New Disneyland Documentary Featuring Never-Before-Seen Footage Coming From Creator of ‘The Imagineering Story’ 

Disney has just announced and revealed the trailer for an upcoming documentary. This new film will feature never-before-seen footage of the construction of Disneyland Park in the days leading up to its opening! The movie is coming from a documentarian that we love.

This year's Destination D23 event is the biggest of its kind yet, featuring several presentations from across the Walt Disney Company, shopping, and a special Walt Disney Archives exhibit. We are here at the event to share Disney fun and the latest news. Keep reading for more details on the new Disneyland documentary coming soon and the newly-released trailer…

READ MORE – Rides Disney Almost Built But Didn’t (And Why They Never Happened)

New Disneyland Documentary Project Announced

At the “Creating the Happiest Place on Earth” panel at Destination D23, Academy Award and Emmy-nominated filmmaker Leslie Iwerks announced details about a new documentary called “Disneyland Handcrafted.”

This Disney feature film captures the final days leading up to the opening of the original Disneyland Park, featuring never-before-seen footage. Today, we have a first look at the film via a new trailer. The full film will be released later this winter on Disney+ and Disney YouTube.

As part of the announcement, Disney released these stills from the trailer, including this cool look at the placement of the Moonliner in Disneyland's Tomorrowland.

Here is a look at the original ride vehicles of Peter Pan's Flight, which was an opening day attraction in 1955.

Here is a look at the final touches of the iconic floral Mickey in front of the Main Street U.S.A. Railroad Station that welcomed guests upon the park's opening.

Iwerks is an award-nominated filmmaker who created the Emmy-nominated series “The Imagineering Story.” This is widely accepted as the best documentary look at Disney theme parks history. We have been asking for Iwerks to deliver more video since this film debuted in 2019. For us, this series was the highlight of the launch of Disney Plus.

Her family has a history with the Walt Disney Company. Her grandfather, Ub Iwerks, worked with Walt Disney as an original animator, and her father, Don Iwerks, was a lab technician, filmmaker, and Walt Disney Imagineer at the company.

READ MORE – 14 Spooky (and Somewhat Disturbing) Secrets of Disney’s Haunted Mansion You Don’t Know

Her new film uniquely does not use interviews overlapping with the footage. Instead, this is all historical footage to keep the viewer in the historical moment shown. In the trailer, note the raw nature of the work. People are rushing to accomplish the monumental Disneyland construction with any means necessary.

You can see the trailer for the “Disneyland Handcrafted” film below:

We are so excited to see this new film when it debuts. What a great move by Disney to highlight this team and work again with Leslie Iwerks.

Don't Miss the Latest Disney News

Don't miss the latest Disneyland and Disney World news from Mickey Visit. Join the FREE Mickey Visit newsletter that over 100k readers receive every single week. Mickey Visit is here to help you save money and experience more during your Disney and Universal vacation. See the Mickey Visit guide to Disneyland and the Mickey Visit guide to Disney World for tips.