What's Wrong With the WD Family Museum?

[EC82]

Went online to see if there were any slots still available for opening day. Keep in mind that's less than two weeks from today.

Except two timeslots, everything's still open.

Given that they have 250 people an hour, that means they've sold about 500 tickets for OPENING DAY. Opening weekend is just as wide open, with two time slots "sold out" on Saturday, and no time slots sold out on Sunday.

Guess we don't need to worry about crowds. I mean, tens of thousands of people at D23 Expo is one thing not to sell out in advance .......but 500 tickets or so sold on one day for a brand-new museum?!

Where is the hype? Where is the buzz? Does anyone even know this exists?

What's wrong with the Walt Disney Family Museum?!?!

[SnorkletsMom]

Re: What's Wrong With the WD Family Museum?

What's wrong? Possibly the very word "museum" Unless they have a traveling exhibit from the tomb of a dead king, museums and sell-out crowds usually don't go together. And sadly enough, the name makes it sound a bit dry and dull to anyone who isn't a real Disney fanatic.

But if it's true that ticket sales are that lackluster, then that's rather sad and probably means a short life for the museum.

[gary94080]

Re: What's Wrong With the WD Family Museum?

I haven't really looked into going yet. I'm surprised. I thought it would be mobbed and had not planned to go until late in the year or early next year. maybe I will visit sooner.

[EC82]

Re: What's Wrong With the WD Family Museum?

I haven't really looked into going yet. I'm surprised. I thought it would be mobbed and had not planned to go until late in the year or early next year. maybe I will visit sooner.

Yeah, looks like you could visit at 11 a.m. on opening day!

[Roger55]

Re: What's Wrong With the WD Family Museum?

I think possibly people who would normally have traveled to go to the musem, instead opted to go to D23 Expo. Not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to devote their time off and travel to multiple Disney events around the country or world.

[EC82]

Re: What's Wrong With the WD Family Museum?

Agreed, but ....shouldn't they be marketing to Californians and San Franciscans? There's been NOTHING on the museum. You love Disney, you live in SoCal and you can be in SF in 40 minutes.....but you'd never know that! There are no news stories, no internet articles, nothing at all on the museum opening. Maybe that will change in two weeks but..... doubtful. Do a Google Search. Pretty much all I have been able to find is a small AP item and a MALAYSIAN news release. Huh? Is Malaysia a big Disney tourist market that I'm not aware of?

This thing seems horrendously botched. Where's the excitement? Where's the sense of anticipation? Where's the artistry and the magic? This IS Walt Disney we're talking about, right?

Hope I get proved wrong on this, but it looks like something's going very very wrong in the execution or the marketing of it.

[DisneyIPresume]

Re: What's Wrong With the WD Family Museum?

Agreed, but ....shouldn't they be marketing to Californians and San Franciscans? There's been NOTHING on the museum. You love Disney, you live in SoCal and you can be in SF in 40 minutes.....but you'd never know that! There are no news stories, no internet articles, nothing at all on the museum opening. Maybe that will change in two weeks but..... doubtful. Do a Google Search. Pretty much all I have been able to find is a small AP item and a MALAYSIAN news release. Huh? Is Malaysia a big Disney tourist market that I'm not aware of?

This thing seems horrendously botched. Where's the excitement? Where's the sense of anticipation? Where's the artistry and the magic? This IS Walt Disney we're talking about, right?

Hope I get proved wrong on this, but it looks like something's going very very wrong in the execution or the marketing of it.

Maybe you're looking in the wrong places?

Take the Walt Disney Concert Hall for example. That has nothing to do with the Walt Disney Company. It was named after Walt due to the large endowment Lillian made towards its construction. If you Google search "Walt Disney Concert Hall" you will find all sorts of things regarding its archetecture and Frank Gehry and such, and you will find all sorts of information about the Los Angeles Philharmonic. But little if any of what you find will have anything related to the Walt Disney Company itself.

