Search - Walt Disney Treasures - Disneyland USA on DVD

For Die-Hard Disney Fans Only

Mark Baker | Santa Clarita, CA United States | 02/07/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Walt Disney was a visionary when it came to entertainment. This 2 DVD collection showcases one such example, his theme park Disneyland, as it was portrayed on TV during his lifetime.This set contains four programs. The first is the first ever episode of the TV show Disneyland. It introduces the park and future episodes of the show. At the end, it includes several Mickey Mouse cartoons, including "Sorcerer's Apprentice" and "Lonesome Ghosts."The second program is the opening day live broadcast. I enjoyed finally getting to see it. Technical problems aside, it's quite fun.The second disc contains "Disneyland after Dark," an episode of the TV show that includes some great shots of the place at night, but is mainly a show of people performing at various places in the park.The last program is the 10th Anniversary show. This one was most interesting because it featured the planning stages of "Pirates of the Caribbean" and the "Haunted Mansion," as well as a look at how the park had changed over its initial 10 years.This is a collection a Disney die-hard, like me, will enjoy. It's got some great behind the scenes info and Disney history to keep us satisfied. However, the average consumer will probably not enjoy it as much. Frankly, I probably won't watch it as much as some others from this series. Still, for its historic significance and fun for the Disney fan, I rate it 4 stars."

Sentimental and fun, but not an exceptional DVD

Seano | Quincy, Massachusetts USA | 01/01/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Im a unique Disney fan. I can enjoy everything I read and view, but I can also be critical of the quality and content. It seems some of the Disney fans cannot do that. So here goes.The presentation is awesome. A fine case and a cleverly packaged set. Probably a big reason I bought the set.Like other reviewers, I was disappointed with the lack of chapter access and the generally poor quality of the "historic" clips. I understand the package is supposed to be archival but I have seen better clips on the Disney Channel.There is plenty to enjoy...and on the second disc the sections on the imagineers is awesome. However, the "Magic Kingdom" piece on the second disc is choppy and contains footage from the other sections of the disc. Its called Magic Kingdom but it is about Disneyland. Hmmmm.When Walt isnt in some corny staged scene...and he is allowed to just speak the moments shine with sentimentality and creativity. What a remarkable American!The people watching is fun too. The Shah of Iran, Frank Sinatra (Sr. and Jr.!) Nehru...holy cow. Satchmo sings and plays the horn and you just wish you were there way back when. So, what can I say? For a Disney addict, watch it and enjoy it (flaws and all). For others, Im not too sure this is worth buying.Hope this was helpful."

Great idea - wrong content

DVD Fan | San Francisco | 12/29/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Great idea but wrong shows selected for the collection.



I recently discovered some of the shows that highlight the Disneyland park in Southern California while watching the old "Wonderful World of Disney" series on the Disney Channel. They were shown several times, so I recorded them on VHS tapes.



I bought this set thinking the programs I loved so much were included. I was wrong.



So you know what I am talking about, there were three shows in particular that should be, but are not, in this DVD set:



(1) Disneyland USA - I think dated 1956 and is pre-Wonderful World of Disney television show. This featurette was in COLOR and provides a tour of the original Disneyland park after it opened. It includes each of the "lands" and is nothing but park, park, park. It even has an extended piece on the Adventureland water ride. This program was more like a travel log feature that may have been shown in theaters (probably with a Disney movie).



(2) Day at Disneyland - from the Wonderful World of Disney television show and shown in BLACK and WHITE. This show started in the studio with Walt and Tinkerbell and moves to a tent in the parking lot from a Disney company picnic. It seems to have re-used footage from the Disneyland USA featurette and covered each "land" quite extensively.



(3) Pirates of the Carribbean - from the Wonderful World of Disney television show and shown in COLOR. This incredible show provides a design view of the ride, the actual building of the sets and mannequins and then film of the press opening with a full run through of the ride (like you were really in the little boat with the first riders).



It was shows like those listed above that really captured what the part must have been like in the beginning. It is really sad that the Anniversary Show and Disneyland at Night episodes were included but these three shows listed above did not."

The star (Disneyland) deserves more screen time

buckbooks | Hillsboro, Oregon USA | 09/28/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This is perhaps the most disappointing entry in the otherwise strong Walt Disney Treasures series, mainly because there's so little about Disneyland itself in it. The two discs feature four episodes from the Disney TV series, plus a companion feature so brief (under 9 minutes!) that it's hardly worth inclusion:



"The Disneyland Story" from 1954 shows how the TV series was essentially created to help bankroll construction of the theme park, but the episode features virtually no footage of the park or its construction (which was completed, remarkably, in less than a year). Instead, we see only models, padded with a rare glimpse of "Song of the South" but only in black-and-white. (Elsewhere in the Treasures series, footage originally filmed in color but broadcast in black-and-white is shown on the DVDs in color, but not this time, probably because the Disney Company has long been embarrassed by SOS's racial content--it's never been released in the U.S. on DVD.)



"Dateline Disneyland" features almost 90 minutes of live television coverage from opening day in 1955. It's heavily padded, however, with celebrity sightings, boring dedication speeches, marching bands and staged street performances that do little to highlight the attractions of the park. (How many times does the announcer have to say, "And here's Danny Thomas with his family!" before we get the point? I found myself fast-forwarding through two-thirds of this show.)



With the exception of some priceless color footage of jazz great Louis Armstrong performing on board the Mark Twain, "Disneyland After Dark" features mostly unremarkable stage acts interspersed with precious few scenes of the park lit up at night. All Walt Disney's scenes are filmed with actors on a sound stage--and they look it.



"Disneyland 10th Anniversary" from 1965 is the only segment that truly lives up to this set's billing as a showcase for Disneyland. Disney himself gives viewers a tour around the "imagineering" department, showing off early conceptual sketches and models for such classic attractions as the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean, neither of which opened until after Disney's death in 1966. We meet such ground-breaking imagineers as Mary Blair and Marc Davis. Finally, we see color footage, narrated by Disney, of attractions that have long since been retired, like the Flying Saucers and Submarine Voyage. It takes a film like this to remind us what a boneyard Tomorrowland has become since Disney's death, but this episode alone is not enough to recommend the whole package."