Disneyland opened to the public on July 17, 1955. To help publicize the park and the new Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color television show, Disney broadcast The Disneyland Story. It aired at 7:30 pm Wednesday, October 27, 1954 on ABC TV.

Directed by Robert Florey and Wilfred Jackson, and written by Bill Walsh, the show was hosted by Walt Disney. The Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, was unlike anything anyone had ever seen. So was the show that Disney would produce-a weekly, hour-long program, originally titled Disneyland, but later became (among others) Walt Disney Presents, Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, and The Wonderful World of Disney.

On that first episode, viewers were greeted by Disney, who promised "Each week, as you enter this timeless land, one of these many worlds will open to you. Frontierland: tall tales and true from the legendary past. Tomorrowland: promise of things to come. Adventureland: the wonder world of nature's own realm. Fantasyland: the happiest kingdom of them all."

Along with aerial shots of the Disney Studios in Burbank, there were behind the scenes segments of what was happening at the studio, featuring actors like Kirk Douglas, Peter Lorre, James Mason, and Esmeralda the seal. Animators were shown sketching a girl dancing around as Sleeping Beauty, and the music department was busy making crazy sound effects.

Each of the sections of the park was highlighted, with a glimpse of related upcoming films and television programming-or, as Disney explained, the show and the park would be considered as one. Frontierland was represented by former actor-turned director Norman Foster, discussing the making of Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier (1955) and star Fess Parker singing a song in his coonskin cap. Adventureland had producer Ben Sharpsteen show clips from various nature documentary footage that Disney had commissioned. Tomorrowland was truly a product of its time-space age rocket ships and illustrations of "the things that lie before us." Fantasyland was all about the world of imagination, "in this land, hopes and dreams are all that matter," backed up with clips from various Disney cartoons.

In its various iterations, the Disney series launched in 1954 lasted over 53 years and was the precursor to what's now known as The Disney Channel.

SOURCES:

ABC-TV The Disneyland Story .
The Internet Movie Database
Erickson, Hal "Disneyland; The Disneyland Story" Rovi
http://www.tv.com/shows/disneyland/the-disneyland-story-185108/
http://ctva.biz/US/Anthology/Walt/Disney_01_(1954-55).htm

By Lorraine LoBianco