San Francisco and The Walt Disney Family Museum

Check out Travelzoo.com for deals in the Area there. It is like Groupon or Living Socials. I bought tickets for the Bay Bridge Ride under the Golden Gate Bridge. This is a way to save money on something you may like. It sometimes has deals for the Walt Disney museum.
 
Any opinions on boutique hotels in Union Square: The Chancellor Hotel, or the Orchard Hotel?
 
Flight is now booked into SFO on Southwest! :banana: We've decided on the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero (Chase has a 2 free night deal going on right now when you sign up for their Hyatt VISA). So the Ferry Building is on our list, being across the street. Other than that, and the aforementioned WDFM, we are planning a lot of our own walking tours. DW is wanting to take the Duck tour.

I'm a wannabe photography geek so I'm also excited about the usual photo ops: Golden Gate, Palace of Fine Arts, Painted Ladies, Coit Tower, etc. Anyone have a favorite photo spot that is not so well known?
 
Flight is now booked into SFO on Southwest! :banana: We've decided on the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero (Chase has a 2 free night deal going on right now when you sign up for their Hyatt VISA). So the Ferry Building is on our list, being across the street. Other than that, and the aforementioned WDFM, we are planning a lot of our own walking tours. DW is wanting to take the Duck tour. I'm a wannabe photography geek so I'm also excited about the usual photo ops: Golden Gate, Palace of Fine Arts, Painted Ladies, Coit Tower, etc. Anyone have a favorite photo spot that is not so well known?

I don't know much about photography but I always find Twin Peaks and Lands End breathtaking.
 


DW and I will attend DLR for the first time this Summer! :hyper: We also are looking into a possible 4-day getaway in San Francisco this coming September. We are from the east coast and have never been to San Francisco before. We are interested in the "first timer" typical tourist things to do in SF, as well as the Walt Disney Family Museum, of course. :worship:

We are pretty laid back but conservative. We are looking for a somewhat romantic experience as well. :hug:

The two things I need help with are:

1. Where, o where to stay? Hotels are fine. We can't pay Disney prices on this one. I'll say our budget is between $150-$275/night for lodging.

and

2. The Walt Disney Family Museum. Please point me in the right direction if there's info here on the DIS about it. If not, then I'm gonna need some expert advice from those who've gone before!

As always, thank you so much! :hippie:



take plenty of pics & enjoy your adventure!!:goodvibes
(my San Fran, WDW Family museum, etc section of "My Adventures n San Fran, ROse Bowl..." trip report starts on page 10 u see listed in my signature).:goodvibes





T.T.F.N.
&
Cheers:wave2:
 
I ended up settling on the Grand Hyatt in Union Square due to the Regency/Embarcadero not being available on the Chase promotion. "Subject to availability", right? Regardless, we're staying at a great hotel in a great location for what amounts to less than $100/night--you can't beat that.

We're weighing the pros/cons of certain touring locations. Alcatraz has come up several times. With our limited touring time (3 touring days--with 1 devoted entirely to the Disney Family Museum), is Alcatraz a good use of time? It originally wasn't on our list of must-dos. For those who have been, how long did the entire experience last?
 
I don't think you will need am entire day for the Disney Museum. We took it really slow and were only there about 2.5 hrs.

We also stayed at the Grand Hyatt. Great hotel! There are a couple of convenience stores right around the corner for snacks. We had a couple of nice meals at the Cheesecake Factory right in Union Square. We did the double decker bus tour and really enjoyed it!
 


We just returned and loved the Disney Family Museum.Beautiful views from the museum! We were there at opening and it wasn't crowded. We also rented bikes and rode across the Golden Gate Bridge. We also did Alcatraz...word of warning if you want to go purchase tickets online prior to going (well in advance). We went last Wednesday. I purchased our tickets in April (60 days out). The sign said next available tickets were JULY 7 (this was at ferry dock on Wednesday morning).

Check VRBO. We stayed in one and prices so much cheaper than hotels.
 
I don't think you will need am entire day for the Disney Museum. We took it really slow and were only there about 2.5 hrs.

We also stayed at the Grand Hyatt. Great hotel! There are a couple of convenience stores right around the corner for snacks. We had a couple of nice meals at the Cheesecake Factory right in Union Square. We did the double decker bus tour and really enjoyed it!

Good to know about the museum. We are planning an entire day for it to allow for any extras that come up. If we finish early, then we've got PLENTY to move on to. :thumbsup2

Cheesecake Factory--yum! :cake: DW mentioned the double-decker. I'll have to look into it.

