Grand Opening of Walt Disney World (1971)

Walt Disney World opened October 1, 1971. A fall opening was selected because of what a disaster the opening of Disneyland had been in mid July at the height of the tourist season. few weeks after opening, this TV special was filmed as aired on NBC. This is the Grand Opening of Walt Disney World as it was originally broadcast in 1971 complete with the commercials that aired during the show. The show is written by Walt Disney right hand producer Bill Walsh who was writer and/or producer behind most of Walt Disney's major live action films, the Mickey Mouse Club TV series, the Mickey Mouse Club comic strip, and more.

This special followed the variety show format that was quite popular at the time. Stars included singer Glenn Campbell, Disney Legend Julie Andrews, entertainer supreme Bob Hope, bandleader and composer Meredith Wilson (most known today as the creator of the musical The Music Man), conductor and composer Arthur Fielder, and others. Buddy Hackett also appears in a segment with Herbie the Love Bug. Both had been stars in the still recent hit film The Love Bug. This was the most successful Walt Disney Productions film up to that time and this is the only time Hackett ever acted with Herbie again although he plays himself and not the character he portrayed in the film. (Buddy would later voice Scuttle the seagull in the animated feature, The Little Mermaid in 1989.)

Comedian Johnathan Winters also appears in a running gag of vignettes about a husband taking his burnt out wife to Walt Disney World to relax with little results.

Other segments feature the Walt Disney World's new attraction Country Bears Jamboree, the Hall of Presidents (with Liberty Square being described as the heart of Walt Disney World), the Mickey Mouse Revue, and more. All of these attractions were personally started by Walt himself but completed after his death.

Bob Hope gives a poignant speech about Walt Disney and America and we get to see what he meant but the glimpses of Walt Disney World when it was new. Not only is America's history embraced but so is Walt Disney history. In one of her segments, Julie Andrews sings When You Wish Upon a Star then sees clips from the majority of films from the Walt Disney animation canon including Song of the South. Then she heads to the street to sing the Oscar winning song Zip-a-dee-doo-dah with backup singers of every race from the Walt Disney World group Kids of the Kingdom. This song is performed two more times during this broadcast proving just how integral it was to Walt Disney's legacy.

The commercials included in this broadcasts all have a Walt Disney World theme. They're for the camera company GAF (one of which features a young Jodi Foster who'd already starred in a few Walt Disney Production films by this point.), US Steel (who'd built much of Walt Disney World), and Eastern Airlines. They are included for historical purposes.

This TV special reaired a few times on The Disney Channel decades later in edited form. This is the complete, unedited 1971 broadcast.

Original airdate October 29, 1971

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