In celebration of Disneyland’s birth month this past July, we focused our Spotlight Talks on one of The Walt Disney Family Museum’s most popular attractions, a model of “the Disneyland of Walt’s Imagination.”
A Special Disneyland Model for The Museum
The talks will include information on the creation of Disneyland in addition to details on the concept behind the model. This model of Disneyland was created specifically for the museum and has been one of the highlights of our galleries since the museum opened in October of 2009. The model was created by the expert designers and model makers of the Kerner Studio, formerly located in Marin.
A Model to Replicate The Real Experience
The discussion concerning the overall concept for the model lasted several weeks before a decision was made about what the model would represent. Walt Disney’s daughter, Diane Disney Miller worked closely with the Creative Director of the Kerner studio, Brian Gernand, and with the Senior Vice President for Creative Development at Disney Imagineering, Tony Baxter, to develop a model that would call to mind what it feels like to experience Disneyland first hand. Walt’s concept for Disneyland was to transport visitors to the actual locations represented in the park; the model attempts to do the same—to evoke memories and experiences of Disneyland for visitors of the museum.
An Ever-Changing Disneyland Model
One important thing to note about the model is that it does not depict any one particular point in time. We refer to the model as the “Disneyland of Walt’s imagination,” or Walt’s ever-changing vision of Disneyland as a kind of living entity. Walt envisioned the park to be continually updating and transforming, reflecting changing times and cultural concepts. The attractions shown on our model are representative of the period of time from the park’s opening through the end of Walt’s life. All attractions seen on the model were either present in Disneyland during Walt’s life time, or at least in the conceptual planning stages.
One of the reasons the model so captivates viewers is the incredible amount of detail and the obvious care the model makers took while crafting the magical worlds of Disneyland. You can see two different styles of Skyway buckets on this model. On the Fantasyland side of the Matterhorn you can see the original design of the buckets from the attraction’s opening in 1956. The buckets on the Tomorrowland side of the Matterhorn show the redesigned style of the 1960s buckets. This subtle detail illustrates the passage of time throughout Disneyland and emphasizes the ever-changing attractions in Tomorrowland.
Walt Disney’s Apartment on Main Street
Walt kept a special personal apartment over the firehouse on Main Street. Whenever Walt was present, the lamp near the window would be turned on. As in the actual Disneyland Park, the light from Walt’s apartment over the firehouse on Main Street always flickers in commemoration of Walt’s presence in Disneyland.
Visit Us and Learn More About Disney’s Amazing History
Originally constructed in 1897 as an Army barracks, our iconic building transformed into The Walt Disney Family Museum more than a century later, and today houses some of the most interesting and fun museum exhibitions in the US. Explore the life story of the man behind the brand—Walt Disney. You’ll love the iconic Golden Gate Bridge views and our interactive exhibitions here in San Francisco. You can learn more about visiting us here.
Alyssa Carnahan
Open Studio Coordinator
at The Walt Disney Family Museum