Thanks!
 
We just returned and loved the Disney Family Museum.Beautiful views from the museum! We were there at opening and it wasn't crowded. We also rented bikes and rode across the Golden Gate Bridge. We also did Alcatraz...word of warning if you want to go purchase tickets online prior to going (well in advance). We went last Wednesday. I purchased our tickets in April (60 days out). The sign said next available tickets were JULY 7 (this was at ferry dock on Wednesday morning).

Check VRBO. We stayed in one and prices so much cheaper than hotels.

Good info! The bike rides sound fun! :moped:
 
Just came back from DLR and San Francisco! We did visit the WD Family Museum. It was very interesting! Not at all "Disney-fied" and full of fun facts of Walt and his family and history. We really liked seeing the very first sketch of Mickey (on crumpled, old paper!), hearing Walt's voice about various stories, seeing the model of Disneyland, and my favorite was the end where there is a wall of cartoons from when he died. Really very touching.

We loved The Presidio, although it was a chilly, foggy day so we couldn't see much.

We drove over the Golden Gate Bridge and went up into the Marin Headlands where there are stunning views of the bridge and the city. My FB friends are surely over seeing my pictures!! :lmao:

DS and I went to Fisherman's Wharf for real SF seafood for lunch one day while DH took the girls to In-N-Out Burger. Not sure who enjoyed their lunch more!!!

The cable cars were a HUGE hit with us as the day we rode them was a gorgeous, warm day. We had Ghirardelli ice cream and then sat by the beach area along the pier. The wait to ride the cable car back was an hour though so plan accordingly (it got chilly!).

It's such a great city!
 
I just went to the WDFM today. It was my 2nd visit in 3 years. I'm now a member, so I'll be going much more often. Anyway, I spent just under 4 hours at the museum. Got there at opening, and walked through the galleries twice, plus saw the Mary Blair exhibit in the Diane Disney Miller building, watched the film of the month, are lunch and shopped in the gift shop. I was out at 1:45. Just enough time to drive across town to pick my partner up at his office & drive home before the commute hit full swing.

The museum is awesome. I could stay there all day. But that's just the Disnerd in me. In reality, you can easily see it all in a half day. One thing I noticed was that kids get bored about half-way through the main exhibits. I heard several kids asking things like "can we eat now?" and "when can we leave?" It doesn't hold their attention spans for long.
 
I just went to the WDFM today. It was my 2nd visit in 3 years. I'm now a member, so I'll be going much more often. Anyway, I spent just under 4 hours at the museum. Got there at opening, and walked through the galleries twice, plus saw the Mary Blair exhibit in the Diane Disney Miller building, watched the film of the month, are lunch and shopped in the gift shop. I was out at 1:45. Just enough time to drive across town to pick my partner up at his office & drive home before the commute hit full swing. The museum is awesome. I could stay there all day. But that's just the Disnerd in me. In reality, you can easily see it all in a half day. One thing I noticed was that kids get bored about half-way through the main exhibits. I heard several kids asking things like "can we eat now?" and "when can we leave?" It doesn't hold their attention spans for long.

Good stuff! Thank you for sharing!

So it sounds like we'll have a bit of free time now. Hummm...what to do? ;)
 
Subscribing to the thread - we are headed to SF in October for the first time and cannot wait! We'll be visiting family and have a week out there.

One site I've found in all my planning is www.hiddensf.comhttp://www.hiddensf.com - lots of things people have suggested here are on that site as well.
 
I love the museum! I live here in SF and have a membership to it. I would definitely check to see if they have any special talks going on while you're here.

Another free way to the see the City is through San Francisco City Guides: http://sfcityguides.org/

I'm a City Guide myself, and the organization offers over 60 different free walking tours all year round. Definitely a cheap, fun way to dig a little deeper into the City's history and culture. :)
 
So we've finalized our plans and packing has begun! Here's a list of things we will definitely be doing:

Walt Disney Family Museum (of course) ::MickeyMo
Fisherman's Wharf
Alcatraz
Breakfast at the Cliff House
Hiking around Land's End
Muir Woods/Sausalito
Driving the Golden Gate (walking it if the weather is nice enough)

Aside from this, we'll be doing our own thing in town, seeing what we want, at our own pace, utilizing public transit for the most part (we're renting a car for the day to do Land's End, WDFM/Presidio, Sausalito, and Muir Woods).
 
Better late than never...

