Get Backstage Stories About Trader Sam’s and Star Wars in These Virtual Events From The Walt Disney Museum!

The Walt Disney Family Museum is currently closed, but has been offering some great virtual events lately.

Recently, the Museum announced quite a few more virtual events and one is actually taking place tonight!

August 21st — Ray Spencer

As part of their “Happily Ever After Hours” series, The Walt Disney Family Museum has announced a virtual talk with Art Director and Former Imagineer Ray Spencer. This event will be taking place today, August 21st, at 5:30PM (PT).  During this event, Spencer will be sharing “backstage stories from his projects for Walt Disney Imagineering, including Buena Vista Street, Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar, and the reintroduction of the Hatbox Ghost character in Haunted Mansion.”

While it is free to attend, you do need to register in advance for the event on the Museum’s website.

September 2nd — Robert Kondo

Another event in the “Happily Ever After Hours” series will be hosted on September 2nd and feature a virtual talk with Academy Award®-Nominated Filmmaker and Tonko House Co-Founder Robert Kondo. The event will take place on September 2nd at 5:30PM (PT).

During the event, Kondo will share a behind-the-scenes look at “his work at Disney·Pixar on Ratatouille (2007), Toy Story 3 (2010), and Monsters University (2013), and co-founding Tonko House, a studio that strives to nurture growth while telling stories for the world.” The event is free but registration is required.

September 9th — Dennis Muren

Also part of the Happily Ever After Hours series, the Museum will host a talk on September 9th at 5:30PM (PT) with Academy Award®-Winning Visual Effects Supervisor Dennis Muren.

Muren worked at Industrial Light & Magic for over 40 years.  During this event, guests will enjoy “curated film clips and behind-the-scenes stories from his work at Industrial Light & Magic, including the original Star Wars trilogy (1977–83), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), and Jurassic Park (1993).” The event will be free, but you do need to sign up to attend virtually.

September 10th — Svetla Radivoeva

On September 10th at 12:00PM (PT), The Walt Disney Family Museum will host a special event as part of their “Virtual Storytime” series. This event will be a Walt Disney Animation Studios Artist Showcase with Author and Illustrator Svetla Radivoeva.

In 2011, Radivoeva was hired as an animator for Walt Disney Animation Studios. She has worked on lots of films, including Wreck-it Ralph, Frozen, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, Moana, and the upcoming Raya and the Last Dragon. During this event, Radivoeva will actually be sharing the story of Malina, “a hedgehog with a passion for making sweet raspberry jam.”

Registration for this event is required, but all guests can attend for free.

September 19th — Tania Norris

On Saturday, September 19th, at 1:00PM, The Walt Disney Family Museum will host “A Woman Behind WED with Imagineer Tania Norris.” Norris was hired by WED Enterprises in 1964 as an interior designer and worked on many projects including “Haunted Mansion and concepts for Walt Disney World Resort.” During this talk, guests will hear about Norris’ “Imagineering career and its lasting impact on Disney Parks.”

This event is $8 for members and $12 for non-members.

These sound like some fantastic events! We can’t wait to learn so much more about these wonderful individuals and their impact on Disney, movie, and theme park history.

Love to learn about Disney history? Click here to read about the history of DinoLand USA in Disney’s Animal Kingdom!

Will you be checking out any of these events? Let us know in the comments!

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