TR DL exhibit at Oakland Museum

[ghoofie]

So wife and I went today. Overall impression......eh....so so.

If you have seen travel channel specials about DL, if you have DL DVD's of sorts, if you read E-ticket magazine...you probably have seen most of everything at the exhibit. They have a TV screens around with interviews that I have seen already. They have drawings of original park design etc..the most of you have probably seen in mags.

OK so there is a Peter Pan ride boat you can sit in and take your picture. How many of us don't have a picture of THAT !! AND...you don't take your OWN picture...it's an automated system. And like Buzz ride, you can email the picture. BUT.... emailing the picture signs you up for a USA today email subscription AND you have to pay $1.00 to download your picture.

So there is a Mr. Toad car on display. We all haven't seen that before !! LOL. You can't take a picture of it.

So there is an AA Abe Lincoln. He's naked !!!!!! (as my wife said). You see the face on the head but the rest you see the inner workings.

You pay a fee to get into the museum. You can see any exhibits except the Disneyland exhibit. You have to pay extra to see the DL portion. They loan you a little device that you can listen to little blurbs at certain stations. Again...mostly stuff you've all heard.

The DL exhibit is not in all one location. You see part of it..then continue on through other exhibits following signs to get to another set of pictures, displays, etc. They give you a little sticker to wear so you can enter the DL parts. However...there were rarely any , what do I call them, CM's ?, checking, so one could easily walk through a DL area. Before someone has you leave you would see everything. Side note: The little sticker is red and it reminded me of the A.D.D. pins.

I would say if you are a DL 'regular' knowledge person...not really worth the $14 to get in...nor worth a long trip to Oakland to see it. But I'm glad I saw it to say I saw it.

[HiddenMickey]

I may go check this out, even though I really hate Oakland.. Still deciding though. It sounds interesting but as you said, probably stuff we know or have seen.

[RankoAnime]

Originally Posted by ghoofie

So there is an AA Abe Lincoln. He's naked !!!!!! (as my wife said). You see the face on the head but the rest you see the inner workings.

That's actually really cool! I'm totally fascinated with how AAs work. I did an essay on them last semester. I saw pictures of the Country Bears and some of the AAs from the Mickey Mouse Revue in a book, but I'd love to see something like that in person!

[barfownz]

Wow, I can't wait to see this. No cameras allowed, right? I'll use my camera phone. :)

I'm going to the exibit with my family the last week of july. :)

I cant wait.

Is there a gift shop??

[PeoplemoverMatt]

Originally Posted by RankoAnime

That's actually really cool! I'm totally fascinated with how AAs work. I did an essay on them last semester. I saw pictures of the Country Bears and some of the AAs from the Mickey Mouse Revue in a book, but I'd love to see something like that in person!

Um, you saw the Mickey Mouse Reveue in person.

Originally Posted by barfownz

No cameras allowed, right? I'll use my camera phone. :)

I hope that security guard is gentle...


-- PMM

[RankoAnime]

Originally Posted by PeoplemoverMatt

Um, you saw the Mickey Mouse Reveue in person.
-- PMM

Ghoofie said he saw the Abe Lincoln AA's inner workings. When I said I wanted to see something like that in person, I was referring to the AAs being stripped down to their mechanics. I didn't see *that* in person!

[PeoplemoverMatt]

So what you're really saying is, you don't have memory problems, but you like to see 160 or so year old men naked. Glad we got that cleared up.

-- Peoplemover " *runs for his life*" Matt

[chadb14]

Glad I read this, I live about 15 minutes from the museum, but I'm not going to bother going to check it out now.
Admission for 5 plus extra for the DL exhibit that is mostly stuff I've already seen or read about - never mind.

[adrianne]

Originally Posted by HiddenMickey

I may go check this out, even though I really hate Oakland...

Hate is such a strong word...What has Oakland done to offend you?

[ghoofie]

Originally Posted by barfownz

Wow, I can't wait to see this. No cameras allowed, right? I'll use my camera phone. :)

I'm going to the exibit with my family the last week of july. :)

I cant wait.

Is there a gift shop??

Oh yeah I forgot to post about that. In typical Disney style , as you exit one part of the exhibit, it leads you into a gift shop, before you enter the next area of the exhibit. Mostly kiddy stuff, coloring books, puzzles. They also have a few books about DL and a few plushes, key rings and even a very little pirate hat.
--------------------------------------Double post added here.

Originally Posted by HiddenMickey

I may go check this out, even though I really hate Oakland.. Still deciding though. It sounds interesting but as you said, probably stuff we know or have seen.

If you take BART, it's one block from the Lake Merritt station.

[HiddenMickey]

Originally Posted by adrianne

Hate is such a strong word...What has Oakland done to offend you?

The city itself has done nothing to offend me, it's just not a really safe city. Crime rates are going up.

[Monorail91]

I am very excited to see that exhibit!

[Xanderick]

Can we please not bash Oakland in this topic please? I'm from Oakland and im a bit offended

[adrianne]

Originally Posted by sTiLLaDiSnEyKiD

Can we please not bash Oakland in this topic please? I'm from Oakland and im a bit offended

I agree - I lived next door to Oakland (in Alameda) for many years, and hung out in Oakland often, and NEVER had any problems there!

[Magic1]

I think this was similar to the recent exhibits at the Disney Gallery and in the Opera House. If, like me, you have the books featuring DL art & design, you will recognize many of the pieces on display. I do have a pretty good grasp of DL knowledge/history and still found both the exhibit and audiotour interesting.

You get to get real close to most of the exhibits, close enough to see the fingerprints on Lincoln's hand.
There is a lot of original artwork (the Gallery often exhibits repro's of original works).
The Ryman DL concept pencil sketch was amazing to see up close!!! No printed repro has captured this!
It never occurred to me before of how tall those HM "stretching" pictures are.
I liked seeing the old Pirate arcade games and the audio-animatronic board.
I thought the story about Walt yelling/poking at the guy with the car "in show" was great.
The old menus from the Blue Bayou and Tahitian Terrace were fun to see.

The no photo rule makes sense because they have so much original artwork that shouldn't be subjected to flashes. I thought the USA today tie-in scheme was insulting after paying $14 admission and being told no photos ... pay to be marketed to with a so-so photo? Not the smartest marketing tie-in ... then again, not the smartest publication. Note - there are no lap bars on the vehicles.

It takes several hours if you want to take everything in so plan accordingly (don't show up at 3 if it closes at 5). We went and saw it all in about 3.5 hours on a Friday. The exhibit is probably best for those interested in the creation and history of the park - read: good if you make an effort to go to the Disney Gallery/Opera House when at the park, and not just to kill time.

And not to get in the Oakland debate but ...
You are going to Oakland just as much as you go to Anaheim when you go to Disneyland. They have a parking garage at the museum which is a couple of blocks from the 880 freeway. Minimal Oakland time if that bothers you.