WALT DISNEY’S VISION OF DISNEYLAND’S
MAIN STREET USA
“A NOSTALGIC STROLL”
Very happy to let you know that for this short documentary the Disney History Institute has teamed up with the inspirational leader and founder of Mouse Scrappers (www.mousescrappers.com). She is a big supporter of the Institute (and a fan of our mission to celebrate Walt Disney’s creative legacy through media) and so she came to me with the idea of putting together a vintage-style slide show featuring Walt’s original 1955 Main Street U.S.A. To us, this just sounded like a fantastic idea, so Todd and I set out to help with the historical aspect and we went searching through the hallowed halls of the Institute and came up with approximately 35 vintage slides of 1950s Main Street. Almost all of the slides are from the opening year (1955/56), with just a few coming as late as 1959 (but all are from the fifties). We turned these over to Carol, and she went in search of some Walt Disney audio, and found a a perfect match to the slides, Walt talking about Main Street. We were excited and pleased with the outcome, and I am sure the Institute readers will feel the same way! For Todd and I, it truly satisfied our wish to educate about Walt and his vision, but in a manner that Walt would have liked, by entertaining. This concept is now commonly known as “edutainment,” which was a word (and concept) coined by Disney as early as 1948 to describe the True-Life Adventures.
So sit back, grab some popcorn, and enjoy this nostalgic stroll down Disneyland’s Main Street, U.S.A., as Walt explains his dream. A perfect way to spend a Friday night … at least that is how those of us at the Institute feel.
Offer your comments here on our site, or on our YouTube channel. What, you didn’t know we have a Disney History Institute YouTube channel? Yes, after the newsreel is over, you can also watch a double bill of one horror film (The Haunted Mansion Hatbox Ghost Mystery) and one Sci-Fi film (Adventure Thru Inner Space). Not your cup of tea? Then check out our blockbuster film (400,000 views!) Disneyland Canon: 1957 or the classic western Zorro at Disneyland: 1958. You can visit our YouTube Channel at: Disney History.
Or engage in the discussion on this short piece on our Disney History Institute Facebook page, where this is always something new about Walt’s legacy being shared. Check it out at: DHI Facebook Group.
Enjoy!
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