We are a long way from Anaheim here in Orlando, but we can still get in on the Disney fun at the Walt Disney World Resort. But now even Anaheim Disney fans will have to make a trip up to San Francisco to see the newest addition to the Disney family of attractions, the Walt Disney Family Museum. No there aren’t any rides or parades at this formal museum, but for fans of the man that created Mickey Mouse himself, getting to Walt Disney Family Museum is going to be a trip worth taking.

The Walt Disney Family Museum is gearing up for its grand opening on October 1st of 2009. Like any museum there will be permanent galleries and touring exhibits of personal artifacts from Walt Disney’s life and his family’s life. Of course, you can’t think of Walt and not think of the mouse, so there will be a great element of Disney characters featured in the museum—just not in the way you may think. Unlike the Disney theme parks you will find less bright colors and more of a learning environment. Expect to see Walt’s early sketches of Mickey as well as learn about his journey toward becoming one of the most legendary animators and creators of all time.

The Presidio will be the location of this great new venture. With five barrack buildings featuring exhibits, a museum store and a museum café with organic, local foods catered by Wolfgang Puck this is going to be a Disney experience with a high level of sophistication. Perhaps the coolest part of the new Walt Disney Family Museum is the Museum Campus. This building is a huge 20,000 square foot space of glass and steel that connects three floors of educational opportunities. Guests of the museum will get to take classes on computer animation as well as learn the art techniques that made the classic animated Disney films the legends that they are today. The Walt Disney Family Museum has been a long time coming and it’s going to be great to get to learn about the man that made the mouse from a different perspective. Now we just need to get to San Francisco!