On January 22, 2026, Disneyland Handcrafted will be released on Disney+ and the Disney YouTube Channel. When it does, viewers will get a look behind the scenes as Disneyland was built. This is a film that isn’t just a documentary; it is a labor of love. Leslie Iwerks has a long history, and her family has deep roots with The Walt Disney Company. This deep connection is put to work to tell this incredible story of the building of the Happiest Place on Earth.
Honoring the Past While Moving Towards the Future
The arrival of this documentary on screens later this month is yet another example of how Disney continues to honor its past while moving forward into the future. The Walt Disney Company of today is absolutely incredible. It utilizes all the tools and technology available to tell incredible stories and share amazing experiences. This includes flying into space to fight the First Order, going on adventures with the Guardians of the Galaxy, helping Buzz Lightyear beat the Evil Emperor Zurg, or going under the sea in the midst of a pirate battle. While charging into the future with these incredible stories and experiences, Disney is also using its storytelling tools to preserve its past and honor its legacy.
Looking at the Legacy
In 2019, The Imagineering Story arrived on Disney+. It gave an in-depth and behind-the-scenes look into Walt Disney Imagineering. Directed by Leslie Iwerks, this series wasn’t just a love letter to the parks, but also the people who made them. It was the first step in recent years of Disney pulling the curtains behind some of its secret magic-making in the past. These are the things that set the foundation for the parks that would continue for the greater part of a century.
2025 saw the arrival of Walt Disney – A Magical Life. Perhaps the greatest example of Disney charging toward the future while honoring its past, this show at Disneyland saw Walt Disney come to life in Audio-Animatronic form. This show used incredible technology to bring Walt Disney to life. It also reinforced the magic and the vision of the man who started it all. Perhaps most importantly, it ties together the vision and direction of Disney today with what Walt Disney was doing over 70 years ago when he was dreaming up Disneyland.
Connecting the Past with the Present
The arrival of Disneyland Handcrafted will give an even better look at the building of the Happiest Place on Earth. Disneyland was a passion project that, over 70 years ago, continues to be an example of what can be done by people with vision, direction, and drive. It is also an example of Disney being innovative and unafraid to try something new. The lessons that come from this era in Disney history continue to be used today by The Walt Disney Company.
This month, fans will get to look at the origins of the Disney theme park with this new documentary. There will also be the opportunity to see how the events of that time period continue to influence what is happening at Disney today. This comes at a time when Disney Experiences is in an era of being “turbocharged.” While many things are different, there will also be many things that can be found that are similar. The foundations created by Walt Disney and his team when they built Disneyland continue to be built on today by Walt Disney Imagineers and other leaders at Disney as they create new attractions, lands, and parks around the world.
Tonight, Daps Magic will get the opportunity to see Disneyland Handcrafted. Expect to see a review in the coming days. There will also be a podcast going into deeper depth about this documentary and what can be taken from it. As we prepare to see Disneyland Handcrafted, it is a time of anticipation. In some ways, I imagine it is almost like a modern version of having to wait for Uncle Walt on Disneyland or, later, The Wonderful World of Disney to be broadcast. Back in the day of Walt Disney, fans could be excited because they knew the man. They knew the quality of the productions he produced. Today, we know Leslie Iwerks, and we know the quality of her productions. That is something to be very excited about!