My guess is that this is a family museum and has nothing to do with the Walt Disney Company. So maybe there is some excitment out there, it's just not coming from within the Walt Disney Company.

[ALIASd]

Re: What's Wrong With the WD Family Museum?

There are no news stories, no internet articles, nothing at all on the museum opening. Maybe that will change in two weeks but..... doubtful. Do a Google Search. Pretty much all I have been able to find is a small AP item and a MALAYSIAN news release.

Check out our own NEWS thread, it includes a number of articles from various media outlets on the WDFM:

http://micechat.com/forums/news/114410-walt-disney-family-museum.html

[Mr.Gray]

Re: What's Wrong With the WD Family Museum?

What's wrong? Possibly the very word "museum" Unless they have a traveling exhibit from the tomb of a dead king, museums and sell-out crowds usually don't go together. And sadly enough, the name makes it sound a bit dry and dull to anyone who isn't a real Disney fanatic.

Walt Disney Family Studio! The tomb of a dead king!

Has a nice ring to it.

[flynnibus]

Re: What's Wrong With the WD Family Museum?

well you ARE asking about Opening Day. Are we supposed to be surprised something gets abnormally high attention on opening day?

I wouldn't say 'whats wrong' - I'd thank them for sticking to their capacity limits so people can actually enjoy themselves.

Go the following week, etc if you can't get in on opening day.

[BlueSkyDriveBy]

Re: What's Wrong With the WD Family Museum?

Basically, it's the wrong time of year. Tourism in San Francisco peaks in the summer, and tapers off dramatically after Labor Day. Early October is typically light for visitors, which is why the other museums such as deYoung and the Science Academy are offering special deals for their members now, such as cheaper tickets for King Tut (deYoung) and members only nights at the Academy.

Plus, the first weekend in October will be lighter-than-usual for out-of-town visitors, since the following week and weekend will play host to the President's Cup Tournament at Harding Park Golf Course near SFSU. That event will attract tens of thousands of visitors, who might decide to see the museum during the week. But they won't be around during the museum's opening weekend.

If WDFM had opened during the summer, this scenario of light attendance on opening weekend wouldn't exist. As it is, the Foundation was wise in opening after Labor Day, when the crowds would be greatly reduced as they work through their "learning curve" on day-to-day operations.

[EC82]

Re: What's Wrong With the WD Family Museum?

Check out our own NEWS thread, it includes a number of articles from various media outlets on the WDFM:

http://micechat.com/forums/news/1144...ly-museum.html

A few.

But hardly what you'd expect from something that has "Disney" in its name. Based on what I can see, they've pre-sold about 750 tickets for opening weekend, out of about 18,000 available. (Just going based on their information about timed entry, the number of visitors per hour and the number of time slots available.) That's like 4% pre-sold. That's pretty awful. I hope it does well.

[meggie_stardust]

Re: What's Wrong With the WD Family Museum?

Agreed, but ....shouldn't they be marketing to Californians and San Franciscans? There's been NOTHING on the museum. You love Disney, you live in SoCal and you can be in SF in 40 minutes.....but you'd never know that! There are no news stories, no internet articles, nothing at all on the museum opening. Maybe that will change in two weeks but..... doubtful. Do a Google Search. Pretty much all I have been able to find is a small AP item and a MALAYSIAN news release. Huh? Is Malaysia a big Disney tourist market that I'm not aware of?

This thing seems horrendously botched. Where's the excitement? Where's the sense of anticipation? Where's the artistry and the magic? This IS Walt Disney we're talking about, right?

Hope I get proved wrong on this, but it looks like something's going very very wrong in the execution or the marketing of it.

I've seen articles about it in the local papers, and my tivo has a special about it set to record next week. I've also seen banners hanging from the streetlights in the city, especially near where I work(about a mile from the museum). I wouldn't be too worried about it not selling out yet. I've talked to multiple people at work who know about it and plan on going. Its a museum too, from my experience(i love museums!) people aren't accustomed to advanced timed entry tickets. give it time, and word of mouth.

