Trip Report The Walt Disney Family Museum (oh, and San Francisco too) TR

I was not going to do a trip report. I did not bring my camera, because I was not going to do a trip report.

But then, I had such a good time, and I SO loved the museum that I just HAD to! (The only pictures I have are from me smart phone, so there. You've been warned)

Shall we begin?

Who: Me and my man. That's right. For the first time in forever (at least since we had kids) I went away with my husband. Just him and me!

What: a two-day conference turned into a four-day getaway

Where: San Francisco, CA

When: June 24th - June 27th 2014

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

We went there last June, it is a fabulous museum! I took tons of pictures, I'm looking forward to seeing yours too.

 

[MerMom1981]

Day 1 - Tuesday June 24th
Hey, we/ve been up since 4am...let's walk 8 miles!

So, the alarm went off at 4 o'clock, and we were up and at 'em!
A 5 minute cab ride to O'Hare and a turbulent 4 hour flight later, we were at SFO
We decided to take the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) train into the city, so we headed down to buy fare cards. Jim (that's my husband's name if I hadn't mentioned it before) very gallantly purchased our fare card, but then left me on the wrong side of the turnstile! He put BOTH fares on one card, but they have a 1 card to 1 rider system. We don't do it that way in Chicago. You can get away with buying one card and swiping it for two riders. So I head back to the fare machine and I have no idea how much to put on this thing, and there's no "one way ticket" option...I'm lost. Then a very nice man came up and asked if I needed help. I took him as a good Samaritan and said "Yes! Please! I just need to get to Market Street!" He pushed some buttons and hit "vend" YAY! Fare in hand! Then he turns and says "So, do you have a few bucks to spare?" I wish I did! He was the first of MANY homeless people I saw in SF. I had zero dollars in my wallet, and I really felt bad. I have been asked for a hand-out hundreds of times back home, but they don't do it like THAT in Chicago. I smiled weakly and hurried through the turnstile where Jim (who also had no cash) was waiting. We boarded our train and rode (on cushioned seats!) all the way to the Powell Street Station.

We climbed the stairs up to street level and I got my first look at Market and Powell Street. Busy but not overwhelming. Electric buses share the street with vintage cable cars and regular traffic. It was very cool to see the evolution of city transportation summed up on one street corner.
We crossed Market Street and headed south on 5th to Howard, passing the old U.S. Mint on our way. We found our hotel, The Intercontinental on the corner of 5th and Howard. I expected to drop our bags at the bell desk and head out, but they had a room ready at 9:30am! Once we got there, i could see why it was available. One queen bed and NO bathtub. BOO! Now, Jim had booked a special rate for the conference,and his company was paying for the room, so I just shrugged and said "This is cozy". It's not about the room.

We left our bags and decided it was time for 2nd Breakfast! Jim had been to SF before for the same conference, so he already had a breakfast spot in mind. Just a block away on Mission St we found Mel's Drive-In. Very retro-themed diner, complete with table-top juke boxes and doo-whop music. I would've loved this place in high school, but the shine has gone off it for me. Still, I had some tasty French toast and scrambled eggs to fuel the rest of the day. I think Jim had pancakes and bacon...at least he probably did. He's a creature of habit.

Bellies full, we waddled our way northeast on Mission and a block up to Market St. Market reminded me a bit of less-fashionable Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Lots of shopping, on the edge of a business district and a good amount of bustle. We walked the length of Market, to the northeast end at Embarcadero. The basic plan was to catch a ferry to Sausalito, which my guide book told me we could do a t Pier 41. We were at The Ferry Building (this is the name of the building, not where we caught the ferry) and decided to walk along the waterfront to Pier 41. We also needed to find a place to buy a CityPass for the buses and trolleys. As nice as it was to be on the water, the street did not feel pedestrian friendly. I would've liked to see a boardwalk or something. We found Pier 41 and the ferry terminal, bought our tickets, but we had an hour before it departed. We decided to go in search for our CityPass. Jim looked it up and a nearby Walgreen's had a kiosk. I was not satisfied. There is nothing charming about Walgreen's. There was another listed as the cable car station at Hyde and Beach St. Much better!

Up next: (some pictures, I swear!) Ferry ride to Sausalito and The Golden Gate Bridge!!

 

[MerMom1981]

Day 1 continued:

We hiked our way up Beach St, past blocks of cheap souvenir shops...kinda felt like Wisconsin Dells...they had the Ducks driving around and everything. we finally reached Hyde St & watched a cable car climb the hill.
CityPasses in hand, we headed back down Embarcadero toward Pier 41. Along the way, Jim was reunited with his first love

Bread.

I wrenched him away from the baked goods and we caught our ferry

First Peek of the Golden Gate Bridge!

It was a windy but stunning ride across to Sausalito

I absolutely loved this town! It was full of waterfront cafes and shops. There was something romantic about it. Hard to describe, but you just feel it.
I had hoped to find lunch in Sausalito, but we caught a later ferry and it was already 2 ish. Snack time!

Snack was found a Sausalito Bakery & Cafe. One of the largest chocolate chip cookies I have ever seen!
How does one burn off the largest chocolate chip cookie ever?

