'm leaving tonight to go see the exhibit... definately can't wait till I'm there to see it.

I'll try to post my trip report and some photos when I get back... I have class Monday-Wednesday nights, so it might not be right away.

 

[a2grafix]

I was in Detroit last weekend looking forward to seeing this on Sept. 24, but the next time i'll be back in Dearborn, Mich., home of Henry Ford, won't be for a few more weeks.

Looking forward to it since a friend of mine works for one of the Henry Ford outfits and we can get discount tix, not that I'm complaining.

 

[Connor002]

I hope this exhibit travels my way...

 

[a2grafix]

I hope this exhibit travels my way...

It probably will, just like the Star Wars museum exhibit. I'm pretty positive that the Disney exhibit will be just as popular, if not more.

 

[FrumiousBoojum]

Got back late last night.... unfortunately, "NO PHOTOGRAPHY ALLOWED" was printed on the tickets. Figured that this may happen since it is a seperate admission exhibit. Exhibits like that tend to prohibit photography.

Oh well... I at least got a picture of the trolley and the mouse ears on top of the building.

Seems a bit of a waste to have ride vehicles to sit in without the ability to use it as a photo op...

 

[netenyahoo]

Would you consider the exhibit and the museum itself worth driving 11 hours to see?

 

[FrumiousBoojum]

Would you consider the exhibit and the museum itself worth driving 11 hours to see?

Museum and Village are pretty well worth a good weekend trip... it'll take up about two days.

The exhibit is worth it if you're interested in seeing the originals of many art work you've seen for years (I was surprised at the number of designs done on sericels!), nude Abraham Lincoln Mark I, a nude raven from HM (ok, so an entirely nice whole HM exhibit in general), AA controls and cabinet, and some rare plans & brochures from Disney's America. I took about an hour going through the exhibit...

 

[netenyahoo]

Museum and Village are pretty well worth a good weekend trip... it'll take up about two days.

The exhibit is worth it if you're interested in seeing the originals of many art work you've seen for years (I was surprised at the number of designs done on sericels!), nude Abraham Lincoln Mark I, a nude raven from HM (ok, so an entirely nice whole HM exhibit in general), AA controls and cabinet, and some rare plans & brochures from Disney's America. I took about an hour going through the exhibit...

Thank you for the input. Do they have any good Disney souvenirs like books? Art of Disneyland book?

 

[a2grafix]

It looks like next weekend, Nov. 11-13, I'll be in Detroit to see the Disney exhibit. I'll make sure to give you all a great report, and since I work for the media, I'll see what I can do in the way of getting images or taking pix of the exhibit.

 

[DisneyPhD]

They sell a book about the exhibit. You can find it here
http://www.shopthehenryford.org/sea...yland&SearchType=AND&SearchFunction=favorites

The book has pictures of much of the art work on display at the exhibit. You can also buy posters. My favorite is the "Sometimes it's fun to do the impossible" with Walt walking under the castle.
I went for an educator preview a few weeks ago. We were told that it was heading to Oakland, CA next in mid January.
They also told a bit about how it wound up at The Henry Ford. Disney had developed some ideas of their own for the exhibit, however Disney felt that it would have a greater impact and more historical significance if the exhibit was designed by "outsiders" and so they contacted The Henry Ford (it helped that one of the curators at the museum had some Disney contacts). They gave them free reign of the Disney warehouses and let the museum staff design the entire exhibit.