--- title: Disneyland History: How Walt Disney Prepared to Open His Theme Park description: This exclusive video clip shows the lead-up to the July 17, 1955, opening of the park canonical: https://time.com/3957667/walt-disney-video-clip/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-16T14:00:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:29:13.734Z article:section: History og:title: Disneyland History: How Walt Disney Prepared to Open His Theme Park og:description: This exclusive video shows the lead-up to the July 17, 1955, opening og:url: https://time.com/3957667/walt-disney-video-clip/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte5b94b6d5809c06c/69885adb5f570f8881b1c715/screen-shot-2015-07-14-at-2-37-20-pm.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1708 og:image:height: 961 og:image:alt: Disneyland Clip og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Disneyland History: How Walt Disney Prepared to Open His Theme Park twitter:description: This exclusive video shows the lead-up to the July 17, 1955, opening twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte5b94b6d5809c06c/69885adb5f570f8881b1c715/screen-shot-2015-07-14-at-2-37-20-pm.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See Video of Walt Disney Preparing for Disneyland's Opening > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-sub-2026q3/newsletters?i=4b727cb5-2580-416f-a6e7-fffc363d53a9&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) * TIME Subscriptions: [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-sub-2026q3/subscribe?i=4b727cb5-2580-416f-a6e7-fffc363d53a9&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) ## Video: American Experience Clip: Disneyland [Watch (HLS stream): American Experience Clip: Disneyland](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/l07cNLh2.m3u8) (4:03)  _Published 2015-07-14. See Walt Disney prepare to open Disneyland_  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Jul 16, 2015 2:00 PM UTC  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Jul 16, 2015 2:00 PM UTC With Disneyland marking its 60th anniversary this week and news that Disney plans to open [a park in Shanghai](http://time.com/3958488/disneyland-shanghai/), it’s worth remembering that the theme park that started it all almost wasn’t ready in time for its planned July 17, 1955, opening day. As shown in this exclusive clip from the PBS _American Experience_ special _Walt Disney_, which premieres Sept. 14 and 15, Disney took a hands-on approach to the park that bore his name. He was personally involved in the planning, design and the last ditch effort to open the gates on time–which required thousands of extra workers and tripled the estimated cost of the project. Disney so committed to opening on time that he even made the tough decision between working bathrooms and working drinking fountains–only one would be ready. (Watch the clip to find out which amenity won out.) **_Read a 1954 cover story about Walt Disney, here in the TIME Vault:_** [Father Goose](http://time.com/vault/issue/1954-12-27/page/44/) ### Here's Your First Look at Disneyland in Shanghai  Adventure Isle Disney Shanghai  Treasure Cove Disney Shanghai  Roaring Rapids Disney Shanghai  Pirates of the Caribbean, Battle for the Sunken Treasure Disney Shanghai  Tomorrowland Disney Shanghai  Aerial view of Shanghai Disney Resort Disney Shanghai  Fantasyland Disney Shanghai  Voyage to the Crystal Grotto Disney Shanghai  Dumbo ride Disney Shanghai  Fantasia Carousel Disney Shanghai  Sweethearts Confectionery Disney Shanghai  Disneytown's Broadway Plaza Disney Shanghai  Park layout Disney Shanghai  Shanghai Disneyland Hotel Lobby Disney Shanghai  Toy Story Hotel Disney Shanghai ## Transcript ( music ) Walt was down in Anaheim almost everyday. He would walk every inch of the construction site, barking orders. Move that gazebo, it's blocking the view of the castle, can we make that lake bigger? Move the train wreck 50 feet, that tree's too close to the walkway, how about moving it? Nevermind, it weighed 15 tons. Walt was literally down there every day watching everything. [ MUSIC ] But never distraught, never negative, just urging everybody on, exploring all the ways how to fix stuff. Walters interested in every blade of grass. He's interested in every leaf on a tree. He's interested in where everything is placed. There's not an attraction that Walter isn't- Deeply involved. [ MUSIC ] Disney's constant demands put the entire operation behind the eight ball, and did his stubborn insistence to get Disneyland up and running in a hurry. Six weeks from his announced opening date, panic was starting to set in. The entrance plaza was not yet landscaped. Main Street was unpaved. The castle unfinished. The jungle cruise boats were moving, but the robotic animals had yet to be installed. As opening day approached, less than half the planned attractions were ready to receive visitor And members of the wed staff were lobbying to push back the opening. Walt was uninterested in the naysayers. He just kept pushing harder. The construction crew tripled in the final weeks to 2500 men. Many of whom were working 16 hours a day. Costs climbed to more than 17 million dollars, more than three times the estimate made when construction began. So many things were finished at the last minute. There was a plumber's strike in Orange County which was settled about a day before Disneyland opened. So Walt had the choice of finishing the bathrooms or the drinking fountains. And of course he chose the bathrooms. People can buy Pepsi- Cola, Disney explained, but they can't pee in the street. Well the interesting thing about Walt Just before the park was getting ready to open, he was so excited like proud father. Look at what he's got now. That was Walt at his best. His enthusiasm pursuing where he wanted to go and everybody was just gonna follow him right along. [ MUSIC ] The park was a bustle the day before the opening. ABC was setting it's cameras and running rehearsals for the next day's broadcast, which was planned as the biggest and most ambitious live telecast ever. One work crew was frantically trying to dig out the 900 pound mechanical elephant. It was sneaking into the jungle river. Another was adding lead weights to the front of the train engine, to make sure it didn't tip backward. Painters were settling in for an all- nighter. Walt himself put on a mask and helped spray paint backdrops for the 20, 000 Leagues Under the Sea exhibit. [ MUSIC ] He was still at Disneyland at 3: 00 in the morning, walking the grounds, barking orders. We need new murals for the trains. Get me an artist. 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