Santa Ana

This Walt Disney Archives Exhibit Was Just Extended

The Bowers Museum hasn't reopened, but its treasure-packed Disney show has a new late-April closing date.

Bowers Museum

What to Know

  • The Bowers Museum in Santa Ana
  • The museum is temporarily closed, but hopes to open some time in the spring
  • The new closing date for the "Inside the Walt Disney Archives: 50 Years of Preserving the Magic" exhibit is April 25, 2021

"Letting it go?"

You can't spell "advice" without "ice," so it makes sense that this most excellent piece of advice would hail from everyone's favorite Snow Queen, Elsa.

But to actually let things go is a somewhat arduous process, something even the enchanted royal would be sympathetic about.

And if you've been anticipating the thing you're not letting go for several months?

The letting-go process can be as tricky as a certain tricky prince of the Southern Isles.

Don't let go, though, of the hope you may yet see Elsa's blue gown in person, or Anna's warm cape, or Herbie the Love Bug, or over 400 other amazing treasures that have distinctly Disney cred.

For "Inside the Walt Disney Archives: 50 Years of Preserving the Magic," a large-scale Bowers Museum exhibition spotlighting costumes, props, vintage Disneyland tickets, and more, has a brand-new extended end date: April 25, 2021.

The Santa Ana cultural museum, which has been a local go-to for art, history, and pop culture displays for the better part of a century, is currently closed.

But should it reopen, in a limited capacity, in the coming weeks, you'll have an opportunity to revisit the world of "Mary Poppins," the spooky realm of the Hitchhiking Ghosts, and Walt Disney's desk and office, too, thanks to its new closing date.

"The 10,000-square-feet traveling exhibit, which premiered at D23 Expo Japan in 2018, offers several rare items only on loan to the Bowers," shared the museum.

The show, which features beloved television shows, films, and attractions that first premiered around the time Disneyland park opened its gates, as well as more recent hits like "Frozen," opened to the public on March 7, 2020, but closed soon after in response to the pandemic.

"Closed," yes, but the out-sized exhibit stayed in place, with the hope that guests could one day safely materialize to view the magical movie items and instantly recognizable outfits, hats, and accessories that some of cinema's best-known characters have worn.

That day may come this spring, so watch the social feeds for the museum, and find out if the doors will again open ahead of April 25, which is the final day to view this excellent trip through the Disney archives.

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