Last week, Daps Magic was given the incredible opportunity to attend the premiere of Disneyland Handcrafted at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. The latest film from Leslie Iwerks aims to tell the story of the creation of Disneyland with never-before-seen footage. Heading into the screening, I must admit I was a bit suspicious. For the more “hardcore” Disney fans, was there truly footage we hadn’t seen before? Was there a perspective on building this iconic park that we had not heard told in books or interviews? As the film started, my jaw dropped and stayed there throughout the entire film.
I have been a Disneyland superfan for as long as I can remember. My fascination wasn’t surrounding films, characters, or even the other Disney parks around the world. I was an incredibly lucky kid who grew up with Disneyland in my backyard and spent all my time trying to learn more about it. When I was growing up, Disney fan sites were first coming into existence. I immediately found every article, every piece of history, every tidbit, so I could see Disneyland in a new way the next time I got to visit. Disneyland was always so interesting to me because it was tangible and there was always something new to experience. Even if nothing in the park had physically changed, learning something new about the park would allow me to appreciate a shop differently, or it would give me something to keep my eyes open for in an attraction!
My incessant need to learn more about Disneyland means that I have seen all of the public footage, listened to all the interviews, and pored over the original plans. It does come to a point when, as a fan of Disneyland, you begin to see the same clips from the building process used time and time again. What Disneyland Handcrafted does is tell a story you think you know, while showing fans that, while we’ve always been amazed that Disneyland was built in a year, we should be more amazed at how Disneyland, as we know it, was truly put together in a matter of months, led by people that had no training and only knew they were creating magic.
The fact that this footage exists is truly a testament to the big picture view Walt Disney had. He knew he was going to make something truly incredible and wanted to document the process with film cameras and time-lapse cameras, to show the world what Disney was building. In the process, he captured the joy, such as the appreciation party for the team, one week before Disneyland opened to guests, and the worry, like the ever-looming financial fears, as Disney found out what it took to create something like this.
As someone who has loved Disneyland from such a young age, my biggest takeaway from the film was how close the world came to not experiencing it. At one point in the film, Imagineers discuss how they proposed a delayed opening to Walt Disney. Instead of opening the park in July, they would have pushed for later into the fall of 1955. Walt Disney was adamant that it would open in July, and, as the Imagineer recounts, they don’t believe the park would have ever opened its gates if they hadn’t kept the strict timeline.
Everything about this film is an absolute marvel and a testament to all the individuals who helped make this dream a reality. As I sit here and write this, I am already wishing I could watch it again to see even more details I may have missed on my first watch. I am even more eager to return to Disneyland Park and look at everything through a new lens. So many of the things we see in Disneyland Handcrafted still exist today, and this film will give you such a renewed love for all the artistry that went into every corner of the park.
As I reflect, I simply cannot wait for January 22, 2026, when this documentary is live on Disney+ and YouTube. Part of my love for Disneyland comes from the fact that it is real, it is not a museum lost to time, and we get to experience it with other people who love it just as much as we do. I can’t wait for more Disney fans to see this documentary and find new details, new moments, and even more stories to discuss and bond over. To me, Disneyland Handcrafted is the very definition of Disney and Positive Stuff.
