I have been going since I was 4 in 1962. This video brings back so many beautiful memories. I love Disneyland…so much that I was a cast member for a total of 8 years..
As someone who didn't get to go to Disneyland until I was 19 I love seeing these old movies of families there. Love the father skipping with his children.
Every family has that one person who does not mind filming or photographing and at somewhat of a cost; missing out on the total experience and meeting protest from people thinking it’s cheesy to pose for pictures. They are the unsung heroes when the photographs and memories are all that remain after many years. My hat is off to all of the photographers out there from the past, present and future. Thank you.
For historic footage ... this is about as high quality as I've seen for Disneyland. Some of the footage from the 80's and 90's is hardly watchable with VHS camcorders. Nice film!
Yes. film was better then VHS video. Plus, AI algorithms help clean up and stabilized the images as well. The stabilization really helps because most of those home made films were shaky as hell.
Excellent quality, very well done. Interesting to see the park so new with hardly any vegetation, and the difference in some rides like Dumbo from 1956 compared to the late 1950s.
This is really awesome, thank you for sharing. You did a great job with modern tools to clean up the film while also maintaining the realism and not making it look like an AI mess that some remasters do.
Incredible footage from 1956, no crowds, no people, all trees and shrubs so small, seeing the Orange orchards in distance, sure got crowed in just a few years time.
I went there in about 1956 at age 7. I remember the jungle ride. They shot blanks at the hippo and the guy gave me a spent cartridge. I was thrilled. Kids.
this quality is amazing!!!! you've inspired me to start recording home movies on film, do you have any recommendations for an affordable/entry-level scanner? thank you!!
@NightmareNate - hello - for these I had them professionally scanned by Movette Film Transfer in San Francisco, California. They used a Lasergraphics brand ScanStation. There are lots of services online that will offer to digitize flim for pretty cheap - but a lot of those can be low quality or even damage your film. I recommend finding a shop that focuses on archival or film restoration and working with them if that's an option for you.
Growing up in the eighties our neighbor Frank was the guy that steered the Mark Twain boat. He was such a nice man and would sneak my brothers and friends inside whenever he could.
Great footage! Everything's so crisp and clear and the colors are vibrant. Just wanted to note, though, that the first part - the 1956 portion - is two separate visits. Up to about the 2 minute mark, we're looking at either late '55 or early '56, but after that, it's clearly the Christmas season of '56. The earlier footage shows the Dumbo ride without its center piece or the candy stripes on the arms that hold the Dumbos. And I can just make out that the theater is still the Mickey Mouse Theater - in the later footage, it has become the Mickey Mouse Club Theater. Also in the earlier footage, the Casey Jr. is traveling through some pretty barren landscape, as Storybook Land hadn't been built yet. This is the part that makes me wonder if it's actually 1955 here, since the Storybook Land construction, at least in places, would have been visible by the end of that year. The Christmas '56 footage has plenty of stuff that debuted earlier that year, like Tom Sawyer Island, Storybook Land, the Skyway, and the Rainbow Caverns Mine Train. The Dumbo centerpiece is now there, but doesn't have Timothy Mouse on the top yet, as that came along the following year. Also, the "late '50s" portion, assuming it's all one visit, would be 1959. The Matterhorn, Monorail and Submarine Voyage all debuted that year, but it also shows the Stage Coaches, which were retired at the end of that summer. Oddly, Timothy Mouse isn't on top of the Dumbo centerpiece here, even though it existed by this time. Perhaps it was removed for maintenance. It's also notable that the '61 footage shows the Mark I version of the Monorail, which got replaced by the Mark II version in the middle of that year. And the Mine Trains are yellow now, reflecting the switch in 1960 from the Rainbow Caverns Mine Train to Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland.
Thank you for the timing notes - it's quite possible the attributed times I have in the title cards are a bit off, as I'm going off labels on the developed film, and some information has likely been lost!
Ugh, I hate the frame interpolation. It looks bad especially on the teacups. On the other hand, the clarity is pretty good. Which film scanner did you use?
@RyDawg96 - trust me - you'd probably hate the 16 frames per second original source even more than the interpolated view more. This was scanned professionally using a Lasergraphics brand ScanStation 5k.
Yeah... like many, I am a student of Disneyland history and have seen so many historic photos over the years. But NO footage I've ever seen illustrates what those early park years were like as vividly as this 25 minute excursion to another time.
That was my thought. I hope he sees it. Maybe the Family is called Dinsey? 😊 They wouldn't make the same failure twice I think. Greetings from Germany, Dirk
Oh brother... thanks for letting me know about the title transposition. Unfortunately I can't change the video once it's been uploaded. I might do some color correction on these and upload a new version - if I do that I'll fix the titles in that one!
