Dateline: Disneyland in HD (Disneyland Opening Day): July 17th, 1955

Dateline: Disneyland is Walt Disney's infamous ABC broadcast of Disneyland's opening day on July 17th, 1955. Having set up the potential opening of the Disneyland park for 11 straight months in his Disneyland TV show, all Walt had to do was show the world it was actually open. This one's as live as it gets. Disneyland's opening day was fondly remembered for the pure chaos of its live broadcast. Dateline: Disneyland is a live-action extravaganza, complete with movie stars (Ronald Reagan, James Mason), TV stars (Danny Thomas, Fess Parker), and other world-famous celebrities (Frank Sinatra, Art Linkletter, Sammy Davis Jr.). The extravagance of Disneyland's opening day makes Dateline: Disneyland a special no one will ever forget. Dateline Disneyland is a near disaster only saved by quick improv, some pre-recorded footage, and well executed dance sequences (not well filmed). Disneyland’s shoestring budget also stretches over to the ABC opening special to the point where Walt seems to call in so many favors he might now owe the mafia some money. Dateline Disneyland still borrows the episodic feel of The Disneyland Story by focusing on the individual shows Disney created for TV. In the future the specials will take a turn to focus more and more on the park as guests become fully aware of what a Tea Cups or Jungle Cruise is. Turning the special into a drinking game was an inspired choice and made this mess seem more… inevitable? You know what the most amazing thing about Dateline: Disneyland is? Disneyland still survived. I’m serious. Could you imagine this kind of disastrous opening happening today? I will tell you, that enterprise would not be open the next year. Or the next month. With an opening that bad, especially since the park was only half-built, you would not be seeing a Phase II any time soon. But somehow, Walt managed to turn Disneyland from a laughing stock to one of the greatest American culture institutions. How? He worked hard at it. He invited all of his opening day celebrity and press guests back for free. He instituted rules for attraction capacity. He decreed that more rides be built, despite the lack of money, to accommodate all the guests during the busy times. And he never stopped experimenting. Not when any other sane person on earth wouldn’t have closed up shop the next January. That’s why Disneyland is still here today. Here's to you Walt. You showed them all. Shown as part of Parkscope.net YouTube Tuesday at https://www.parkscope.net