Disappointed with Disney

Sigh. I love Disneyland. For me, it truly is at least one of the happiest places on Earth. And I love museums. And like John Frost at The Disney Blog, I really, really wanted to like the new Walt Disney Family Museum, but without having even visited (it doesn't open until October), I already have my doubts.

These doubts stem largely from the motivations behind the museum--Disney's daughter, Diane Disney Miller, wanted to found the museum as a response to unflattering biographies about her father. What's more, rather than founding the museum near where he lived and worked and founded his empire in Southern California, instead she chose the controversial site of the former military base cum National Park (and home to LucasFilms' Letterman Digital Arts Center) the Presidio in San Francisco--apparently because it is close to where she lives.

Add to this the fact that the Walt Disney Company owns Walt Disney's name and image and that Mrs. Miller has had to buy or borrow most of the artwork in the museum and I begin to wonder why this museum really needs to exist, now that the Disney archives have become much more open about lending out materials to museums. What truly makes this museum special? What story does it tell that the "A Walk in Walt's Footsteps" tour at Disneyland doesn't tell? I think instead of planning a trip to this museum, I'll just save up my pennies for another visit to the Magic Kingdom.

What *Can't* Disney Teach?^

Heh. Looks like the museum field isn't the only one out there trying to learn lessons from Disney. Game-design lessons from Disneyland.




^Tongue-in-cheek, folks.

A Little Good News in Detroit

With every day bringing more bad news in the museum world, and with Detroit being known for its economic hardships, this article from the Detroit Free Press is doubly good news! I'm glad to hear that the Motown Historical Museum is doing well as it celebrates the 50th anniversary of Motown Records.

This isn't ground-breaking news, but it occurs to me that celebrations are a great way to increase visitorship. Certainly Disney recognized this as they extended the celebration of Disneyland's 50th birthday to last multiple years. And now Disney continues the celebration by celebrating their visitors, offering free admission on a person's birthday and asking of them, "What will you celebrate?"

So c'mon, museums, what will *you* celebrate? What excuses to celebrate can museums dream up these days--and what corresponding enticing offers and incentives to visit can they imagineer?