I wish Disneyland was that empty today. I love Disneyland but the amount of humans packed in such a small area is a big turn off for me as an older park goer.
I think that family and a few others were the only ones there that day! Compare that to 2024. Our first time was March, 1957, when I was 7 years old, about the age of those kids, maybe younger. Where has the time gone?
Sadly, I can remember the old Disney (like in these videos) and think about the good time we used to have. And there is now in Disney. Goodness, how it has changed.
Great footage! I need to track down some of the super eight film my dad took. We were there the day it opened. I was five years old at the time and don’t remember much about it. Have been there countless times since :-)
@yourworstnightmare5902 - Sounds really cool! Older footage is hard to come by especially if you've got some stuff from opening day that could be historically significant!
Okay......what did you use to sharpen and enhance these movies? I'm guessing you have some kind of software to do this. I have NEVER seen 8mm movies with this kind of resolution.
@dongordo63 - There are some notes in the description about what software I used. The first few segments were on 16mm film, and probably a big part of the quality is the 4k digitization that was done before applying the software mentioned in the description.
For most of the film segments a hobbyist 16mm silent film camera was used. There are some notes in the video description talking about the process of digitizing this footage.
Women and families used to be so beautiful! Such a cool video even though there's no sound.. just open up a Disneyland Background music video on a different browser tab and there you are.
@@EverScrolls Film is fed through an scanner which lights it from behind and a digital photo of each frame is taken. In this case the scanner was configured to capture the entire film frame. The particular scanner was a Lasergraphics brand ScanStation.
I went when i was 6 years old in 1968. And many times after that. What wonderful memories. At least i have those because i don't support this company anymore because of their politics.
I wish my dad had skipped and held hands with us kids... Cool footage of a peek into the past!
This is probably the best amateur Disneyland footage I've ever seen. The clarity is astonishing. What a treasure. Thanks so much!
I have been going since I was 4 in 1962. This video brings back so many beautiful memories. I love Disneyland…so much that I was a cast member for a total of 8 years..
As someone who didn't get to go to Disneyland until I was 19 I love seeing these old movies of families there. Love the father skipping with his children.
Every family has that one person who does not mind filming or photographing and at somewhat of a cost; missing out on the total experience and meeting protest from people thinking it’s cheesy to pose for pictures. They are the unsung heroes when the photographs and memories are all that remain after many years. My hat is off to all of the photographers out there from the past, present and future. Thank you.
Better quality than a lot of portrait videos people are taking today lol
For historic footage ... this is about as high quality as I've seen for Disneyland. Some of the footage from the 80's and 90's is hardly watchable with VHS camcorders. Nice film!
Yes. film was better then VHS video. Plus, AI algorithms help clean up and stabilized the images as well. The stabilization really helps because most of those home made films were shaky as hell.
I loved the fact that back then you didn't need a high-tech light show to have a nice time together as a family. Simple and calm was so nice.
Thanks for sharing this footage from 1956! I always dreamt of if I could time traveling, one of them was seeing the start of Disneyland. Thank you! 😊
WOW the remastering of this is incredible. Amazing to see the early days of Disneyland like this. Thanks
Excellent quality, very well done. Interesting to see the park so new with hardly any vegetation, and the difference in some rides like Dumbo from 1956 compared to the late 1950s.
This is really awesome, thank you for sharing. You did a great job with modern tools to clean up the film while also maintaining the realism and not making it look like an AI mess that some remasters do.
Incredible footage from 1956, no crowds, no people, all trees and shrubs so small, seeing the Orange orchards in distance, sure got crowed in just a few years time.
Fantastic quality. Our family first visited in 1956 and I vividly recall that stagecoach ride. Still love this place and visit at least once a month.
Thanks so much for sharing. Brings back great memories.
Love the humble beginings of Disneyland. Thank you for posting.
Great job on the digitizing of these. The colors are amazing!
I went there in about 1956 at age 7. I remember the jungle ride. They shot blanks at the hippo and the guy gave me a spent cartridge. I was thrilled. Kids.
this quality is amazing!!!! you've inspired me to start recording home movies on film, do you have any recommendations for an affordable/entry-level scanner? thank you!!
@NightmareNate - hello - for these I had them professionally scanned by Movette Film Transfer in San Francisco, California. They used a Lasergraphics brand ScanStation. There are lots of services online that will offer to digitize flim for pretty cheap - but a lot of those can be low quality or even damage your film. I recommend finding a shop that focuses on archival or film restoration and working with them if that's an option for you.
I was a kid living in Anaheim CA in the 70"s and went here alot and it cost like $10 and was clean and not the shit show it is today.
When Southern California was uncrowded, sure glad I got to live it.
Growing up in the eighties our neighbor Frank was the guy that steered the Mark Twain boat. He was such a nice man and would sneak my brothers and friends inside whenever he could.
