Reconstructing Disneyland

What's considered to be the longest running show in television history, The Wonderful World of Disney (and all it's various incarnations) has never received a proper DVD season by season release. A majority of the episodes are made up of preexisting material, be it animated shorts or feature films, so it's likely the anthology series will never see an official digital release. Single episodes have seen releases over the years and many segments of the show have popped up as DVD extras in recent years. Often times the show was divided into two segments, and it's not uncommon to find half an episode as a bonus feature on one disc, and the second half on another title.

I've always thought it would be fun to see if I could recreate the series, researching the contents of episodes and digging into my extensive collection of Disney product on both DVD and VHS...not to mention Laserdisc. Since I just got back from a week at Walt Disney World, and I'm looking to keep that Disney Magic going in the real world, I thought now would be as good a time as any to start my little Reconstructing Disneyland project.

Episodes lists for the series can easily be found online at various sources. I've found the one at www.disneyguides.webs.com to be fairly thorough. I also stick by a list published in The Disney Films by Leonard Maltin. The book The Wonderful World of Disney Television by Bill Cotter offers more insight into the contents of each episode although the book does not offer an episode by episode airdate guide.

Here's the first three episodes I watched over the weekend:

Episode 1.1 10/27/54 The Disneyland Story
Your host Walt Disney offers a preview of Disneyland the park and Disneyland the series. The hour is rounded out by a selection of Mickey Mouse cartoons. This episode appears in its entirety on the DVD Walt Disney Treasures: Disneyland U.S.A.

Episode 1.2 11/3/54 Alice in Wonderland
The 1951 feature film was presented, edited to fit the hour time slot. The film has had numerous releases on both video and DVD. I have the fantastic 2004 Masterpiece Edition DVD which not only includes the whole movie but also Walt Disney's introductions from the first broadcast and a later 1960's repeat airing. A staple of each episode was a lengthy preview of the next week's instalment. The preview portion of episode two can actually be found in the Trailers & Promos section on disc 2 of True-Life Adventures Volume 2: Lands of Exploration. The menu listing incorrectly states The Vanishing Prairie/Seal Island (TV Promo) where the episode is actually just Prairie/Seal Island.

Episode 1.3 11/10/54 Prairie - Seal Island
The first half shows how photographers get the up close and personal shots that make up the True-Life Adventure films. The second half is the Academy Award winning short Seal Island. Prairie is presented as a bonus feature on True-Life Adventures Volume 2: Lands of Exploration. The disc features the color version with the opening titles from a later Wonderful World of Color rebroadcast and closing credits. There is no preview segment for the next episode.  The short subject Seal Island is presented as a whole on Disc one of the same True-Life Adventures set.

Some of these will be easy to find or put together, others will be more of a challenge.
See ya real soon!

Dumbo Flies Again!

Recorded 10/11/12

Deborah Gibson "Home"

Deborah Gibson performing "Home" from her stint as Belle in the Broadway production of "Beauty and the Beast" back in 1997 on The Rosie O'Donnell Show.

Herbie The Love Bug In Person

Easily one of my favorite film franchises of all-time is the Herbie The Love Bug series of films from Disney. I've seen plenty of Herbie cars in my travels, mostly cars used in the newer 2005 movie or the Disney On Ice production from the 80's. But to see a real honest to goodness Herbie used in one of the original movies is a real treat. So, when I learned that the REAL HERBIE was going to be in my neck of the woods I got pretty excited.

This past weekend I dragged my kids up to the Antique Auto Club of America Museum in Hershey, PA to see two authentic Herbie The Love Bugs used in the filming of the 1974 sequel Herbie Rides Again. The original movie, The Love Bug, was the highest grossing movie of 1969 and apparently stayed the top box office grosser of all time until a little film with some spaceships, robots and lightsabers showed up in 1977.

The AACA Museum has two Herbie cars on loan from the William E. Swigart, Jr Automobile Museum in Huntingdon, PA. They are on display until April 24, 2011. The first Herbie is in beautiful condition:

The original Herbie was a pearl white 1963 Volkswagen (VW) Model 117 Deluxe 2-door sedan equipped with a sunroof.


Also on display is this beat up Herbie:

The beat up interior

Poor Herbie, he's been through a lot.

And for extra nerdy fun, here's the registration for Herbie:

This is a sign that was used when Herbie made public appearances back in the day. Since the original four theatrical films, there has also been a TV movie in 1997 and a 5th theatrical production, Herbie Fully Loaded in 2005.

Herbie is awesome!

3 Year Old Girl Takes Down Minnie Mouse

Dinner Plans?

Another product of a bygone era at Walt Disney World. Making reservations at WDW's three hot spots back in 1978 was as simple as mailing in a card.

Checking Out

When you're into rare vintage WDW ephemera, it pays off to have horders as parents. Here's the bill from a 1982 Christmas visit to Fort Wilderness.