The New Documentary Disneyland Handcrafted Reveals How the Legendary Theme Park Was Created… in Just a Year and a Day

The existent magic down each those attractions, films, and moments we clasp truthful adjacent to our hearts is lone made imaginable by the tireless enactment of the galore craftspeople liable for them, and present a caller documentary from The Imagineering Story’s Leslie Iwerks puts that effort and dedication connected show successful a singular mode ne'er earlier seen.

Disneyland Handcrafted details however Walt Disney and his squad turned a clump of orangish groves successful Anaheim, California, into the Happiest Place connected Earth successful conscionable 1 year. The documentary debuts connected January 22, 2026, connected Disney+ and YouTube and, up of its release, I was capable to interrogation Iwerks astir this fascinating communicative that is truthful overmuch much than the communicative of however Disneyland was built; it’s astir the resilience, creativity, and ingenuity that we’re all susceptible of, and how, contempt the overwhelming doubts we whitethorn brushwood from immoderate quarters, we truly tin execute large things.

“At a clip erstwhile determination was truthful overmuch strife successful the satellite – the Korean War had conscionable ended and the Cold War was looming – Walt created this spot for radical to travel and bask and beryllium happy,” Iwerks told me. “Despite the information that amusement parks had been done earlier and were dying due to the fact that they were soiled and unpopular, Walt believed successful his psyche that this could beryllium created astatine a higher level, successful a overmuch much experiential and immersive mode that had ne'er been done before.”

To get the afloat picture, you tin work our communicative astir however a period of Disney began, but our communicative starts connected a seat successful Los Angeles’ Griffith Park, wherever Walt Disney had a fateful escapade with his daughters that would alteration the satellite of amusement forever.

“[Disneyland] came astir erstwhile my daughters were precise young, and Saturday was ever Daddy’s day,” Walt said, arsenic presented successful The Official Walt Disney Quote Book. “I took them to antithetic places and arsenic I’d beryllium portion they rode the Merry-Go-Round and did each these things – beryllium connected a bench, you know, eating peanuts – I felt that determination should beryllium thing built wherever the parents and the children could person amusive together. So that’s however Disneyland started.”

Disney’s thought drew galore skeptics, including his ain wife, Lillian.

“But wherefore bash you privation to physique an amusement park?” Lillian asked, arsenic told successful The Story of Disney: 100 Years of Wonder. “They’re truthful dirty.”

Walt’s response? “I told her that was conscionable the constituent – excavation wouldn’t be.”

This mantra led to the instauration of Disneyland successful a twelvemonth and a day. Construction began connected July 16, 1954, and Disneyland Handcrafted tells the communicative – made up of implicit 200 reels of uncommon oregon never-before-seen footage – of the men and women who, against each odds, built this spot successful a mode that hadn’t been done before.

What sets this documentary isolated is however it doesn’t chopped distant from the action, letting you spell backmost to 1954 and ’55 for an hr and alteration to acquisition a antithetic clip without talking heads interrupting the flow. Instead, it truly transports you, with the voices of Walt and others heard implicit each the footage of the construction; this smartly puts the absorption connected the workers who don’t get the designation that Walt oregon immoderate of his astir celebrated Imagineers often do.

The stars of this documentary are the radical sweeping Main Street to get it acceptable for opening day; the antheral climbing the Rocket from the one-time attraction, Rocket to the Moon, successful his socks truthful helium wouldn’t scuff the metallic aft polishing and screwing connected the extremity that nary 1 whitethorn ever get adjacent capable to notice; and the countless craftspeople meticulously making each item cleanable truthful that Disneyland tin scope the prima it was soaring toward.

What’s adjacent much awesome is that each of this footage was silent. Leslie and her squad went to Skywalker Sound to enlist the assistance of supervising dependable exertion and re-recording mixer Bonnie Wild and her squad to recreate each dependable you hear. Yes, everything extracurricular of the TV footage and interviews, from the hum of the vehicles to the ringing of the doorbell connected the Mark Twain Riverboat, was recreated to marque it consciousness arsenic authentic arsenic possible.

It’s besides mind-boggling however talented and astir cavalier these builders were. We spot them climbing up alloy beams with nary harnesses oregon enactment if they fell, operation vehicles toppling implicit and astir crushing a idiosyncratic who pops up with a smile, and adjacent – successful 1 of my favourite scenes – an excavator cautiously picking an orangish disconnected a histrion to springiness it to idiosyncratic who needed a snack. There was a consciousness of fun, fulfillment, and pridefulness successful the enactment that was being done, and it’s genuinely inspiring. This is besides shown to large effect successful what Iwerks calls her favourite scene, erstwhile that rocket from Tomorrowland’s Rocket to the Moon was lifted into place, astir arsenic a beacon and awesome of what this radical of radical had accomplished.

“This is the infinitesimal erstwhile they've crossed implicit the threshold,” Iwerks said. “Finally, they're looking astatine the different side. Sure, it’s not done yet, and determination is inactive tons of pressure, but they've shown occurrence and that they tin bash it. I deliberation it was symbolic of everything Walt did anterior to this infinitesimal successful his full vocation and what helium would execute going guardant with Walt Disney World and EPCOT, and past however that created his bequest going forward.”

"I consciousness similar Walt handcrafted this onshore based connected anticipation and a consciousness of optimism for the future.”“

A large portion of his bequest was the radical helium brought on with him, and they are connected show successful large manner astatine Disneyland Handcrafted. Alongside the supremely talented operation workers, a large portion of the squad that built Disneyland were the Imagineers from the institution erstwhile known arsenic WED Enterprises, present called Walt Disney Imagineering. What acceptable galore of these radical isolated from others who worked connected taxable parks successful the past is that Walt recruited galore of them from his animation workplace contempt their deficiency of acquisition successful this field.

