TV Episode Review: Disneyland - Secrets, Stories, and Magic - Walt Disney Treasures Collection

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Fun shows from the 50's and 60's

Cons: New stuff doesn't tell us anything new

The Bottom Line:

Old shows are still fun

New stuff isn't quite as good

Disnerds will still love

Secrets?  Not so Much.  But There Are Definitely Magical Stories of Disneyland in This Set

Sadly, it appears that Disney has decided not to continue with the Disney Treasures DVD sets.  Over the years, these two disc collections have included some fun and rare stuff that Disnerds like me have lapped up.  (Okay, so I've probably only watched about half of what I have, but I still want more.)  Disneyland - Secrets, Stories & Magic was released a couple of years ago, and I just now got around to watching it.  I felt like it didn't quite live up to the Secrets part of the title, but there are Stories and Magic aplenty.

The heart of the first disc is a new 80 minute long documentary about the creation of the park.  It starts with the idea Walt originally had and covers the construction and opening of the park.  Most of the time is spent on Walt's years, and the time after he died is covered only briefly.  Over the course of the documentary, you get vintage and new interviews from Walt Disney, George Lucas, and various people who were instrumental in the park over the years.  While I enjoyed it and lapped up all the information again, I didn't really feel like there was anything new here.  Disnerd that I am, I knew just about every story retold already.  Not that I don't enjoy hearing them again, but I wanted something new.

And that's where the rest of the disc comes through in shining colors.  The first disc also includes "People and Places: Disneyland USA."  This 42 minute documentary filmed in the daring, new technology of cinemascope, was made in 1956 and takes us to all four of the lands of Disneyland.  It really is a time capsule, and I found looking at the park I know and love as it was when it first opened fascinating.  There's also an audio commentary on this special with Disney and film historian Leonard Maltin and Imagineer Tony Baxter.

Before we leave disc one, I should mention the trivia challenge.  I picked hard figuring I knew it all.  This wasn't as easy as it looked.  When you finally answer enough questions, you get a video ride through of some of the popular rides in the park.

The second disc in the set contains some truly fun gems.  Up first is a 14 minute presentation never meant to air outside of ABC stations.  "Operation Disneyland" was filled to show them the work that went on to bring the live opening day broadcast to the stations.  Live TV sure was complicated back then.  Okay, so it's not worth watching more than once, but I enjoyed seeing it.

The heart of this disc are three episodes of The Wonderful World of Color TV show from the 1960's.  Up first is "The Golden Horseshoe Revue," a celebration of the 10,000th performance in the theater in Frontierland.  In addition to the regular cast of Betty Taylor and Wally Boag, we get appearances by guest stars Ed Wynn and Mouseketeer Annette Funicello.  This show is funny.  If the Golden Horseshoe still had something of this caliber, I'd make a point of going when I visit the park.

Next comes "Disneyland Goes to the World's Fair."  For the 1964-1965 World's Fair, Disney contributed several attractions, all of which moved to the park when the fair ended.  We get a behind the scenes look at the growing field of audio animatronics as we see how they created such classics as it's a small world, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, and The Carousel of Progress.  There's not much new here, but I had a blast watching it anyway, especially since the last 15 minutes is a video trip through it's a small world.  (Yes, I can hear you screaming from here.)

Finally, we get "Disneyland Around the Seasons," a celebration of the 11th year of the park.  And what a busy year it was as the previous mentioned attractions opened.  That means we get some of the same behinds the scenes info on them, and a similar tour of small world.  We also get to see Mr. Lincoln's speech, and it's just as moving on video and it is in person.  This was also the year that New Orleans Square opened.  Finally, the special concludes with the Christmas parade from 1966.  Sadly, the joy of this special is tainted just Disney died just three days before it originally aired.

But we aren't quite done yet.  Somewhere in the archives, they discovered time lapse photography of the construction of the park, and they've included it here with commentary by Tony Baxter and two other Disney employees.  No, this isn't riveting TV, but it is fascination to watch the almost 40 minutes and hear their thoughts on how quickly the entire park came together.

If this had managed to unearth some new, surprising stories, I would have given Disneyland - Secrets, Stories & Magic a full five stars.  As it is, you've probably heard most of this no matter how big a Disney fan you are.  But the productions from the 50's and 60's are loads of fun and worth tracking this set down.