An INSANE staircase! Perfect!
This led us up to a quiet...no, empty neighborhood street. It was kinda eerie. Like Twilight Zone or something. Anyway, we found our way back down to Bridgeway & headed, well, toward the bridge.
This was a bit of an adventure. The entire hike was uphill and on the side of the road. No sidewalk. No gaurdrail. No evidence that pedestrians are welcome here. But that was our road! After about a mile and a half, we found the bridge rest stop.

OK, let's cross this thing Baby!

We did it!
We burned our foreheads to a crisp, but it was an awesome experience!

We sat back and enjoyed the view for a bit, but then it was time to find our way back to the hotel. We had already bought our passes, so we just needed to find the bus stop. This meant crossing UNDER the Golden Gate Bridge. I didn't even know you could do that!
We jumpped on the first Muni bus that pulled up...#28 I think...and asked if it would take us to 5th & Market. No. But the driver was very helpful & took us to the transfer point to catch the #30, which took us 1 block away from our hotel. Sweet. This girl was DONE. So done in fact, that we stayed in the rest of the evening. Waking up at 4 a.m. & walking eight miles wore me out people.

Up next: A solo day at THE WALT DISNEY FAMILY MUSEUM!!!

Can't wait to share!!

 

[BrittanyRose428]

So excited to see the rest of this! I would LOVE to visit (or work at) the Walt Disney Family Museum

 

[MerMom1981]

So excited to see the rest of this! I would LOVE to visit (or work at) the Walt Disney Family Museum

I'm so glad you're enjoying the report! It's great to have a place to share all the details that friends and family aren't so interested in. Mostly they're looking for "It was so nice to get away" or "It was so relaxing". Not every meal I ate!
Don't ask me about my trip unless you REALLY want to hear about it ;-)

 

[MerMom1981]

Day 2 - Wednesday June 25th

Thanks to the time change, we woke early this morning. We headed down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast and saw that the line for the conference was already wrapping around the building! People are crazy for Google!

After a quick breakfast, we headed out into the foggy morning. Jim found the end of the line about a block down the street, and I found my bus stop a block or so further. I had asked at the concierge desk how best to get to The Presidio (the park-like area south of the Golden gate Bridge where THE museaum is located) I was told the catch the #30 and it would take me within a block or The Presidio.
Great.
Off I go.
After a short wait at #rd & Howard, I caught the #30 where the driver confirmed that I could reach The Presidio. Excellent! 20 minutes or so into this adventure, she comes to a stop and announces this is the last stop. if I want to continue, board the bus in front of this one.
Um, ok.
Then it happened again.
Thankfully, when I exited the third bus, a nice gentleman exited as well, and he was headed the same way I was! Turns out, he works for Lucasfilm! SHUUUT UP! I LOVE Star Wars! I just threw an elaborate Star Wars themed birthday party for my son! Aaaaaannnnnd, that reminded me of The Yoda Statue!

I can't believe I almost forgot about Yoda! Thank you bearded Lucasfilm guy! you made my morning!

Already feeling like a successful explorer, I continued into The Presidio until I saw this:

I was is such shock and awe. I found it! Not too shabby for my second day in a totally new city!

I met some other early arrivals on the front porch who congratulated me on my bravery. They had taken a cab.
Before long I had gleefully paid the $20 admission and entered the exhibit

Awe! It's baby Walt! Good morning Baby Walt!
The first room was about early family history, the move from Chicago to Missouri, his job delivering newspapers and how he first began drawing. I think we all know that Elias Disney was a contractor and that he found work building The White City during the 1893 World's Fair. Something I didn't know is that Elias built homes as well. He built them and Mrs. Disney drew the plans! I love this!
I myself am an interior designer. My husband is a software engineer by trade, but he is a very skilled ameture carpenter. We have worked on several small projects together where I draw up a furniture design and he builds it. It really touched my heart that Walt's parents shared a similar (much grander) creative collaboration.
You can also see from this how Walt had creativity in his blood.

Another familiar piece of Disney history is that Walt got into cartooning as a way to entertain his sister Ruth who was sick with...I forget. Fever of some sort.

I really loved the simplicity of the second room. Drawing tables drawn in elevation on the walls. perfect.

I also learned that Walt dabbled in stop-motion films.

That was it for the first floor. Just two rooms to set the stage.
Now, onto the spiffiest elevator I've ever seen

Sorry it's mega-blurry. Smart phone. Next time, I'll bring the Nikon for sure
The next room was about the Alice cartoon shorts. They did a really nice job with a series of screens framed to look like movie posters, but i just couldn't capture it. You'll have to go see in for yourself

This transitioned into the Oswald character Walt created and swiftly lost to the studio...which then led to a cross-country train ride, and this:

The creation of M-I-C-K-E-Y!

And across the room, filling an entire wall...

animation cells from Steam Boat Willie. How cool is that!

Vintage Mickey toys from the 1930's.
Also in this room, was a display about Walt's innovations in sound effects. Somehow, sound doesn't photograph well.


Up next: My favorite room in the museaum