Walt was quick to test the waters in the exciting new medium of television, producing two one-hour specials for NBC in 1950 and 1951. But when it came time to pitching a television series, only third-place network ABC was willing to structure the kind of deal Walt wanted—one in which the network advanced $500,000 toward the construction costs for Disneyland and guaranteed the bank loans Roy had taken to finance the park’s construction; in return, Disney would deliver to ABC a weekly, hour-long television program. That program, Disneyland, debuted on October 27, 1954, and quickly became ABC’s first series to hit the top 10 in ratings. The Wednesday night hour-long television program took advantage of the Company’s family-oriented film library, and early episodes showed old Disney films or promoted new ones. The episode chronicling the filming of the upcoming 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea that appeared during the program’s first year earned Walt an Emmy® award, for best documentary, and an this day in 1956, Walt won another Emmy for his work on Disneyland, this time as Best Producer—Film Series.