“Unbeknownst to them astatine the time, an animator would go the sculptor who created characters that would unrecorded connected for generations,” Iwerks wrote successful her book, The Imagineering Story. “A inheritance creator would go a maestro astatine thrust layouts. A antheral known for his quality to gully would constitute lyrics that parkland visitors would beryllium humming their full lives. A pistillate who painted props and sets would assistance physique castles and make lifelike singing birds from piles of feathers. Imagineering grew beyond the confines of Walt’s mind, but it has ne'er stopped coaxing retired hidden talents from artists, craftspeople, scientists, and technicians who were, similar Walt, unfettered dreamers.”

Even though Walt wasn’t everyplace astatine once, his vision, dream, and beliefs were determination acknowledgment to the radical who chose to execute them, adjacent if they didn’t judge they could bash it… yet.

"[Walt Disney] was ne'er funny successful what you did yesterday,” erstwhile Imagineer and Disney Legend Marty Sklar said successful The Imagineering Story. “He was lone funny successful what you were going to bash contiguous and tomorrow, due to the fact that helium was moving on, helium was doing caller things, helium was challenging america constantly. That was exciting... Imagine that you person nary thought whether you tin perform, whether you tin unrecorded up to that, but helium had religion successful you, truthful you did it."

Iwerks reflected connected this and shared what Disneyland truly means, wherefore it has endured for implicit 70 years, and wherefore it has go the blueprint for Disney’s different parks astir the world.

“I consciousness similar Walt handcrafted this onshore based connected anticipation and a consciousness of optimism for the future,” Iwerks told me. “I deliberation it’s benignant of a shared acquisition we each tin person and a benignant of a content successful optimism and that he's creating, particularly successful Tomorrowland, an optimistic look astatine the aboriginal we should each beryllium excited about. He wants america to deliberation astir what our bequest is going to beryllium successful contributing to this future. Walt was precise inspirational successful his ideals, and his anticipation for Disneyland was to animate generations to travel to a spot that is ‘feel-good,’ that’s rooted successful nostalgia, and that’s besides rooted successful the future.”

“He was besides ever reinvesting. He wanted to usage his money. He wanted to bash thing with it. That hits location successful a mode that these ideas helium had present unrecorded connected each these years due to the fact that helium ne'er stopped erstwhile failures arose.”

Sleeping Beauty Castle Being Built astatine Disneyland. Image Credit: Disney

And Walt did person many failures on the way, including erstwhile Universal Pictures stole Oswald the Lucky Rabbit – 1 of Disney’s earliest successes – and astir of his animators. Instead of stopping, helium pushed guardant with the assistance of Leslie’s grandfather, Ub Iwerks, and created the iconic quality known arsenic Mickey Mouse.

Disneyland was nary different, and we spot that present successful stunning clarity acknowledgment to each the enactment by Leslie and her team. The documentary ends connected what galore called “Black Sunday,” Disneyland’s opening time connected July 17, 1955, and it was not arsenic magical arsenic 1 mightiness imagine.

The blacktop wasn’t afloat adust and women’s precocious heels were getting stuck, counterfeit tickets caused mode excessively galore radical to beryllium successful the park, electrical fuses blew retired connected Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, the Tea Cups were falling apart, and adjacent the Mark Twain Riverboat was sinking arsenic it had excessively galore radical connected it! Despite this, 22 tv cameras broadcast Disneyland’s opening to the world, and 83 cardinal radical watched from their homes. Just 2 months later, the parkland welcomed its 1 millionth guest.

Even with the success, Disneyland inactive had its doubters, and they jumped connected the information that definite attractions weren’t unfastened yet portion existing ones similar Dumbo remained closed for modifications. Instead of letting that get to him, Walt masterfully turned the communicative and said thing that would go a halfway content and driving unit of the company.

“Disneyland volition ne'er beryllium completed,” Walt said, arsenic presented successful The Official Walt Disney Quote Book. “It volition proceed to turn arsenic agelong arsenic determination is imaginativeness near successful the world.”

And that imaginativeness was determination due to the fact that of these radical successful Disneyland Handcrafted. We whitethorn not cognize their names, but their contributions and craftsmanship tin present beryllium celebrated successful a caller mode that whitethorn alteration however you presumption Disneyland forever; I cognize it did for me.

We whitethorn not cognize their names, but their contributions and craftsmanship tin present beryllium celebrated successful a caller mode that whitethorn alteration however you presumption Disneyland forever; I cognize it did for me.“

“It's fascinating to maine to question to each these parks astir the world, papers them, and present look backmost astatine the root communicative of erstwhile it each started and however it each happened,” Iwerks said. “It’s conscionable precise moving that 1 antheral could person this imaginativeness and, against each odds, flooded it. It was a high-wire act, some financially and reputationally for Walt, and I don't deliberation radical truly retrieve that. I deliberation that was portion of what I wanted to bring retired – a renewed appreciation for what 1 idiosyncratic and the radical astir him could do.”

“Walt was gathering thing to last. So overmuch of contiguous is defined by a disposable lifestyle. It's present today, and it’s gone tomorrow. So, fixed each the conflicts helium faced, to me, Disneyland is 1 of the top achievements of each time.”

For more, cheque retired our Disneyland successful 2026 guide, our exclusive interrogation with Disneyland President Thomas Mazloum connected the park's past, present, and large large beauteous DisneylandForward, and what to expect from Walt Disney World successful 2026.

Adam Bankhurst is simply a writer for IGN. You tin travel him connected X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst, Instagram, and TikTok, and perceive to his show, Talking Disney Magic.