Time-lapse footage of Disneyland's construction, for the first time
John sends us "Rare and unseen footage of Disneyland's construction narrated by Imagineers. Includes some amazing new footage of Walt Disney walking the site before construction even started and some never-before-seen timelapse footage of the park from groundbreaking until opening day. This film was on the way to deep storage and was found by a curious employee, otherwise there's a good chance we'd never get to see this."
This is just fascinating -- a look into the raw bones beneath one of the most polished created environments we have. The narration, from Tony Baxter, Ed Hobleman, and Walter Magnuson, is great. And I'm in heaven over the glimpses of the original Tomorrowland, another top time-traveller destination for me once I develop my Tardis.
Be sure to click through to see the whole thing; this is just part one of five.
Building Walt's Dream - Disneyland Construction Timelapse Video (Thanks, John!)
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Awesome stuff. What an amazing place Disneyland used to be. It seems increasingly plastic and corporate these days. I still love the place, but damn, how I'd love to roll back some of these changes. Since they're in no way trying to portray a positive sci-fi future, they might as well go retro-futuristic. I like the Vernes-style "Astro Orbiter," but it should be copper and brass instead of super plastic looking.
Awesome! But still doesn't reveal the rumored tunnels beneath the park. Damnit.
There weren't tunnels (Utilidors) under the original park; they were first installed at Walt Disney World (1971, 16 years later), and subsequently a modest few were built under Disneyland.
Not exactly "unseen" - it's ripped from 2005's Disney's "Disneyland" DVD but amazing all the same.
http://www.amazon.com/Walt-Disney-Treasures-Disneyland-Collectors/dp/B000VE4UCE/ref=pd_sim_d_1
My uncle was at Disneyland opening day. He was a huge Disney fan. I have pictures of me at Disneyland in 1968 before I was even 1 years old. In my single digits I'm sure I went to Disneyland hundreds times. Every weekend I would go with my uncle. We'd either go to the movies, Disneyland, or both. It wasn't until I went to Magic Mountain that I fell out of love with Disneyland in 1976 or so. The ride was called Revolution, and my childhood ended and Disneyland became to me at least, boring.
When Space Mountain opened up though my love for Disneyland came back in full. Of course waiting 2 or 3 hours for one ride seems insane to me now, but as a kid you never cared. Having lived in the OC my whole life Disneyland is about 20 minutes away by car. In Junior High and High School my friends and I would even ride our bikes there.
I'll never forget going to Disneyworld in 1978. All my life I had Disneyland on the brain and then you go to Disneyworld and everything was spread out, huge. What a mind blower that was. I never changed my mind though, I will always love Disneyland more than Disneyworld.
I haven't been to Disneyland since before I was 21 - 1987 or early '88. I think it's time to go back to visit some old friends.
Growing up in Anaheim during the '60's & '70's meant Disneyland was always in the background. Friends and babysitters worked there, family members coming into town had to go there. Paying $16.50 for the day, and you'd get your book of tickets, and you'd save the E ticket ride for last, because it was the best - the Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion - and playing on the island, listening to the schtick of the Jungle Cruise, and imagining yourself a member of the Swiss Family Robinson...delightful for a child, and really, apart from the beach, the culture that shaped the area.
Remembering things like this make me sad that Disney has turned into such a corporate entity. Going to Disneyland in, say, 1970 was a different trip than it is now...I do miss that innocence. And still love Storybook Land.
Check out Walt riding by on his bicycle at about 6:20.
Hmm. For the first time? I've had this on DVD for eons, on the Disneyland USA volume of "Disney Treasures."
But yeah, it's incredible and wonderful, and every time I visit Disneyland I love just touching a building that has been there 50 years, that's been touched by so many millions of others including Walt Disney and his genius Imagineers.
Hard to believe it's all just wood.
It isn't from the Walt Disney Treasures "Disneyland USA" DVD set from 2001.
It is ripped from 2007's Walt Disney Treasures "Disneyland Secrets, Stories, and Magic" (disc 2).
There is some duplication in the 2 sets, but this later one even has the People and Places - Disneyland USA that I alerted boingboing to back in 2005 http://www.boingboing.net/2005/02/19/classic-disneyland-p.html (those links in that old post are long dead)
Originally, you would purchase your ticket books upon entry to the park which would contain "A", "B", "C", "D" and "E" tickets. The different rides or attractions would be rated according to their desirability, from A to E. You would get only a few "E" tickets per book so you always ended up with booklets of leftover A, B & C tickets. We went once back in '68 with a pile of old ticket books and burned through all the lesser rides. We went on the Tea Cups 4 times in a row! Only when you're young!
The Disney show takes me back. I watched that every Sunday evening.
THIS ISN'T NEW!!!
These are illegally uploaded clips from the Disney Treasures series - Disneyland - Secrets, Stories, and Magic.
You can find a link to the DVD on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Walt-Disney-Treasures-Disneyland-Collectors/dp/B000VE4UCE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1248817785&sr=8-1
I don't know why some folks are trying to take credit for this "Never before seen" content, since it has certainly been seen and purchased by thousands of people within the last couple of years.
Check your sources before jumping on the bandwagon folks!
The quality of film-based timelapse rocks my world. I shoot all digital and with over 200 clips in the can to date... i still have a hankering to pickup a super-8 just for fun.