The Midget Autopia was “geared” towards Disneyland’s youngest Guests when the attraction opened in 1957. Not only was it intended for kids, but even parents were not allowed to ride along. Always striving to have attractions that could be enjoyed by the whole family, Walt Disney supposedly was disappointed with it because only children could …
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In this revealing episode of the Disneyland TV series, directed by Clyde Geronimi, a former sequence and supervising director on many classic Disney animated features and the director of many early Disney TV shows, Walt introduces a series of Silly Symphonies and spotlights the stories and folktales that led to their creation. Among the insights …
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Up, up, and away! This episode of the Disneyland series took to the skies with helicopter views high above “The Happiest Place on Earth.” Walt Disney takes viewers through the history of aviation and entertains them with an insider’s look at the Disneyland attractions that send guests soaring over the park. Portions of the episode …
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The Disneyland Pancake Races featured real housewives, dressed in skirts and aprons, flipping their flapjacks as they raced down Main Street, U.S.A. Disneyland’s version of this English tradition—contestants qualified in several cities throughout the United States—was cooked up as a publicity stunt for the park and served over several days. The winner of these finals …
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People and Places is a documentary film series about, well, people and places. Through these 17 travelogues, released from 1953 to 1960, viewers were taken on magic carpet rides to far-off lands such as Siam, Switzerland, Sardinia, and, on this day in 1957, the Sahara Desert in The Blue Men of Morocco. The movie presents …
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For anyone who ever wanted to learn about animation, the show that aired on this day in 1957 as part of the Disneyland TV series was a special treat. Tricks of Our Trade was written by animation veteran and Disney Legend Dick Huemer, and as usual, hosted by Walt Disney. Throughout the hour, Walt discusses …
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It’s no secret that Walt Disney liked innovation in his films, and on this day in 1956 the latest True-Life Adventure, Secrets of Life, was released with new photographic techniques that captured rarely seen aspects of nature. The film showcases survival and reproduction, from bees pollinating flowers to the use of time-lapse photography to focus on …
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In Alice in Wonderland, a doorknob tells Alice she’s too large to go through the small door. It’s simply impassible. She asks, “You mean impossible?” “No,” he replies, “Impassible. Nothing’s impossible.” Walt Disney believed that, and on this day in 1956 on the Disneyland TV series, he set out to prove that. As Disney Legend …
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Although Humphrey, the bumbling bruin, made his screen debut in 1950’s Hold That Pose, it wasn’t until 1954 that Humphrey first met the fussy ranger in Grin and Bear It. Altogether, Humphrey appeared in seven cartoon shorts, one of his most memorable appearances debuted on this day in 1954’s In the Bag, in which he …
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It was on this day in 1956 that the Junior Autopia attraction raced into Disneyland, and to tell you more about it, we felt it was appropriate to turn to Bob Gurr, the man who designed Autopia, Junior Autopia, and nearly every vehicle in Disneyland for the park’s first decades. “Since Autopia was so popular, and the …
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