The Exhibition you have to see if you love Disney

If you are a true Disney lover and enjoy the history of the company and parks, you will want to see this exhibition. Hurry though! This exhibition will not be here for long.

Disney 100: The Exhibition

Disney has been celebrating 100 years of wonder throughout the company and theme parks. The celebration is the largest cross-company global celebration in the 100-year history of The Walt Disney Company. Disney Parks around the world have been taking part in celebrating the anniversary, but the heart of the celebration is at Disneyland Resort.

If you cannot visit the theme parks, don’t worry. Disney has made it easy for anyone to take part in the celebration with movie releases this summer of classic movies, plenty of anniversary merchandise, and fun collaborations.

One of the biggest celebrations for the anniversary is the Disney 100: The Exhibition. This special exhibition is currently being held at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Hurry though! This exhibition closes on August 27th before it travels across the pond to London.

How to See It

The Disney 100: The Exhibition is only here in the United States for a couple of more weeks. If you are still interested in making a last minute trip, tickets can be purchased online HERE. Guests have the option of purchasing Daytime Admission or Evening Admission. Daytime Admission allows guests to enjoy the exhibition, plus all of the permanent exhibits in the Franklin Institute and a Planetarium Show. Evening Admission is good for seeing only the Disney 100 Exhibition.

Daytime Admission ticket prices range from $41- $45 with discounts available for military members, Senior Adults and children. Evening Admission tickets are $25 each.

The Disney 100 exhibition closes on August 27th before it travels across the pond to London.

International Exhibitions

If you are willing to make the trip to London to see the exhibition, tickets are available now. The exhibition will be held at London’s ExCeL and begins on October 13, 2023. It will run through 2024.

Tickets for London’s exhibit are on sale now and may be purchased HERE.

It is also currently being held in Munich, Germany. The exhibition in Germany runs through September 3rd.

The Exhibition

The exhibition is a chance for guests to experience Disney’s 100 Years of Wonder. It has ten different themed galleries and offers guests a behind the scenes look at the company and classic films. Guests can view 250 magical artifacts, 100 years of history and experience 14 interactive installations.

The entire exhibition offers guests 15,000 square feet to explore and experience for themselves. While the exhibition in the United States is 15,000 square feet, the exhibition in London will be 20,000 square feet!

The Experience

I (Maggie) had the chance to visit the exhibition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Check in was smooth and easy with just having to scan my ticket in and receive a wristband.

If you visit the exhibition for any reason at all, seeing the beginning is worth the ticket price! Guests will be welcomed by none other than Walt Disney, himself. You have probably seen a video of the amazing technology before, but it’s worth viewing again. Take a look at the preview we shared in this post HERE.

Seeing Mickey Mouse bring Walt Disney to the stage was magical and was a great way to begin the exhibit!

Where It All Began

As you enter each different gallery, you will see these giant posters greeting you with the exhibit’s theme. Don’t rush past these too quickly though, because they contain some fun Easter eggs!

D23 shared the following Easter Eggs that can be seen from this poster:

• The Colony Theater, for example, is where Steamboat Willie debuted in 1928!
• The marquee on the theater is a reference to a different early Disney cartoon—Alice’s Wonderland (1923) is short which launched the Alice Comedies—and The Walt Disney Company itself, years before the creation of Mickey Mouse.
• Standing outside the theater in the crowd of silhouettes are two figures who look suspiciously similar to a certain pair of young Disney brothers from around the time their cartoon studio was formed…
• The vehicle outside the theater bears the license plate X034-0, which shares a number with Mickey’s car in the animated short Traffic Troubles (1931). In the cartoon, the car breaks down, and the plate turns upside down to spell out, “0-HECK.”

This gallery included everything about the beginning of The Walt Disney Company and had fun archives and clips from some of the great Mickey shorts that were first created. Sketches and original artwork were also on view.

Prop storybooks from Sleeping Beauty and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs could also be seen. If you are a fan of Star Wars of Marvel, don’t worry because there is plenty of that to see as well!

Interactive Exhibits and Photo Opportunities

One of the best features of this exhibit is all of the interactions. There are fun photo opportunities all over. Guests can see just how tall they compare to The Incredibles or have a picture taken with the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella. I absolutely loved the music part and seeing all of the work and behind the scenes footage that goes on in adding music to the films.

There is also a chance to listen to some of your favorite songs, like “Let It Go” from Frozen in different languages. It was interesting to see just how similar it sounded even though it wasn’t in English. When it comes down to it, you really see just how small of a world it is.

Is It Worth Seeing

Is it worth seeing? I thought it was absolutely worth seeing and I am so happy I was able to visit! If I were to compare it with Disney’s Immersive experience that is also happening in select cities across the country now, I would choose to go to this exhibition over the immersive experience.

There is just so much more to see and do in this exhibition. The immersive experience was fun, but it is also much more expensive than what you actually experience. I would even go on to say that this exhibition was more immersive than the Immersive Disney Animation.

That experience left me wanting more, but this exhibition was just right for any true Disney fan.

We Are Just Getting Started

The final gallery leaves you with this poster that says, “We are just getting started.” It ends with a hopeful note and despite everything you just saw in the exhibition, there really is still so much more to see for The Walt Disney Company. For fans who haven’t seen the ads for the 100th anniversary, you can also watch them here. Even though I had seen them before, I had to watch them again and it still gave me all the feels.

Have you visited the Disney 100: The Exhibition? What did you think of the exhibition? If not, will you try and visit before it’s gone or make the trip to London to see it? Let us know in the comments below or share this post with a friend who loves Disney history.