For over a decade, the Walt Disney Archives have created exhibits to share some of the most iconic pieces in their collection with Disney fans worldwide. This past weekend, a new exhibit opened in Arlington, Texas — and D23: The Official Disney Fan Club held a preview event open to a small group of members at the Arlington Museum of Art.
I have been lucky enough to attend prior D23 events of this type, which is the best way to see these exhibits. Guests are given timed entry into the exhibits as well as some appetizers, a cash bar, and two presentations about each of the exhibits.
For those of you who attended the 2019 D23 Expo, you had your first look at the Walt Disney Archives Presents Heroes & Villains The Art of Disney Costume. Plus, some of you might have visited the Bowers Museum in Southern California a few years ago and saw All That Glitters: The Crown Jewels of the Walt Disney Archives — but this is the first time the two have been presented together and I have to say they complement each other perfectly.
The Heroes & Villains exhibit has been a favorite of mine from my first visit at the D23 Expo. But, as Kelsey Williams (Exhibitions Creative Lead at the Walt Disney Archives) pointed out in the video, this space is the best way to see it. With costumes from films like The Black Hole and Return to Witch Mountain to more recent ones such as Mary Poppins Returns and Hocus Pocus 2, it is hard to not find one on display that visitors won’t have an emotional connection with.
One of the true highlights of the Heroes & Villains exhibit has to be the Cinderella Workshop chronicling costumes as well as the iconic glass slippers from many of the live-action iterations of this Disney classic story. This is one of those spaces where I could have spent hours just looking at the details of each of the works of art!
Moving from the Cinderella Workshop space into the Crown Jewels exhibit was such a perfect transition that it is hard to believe these two have not always been connected. Williams talks about this exhibit and some of the finer details as well as how they designed the transition that brings the costumes and the jewelry together.
This exhibit was one that I was sad I missed at the Bowers Museum: a display of not only jewelry but also watches as well as other pieces. When you see them, you are instantly transported to that moment in the film where you first saw it.
With pieces from Disney, Marvel, Fox, Star Wars, as well as the Muppets this gallery had so much to look at that the 2 hours for this event was nowhere near enough time.
I do have to say out of everything that was on display for me one of the Sleeping Beauty Castle crowns from the 50th anniversary of Disneyland had to be one of my favorites.
Of course, you can’t have an exhibit about costumes and jewelry without one of the true Disney Classic film series The Princess Diaries, which shows the Reflection of Reality. Though Genovia and Mia Thermopolis are fictional characters these pieces show how costume designers look for real-life inspirations when it comes to being as authentic as possible.
This exhibit will be running through March of 2025 at the Arlington Museum of Art. For more information or to purchase tickets, all the information can be found on the museum's site. Meanwhile, to stay up to date with all that is happening in the world of Disney or to be the first to know about amazing events such as this one, we always recommend joining D23: The Official Disney Fan Club.