VIP’s For The Day: Inside the Walt Disney Archives Exhibition

By MztressofallevilJuly 27, 2021

Rhonda Moffit, July 2021

We were fortunate to be invited to attend the opening weekend of the Inside the Walt Disney Archives Exhibition. The Inside the Walt Disney Archives exhibition celebrates the legacy of The Walt Disney Company archives, with behind-the-scenes access never before granted to the public. The 10,000-square-foot traveling exhibit opened at the Graceland Exhibition Center in Memphis this summer and will be open for tours until January 2, 2022.

The hubby and I met up with our daughter and her boyfriend for this magical adventure.

Should you choose to attend this wonderful exhibit, be sure to attempt to go with VIP status. We were given our own personal tour guide as well as a lounge and coupons that came in handy later on!

The lounge was beautifully decorated with many Disney accents, fountains, and lights.

In the main hall, you are greeted by Dumbo, soaring high above with Timothy Mouse in tow.

Dive in with us and view some of what we were able to see! View the images and slideshow below for items that include the opening prop storybooks for some of our favorite Disney classic films, costumes from a variety of films such as “Cruella”, “Wolverine”, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Walk the Line”, “Mary Poppins”, and more. I have also included pics of some of Walt Disney’s personal items and some original concept art, Disney sketches (including original Mickey Mouse), and more Disney props and artifacts. There is truly something for everyone at this exhibit and we enjoyed it immensely.

Dave Smith was the chief archivist for Disney for over 40 years.

I was thrilled to run into one of my old Pirates of the Caribbean pals!

As everyone knows, The Haunted Mansion is my favorite attraction (WDW), so this made my day to see the original tombstones and hitchhiking ghosts!

My daughter was THRILLED to see the original dress from the live action “Beauty and the Beast”. This dress took over 20,000 hours to make- by hand!

My husband was excited to view this original animation cell of Donald Duck. Fun fact- he and Donald share the same birthday.

At the end of the tour, I was amazed to discover that my hands are nearly the same size as Dame Julie Andrews, one of my favorite Disney Legends.

Here is a slideshow of much, much more that we were able to view- check it out and leave us a comment. Tell us what your favorite is!

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