Our trip was wonderful! :cloud9: The city and surrounding areas were as beautiful as everyone said they would be! Might I say that I was skeptical regarding the natural beauty of SF. I live in North Carolina, where you will find some of the most amazing natural beauty in the world (please come soon!). San Francisco did not disappoint.

The city itself is also a gem. Quite a bit of construction was underway, but it didn't get in the way of our fun. It's such a welcome sight to see a major city on the up-and-up economically. We also thought the city was much cleaner than expected.

Here's an overview of our trip:

-Day1 (really a half day after flying in from NC - sightseeing around Union Square/staying at the Grand Hyatt)

When you go to Union Square, please know that it's a giant urban shopping mall. What made it interesting for us was not the stores, but the people and their comings and goings. If you're into people watching, this is your place. Union Square was where we learned our first lesson: stay away from the tourist traps. There are so many things to do, places to go, food to eat, etc., that are off the beaten path--behind the big stores or down the alleyways. Go to these places! We regret not doing this. Oh, and f you're reading this here on the DIS, then you would probably be interested in knowing there's a really cool Disney Store in Union Square that has all sorts of unique San Francisco merchandise:

Disney Store Union Square by rickenmartin78, on Flickr

Staying at the Grand Hyatt was quite a treat for us. We had a standard king room on the 16th floor, looking east toward the financial district/south of Market:

Hyatt View by rickenmartin78, on Flickr

If Disney built the Contemporary in SF, it would look a lot like the Grand Hyatt. The hotel has been recently renovated and showcases a classic modern styling (clean lines, geometric shapes, but with warm colors and natural materials). Room was clean, staff was great, sleep came easy. What more could you ask for? We did have room service our first night there. Skip it. There's too much good food in SF outside any hotel.

-Day 2 (Alcatraz and the city)

Being the country bumpkin I am, I thoroughly enjoyed our morning walk down Market St. from Union Square to the Embarcadero. I know it's popular to mess around with the cable cars, trolleys, buses, rickshaws, bikes, etc. But please, if you haven't been to SF and can walk--DO IT! Allowing the small details to flood in while strolling through the city was such a pleasure! We also saw the waterfront from the Ferry Building to Alcatraz landing. When we go back, we will take this same walk as we enjoyed it so much.

Westin St Francis by rickenmartin78, on Flickr

Ferry Building by rickenmartin78, on Flickr

The Alcatraz tour was something I conceded to my wife prior to the trip. Boy, am I glad we went! If you haven't been, go--and go early. If you've been, you know what I'm talking about. The national parks people have done such a good job presenting the park in a way that honors all the history of Alcatraz. Most of us (hopefully) will never be incarcerated. The Alcatraz self-guided tour allows you to spend enough time physically and mentally engaged with the prison, that you should come away with a sense of the place, and what it was like to live there.

Alcatraz Broadway by rickenmartin78, on Flickr

After Alcatraz we stopped by pier 39 on our way to the fisherman's wharf area. Tourist trap alert. See it, and get out.

We then did something so tourist-trappy, but in a good way. Something I haven't talked about yet is walking. When in SF, YOU WILL WALK. Imagine Disneyland, California Adventure, MK, Epcot, HS, and AK all in one place, but add some of the steepest hills you've ever seen. That being said, our ultra tourist-trap activity was to ride one of those open-air busses around the city, relieving our weary feet. This was the best way for us to see most of the city in the least amount of time. We rode with the folks at City Sightseeing Tours. The drivers were perfect, and the guides were great. We took one tour around Fisherman's Wharf, North Beach, Chinatown, Union Square, S. of Market, and the Embarcadero. Even though we had walked most of these areas already, we learned so much from the guides. Our second bus tour was through the Golden Gate area and Sausalito. Just beautiful.

700 Market by rickenmartin78, on Flickr

Golden Gate (2) by rickenmartin78, on Flickr

From Across the Bay by rickenmartin78, on Flickr

We were the last tour of the day, so our guide offered to take us back to our hotel after the tour was over (=WIN)!
 
Fun!! I live here but it is so fun seeing the city through a visitor's eyes! We have done the double decker bus tour too for fun!! :)
 
Following too! We're flying in to sf and spending a few days before driving down to Anaheim. I wonder if I can convince the husband that we need to do the museum....
 
Following too! We're flying in to sf and spending a few days before driving down to Anaheim. I wonder if I can convince the husband that we need to do the museum....

I'll be posting our day 2 report soon. PLEASE, GO TO THE MUSEUM!!! SF is great and all, but any level of Disney fan not going to the museum is such a miss!
 

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