REVIEW REWIND: The Pre-Opening Report From Disneyland
Today, on the 65th anniversary of Disneyland, Disney+ released the hour long special that aired on the Disneyland television program. Entitled The Pre-Opening Report From Disneyland, the special is hosted, as always, by Walt Disney who gives us a special look at Disneyland being built. He then shares a bunch of Mickey Mouse short to drive home that none of this could have been started without a mouse.
The special is a veritable feast for the eyes with lots of footage of the park being built. Picture The Imagineering Story only told in real time. For the viewer, all this new footage and it is wonderful. I would have love to know what it was like to enter some of those buildings or watch the railroad tracks being installed or taken a ride on the original Peter Pan's Flight ship. We see a little bit of each land coming together and it still always bring me pause when I realize how little has actually changed since those days.
After we see the report, there is an awesome ad for Hudson cars. The ad urges you, a young viewer, to bring your mother, father or both to a Hudson dealership where you can get a signed photo of Fess Parker as Davy Crockett and a special comic book not available anywhere else. I would have eaten that up and demanded that my parents take me there immediately. Of course, these kind of ads are frowned upon these days, but what a window into the past.
Walt then takes out the big book of Mickey Mouse where he begins to tell us how pivotal Mickey was in the creation of Disneyland. It's ironic because Mickey was never a spokesperson until later years for Disneyland. Walt always used either Jiminy Cricket or Tinker Bell. But, we get his point and he shares with us footage from Plane Crazy, The Pointer, Lonesome Ghosts and "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" from Fantasia. What was even cooler than the shorts was, interspersed within the pictures of Mickey in the book, you see Mickey things from around the world which I thought were special and would have loved to have gotten a closer look at it all.
I love these old Disneyland episodes, but this one is special because of its being about Disneyland and Disney+ releasing it on the 65th anniversary. I also really appreciated that it was featured in its entirety complete with ad. I would love for Disney+ to continue to air these specials, especially when aired on special dates.