Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color - Disneyland After Dark (1962)

This special episode of Walt's TV show explores some of the nighttime entertainment that went on in his park in its golden age in this star studded show.

A running gag of this episode is Walt continues to be bombarded by guests wanting his autograph and is unable to make the festivities. In real life, Walt ALWAYS stopped to give guests his autograph and was well-known for it. He always paid special attention to how his guests were enjoying and related to the park. He often sought them out for their input in order to make Disneyland the best experience it could be.

During the Fantasy in the Sky Fireworks display we see Tiny Kline as Tinkerbell. Kline was a circus performer Walt remembered from his youth and when it came time to find a Tinkerbell, he brought her out of retirement. Known for her Iron Jaw daredevil gravity defying acts, Walt hired her to portray Tinkerbell during the fireworks display. Kline, who was in her 70's, loved every minute of it. For the several years she did this no one knew she was fighting a battle with cancer and some believe her portrayal of Tinkerbell added a few years to her life. She passed away in 1964, still preforming as Tinkerbell until the end of her life.

Walt never gets credit for how inclusionary he truly was and this episode is all about the melding pot of American culture.

Annette Funicello, who was the original Disney teen idol, performs a song with her Micky Mouse Club co-star Bobby Burgess.

There's a sequence in Adventureland at the Tahitian Terrace of Polynesian dancers and a fire walker.

Aboard the Mark Twain jazz pioneers Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory, and Monette Moore each perform a song. This was Moore's final filmed performance. She died later that year. Early jazz musicians Johnny St. Cyr and Harvey Brooks also features in this sequence.

A performance by a very young Osmonds is also featured. The Osmonds started out singing at Disneyland.

Rounding out the episode is popular singer Bobby Rydell leading the audience in a song.

Disneyland After Dark was such a unique episode of Walt's TV show that it was released overseas as a theatrical featurette.

When this episode was released to a Disney Treasures DVD set in 2001, the Eisner regime heavily edited this episode because of music rights issues, PC reasons, and put disclaimers on the firewalker sequence. We have restored all the deleted content to its rightful place so you can enjoy the show as it originally aired. This is a historical document of Disneyland as it was and should be presented unaltered.

Original airdate April 15, 1962

Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.