[rokketride]

Re: What's Wrong With the WD Family Museum?

Also have to remember they are having a preview this weekend for members of the museum (and CPHS and D23). This event "sold out" VERY fast.

[no_cal2]

Re: What's Wrong With the WD Family Museum?

Really? I tried to buy tickets last month for Opening day and they were all sold out. Earliest I could get was Oct 6. They have had some serious trouble with the site. It crashed big time when the D23 tickets were given away. Maybe ABC will start some hipe as the opening gets closer. Anyway, Fewer people will mean better access and more time to see everything!

[M&M Daddy]

Re: What's Wrong With the WD Family Museum?

...There's been NOTHING on the museum. You love Disney, you live in SoCal and you can be in SF in 40 minutes.....but you'd never know that! There are no news stories, no internet articles, nothing at all on the museum opening. Maybe that will change in two weeks but..... doubtful.
-snip-
Hope I get proved wrong on this, but it looks like something's going very very wrong in the execution or the marketing of it.

Just noticed yesterday there was a banner ad for the museum at the top of the front page of SFGate.com. Of course I'm looking now and don't see any ads, but....

[napamaninsocal]

Re: What's Wrong With the WD Family Museum?

Just got back from the museum....it was GREAT!! I think once word of mouth spreads, the museum will get a good number of guests.

[UbIwerks]

Re: What's Wrong With the WD Family Museum?

As a San Franciscan, I feel I also should address the fact that the Presidio is not the easiest place to get to without a car or a taxi - especially for a tourist. It is FAR removed from Downtown and not very close to Fisherman's Wharf either (where you will find the main concentrations of hotels). Also, the museum itself is fairly deep inside the park, at least a 15-20 minute walk from the nearest bus stop (after a ride that would take at least 30-45 minutes from Downtown). I would be interested to know if the various on/off bus tours will add a stop at the museum. I was there on friday afternoon and was also surprised at the light attendance (considering its Fleet Week here).

Having said that.... ITS FABULOUS!!!!!!! Better than I expected and completely immersive. The amount of Disneyana contained inside is staggering - from Walt's certificate of baptism to the most amazing model of Disneyland I have ever seen. Not to mention the actually design and flow of the place. It is Walt style storytelling at its best. GO!!!!!!!!

[HiddenMickey87]

Re: What's Wrong With the WD Family Museum?

Personally I think the museum is in a great place, but then again I live only 20 minutes away and I used to work in the Presidio a few blocks away. However, I can see how it is out of the way, very unassuming on the outside, and mostly unadvertised, and this is what the CMs who I talked to noted. It is doing well on weekends. Enjoy it now, folks, before the word spreads and it gets packed.

[davedc32]

Re: What's Wrong With the WD Family Museum?

We went to the museum and as far as I can see nothing is "wrong" with the place itself. The cafe is a little pricey and small high end selection. (nothing really kid friendly either), but my 11 year old and I spent over 3 hours there and did not see everything, nor read all the displays. So lots to do and see. Not it was competing with fleet week. So not much of a crowd, but I liked that. Also as it is in National park and a refurbed building , NOT prime downtown commercial real estate, it may not have to generate the sam levels of attendance as a commercial endeavor. As a aside. It may be better in the long run for the place. First, less abuse of the displays and interactive items. Second, the place feels intimate, like its almost your part of the family once you are inside.. The curtains are drawn, no outside intrusions, except for your beautiful view of the bay for the true life display. Third less crowded means less harried, pressured and rushed. The entrance guides always tell you take your time. but if too many people are there the experience suffers. It was just busy enough to let you know there was interest, but not so much to make you want to stay away.
One of best museums I have ever been to and the best small one, and I have seem a lot from New York to LA and in 40 states.