This is truly fantastic, thank you so much.
Fantastic footage. Thank you for sharing!
Great footage! Everything's so crisp and clear and the colors are vibrant. Just wanted to note, though, that the first part - the 1956 portion - is two separate visits. Up to about the 2 minute mark, we're looking at either late '55 or early '56, but after that, it's clearly the Christmas season of '56. The earlier footage shows the Dumbo ride without its center piece or the candy stripes on the arms that hold the Dumbos. And I can just make out that the theater is still the Mickey Mouse Theater - in the later footage, it has become the Mickey Mouse Club Theater. Also in the earlier footage, the Casey Jr. is traveling through some pretty barren landscape, as Storybook Land hadn't been built yet. This is the part that makes me wonder if it's actually 1955 here, since the Storybook Land construction, at least in places, would have been visible by the end of that year. The Christmas '56 footage has plenty of stuff that debuted earlier that year, like Tom Sawyer Island, Storybook Land, the Skyway, and the Rainbow Caverns Mine Train. The Dumbo centerpiece is now there, but doesn't have Timothy Mouse on the top yet, as that came along the following year.
Also, the "late '50s" portion, assuming it's all one visit, would be 1959. The Matterhorn, Monorail and Submarine Voyage all debuted that year, but it also shows the Stage Coaches, which were retired at the end of that summer. Oddly, Timothy Mouse isn't on top of the Dumbo centerpiece here, even though it existed by this time. Perhaps it was removed for maintenance. It's also notable that the '61 footage shows the Mark I version of the Monorail, which got replaced by the Mark II version in the middle of that year. And the Mine Trains are yellow now, reflecting the switch in 1960 from the Rainbow Caverns Mine Train to Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland.
Thank you for the timing notes - it's quite possible the attributed times I have in the title cards are a bit off, as I'm going off labels on the developed film, and some information has likely been lost!
Nice footage. Great restoration work.
Ugh, I hate the frame interpolation. It looks bad especially on the teacups. On the other hand, the clarity is pretty good. Which film scanner did you use?
@RyDawg96 - trust me - you'd probably hate the 16 frames per second original source even more than the interpolated view more. This was scanned professionally using a Lasergraphics brand ScanStation 5k.
very cool.
Outstanding stuff! (I'm sure you are aware that your opening title says "Dinseyland"?)
This footage is amazing. Great coverage and clearly Topaz and DaVinci were the heroes of the day. Bravo.
Yeah... like many, I am a student of Disneyland history and have seen so many historic photos over the years. But NO footage I've ever seen illustrates what those early park years were like as vividly as this 25 minute excursion to another time.
Wow! Everyone looks so fit. What happened?
amazing footage. I wonder if disney will contact you to maybe license the footage for future projects or documentaries.
What was the cost of the digitization? I’m looking for places to send my film to be digitized
I paid around 75 cents per foot of film, and the film itself was roughly 20 feet per minute of film, which works out to around $15 per minute.
Justin Scarred would love this! Also, the s and n in Disneyland (reads as Dinseyland) are transposed in the date cards.
That was my thought. I hope he sees it. Maybe the Family is called Dinsey? 😊 They wouldn't make the same failure twice I think. Greetings from Germany, Dirk
The "R" is for adventure.
Oh brother... thanks for letting me know about the title transposition. Unfortunately I can't change the video once it's been uploaded. I might do some color correction on these and upload a new version - if I do that I'll fix the titles in that one!
Good video
I wish Disneyland was that empty today. I love Disneyland but the amount of humans packed in such a small area is a big turn off for me as an older park goer.
Wow so much of it looks unfinished and it’s interesting to see it before all the trees were fully grown
Great to see how people respected Disneyland. Beautifully dressed . Now there’s scanners security cameras.
There's an open dumpster next to Casey Jr inthis footage
$5.50 in 1961 is about $60 in 2024 dollars
I think that family and a few others were the only ones there that day! Compare that to 2024. Our first time was March, 1957, when I was 7 years old, about the age of those kids, maybe younger. Where has the time gone?
Sadly, I can remember the old Disney (like in these videos) and think about the good time we used to have. And there is now in Disney. Goodness, how it has changed.
I love the father. The kids are all baby boomer age and the father could very well be a WWII vet.
Great footage! I need to track down some of the super eight film my dad took.
We were there the day it opened. I was five years old at the time and don’t remember much about it.
Have been there countless times since :-)
@yourworstnightmare5902 - Sounds really cool! Older footage is hard to come by especially if you've got some stuff from opening day that could be historically significant!
Okay......what did you use to sharpen and enhance these movies? I'm guessing you have some kind of software to do this. I have NEVER seen 8mm movies with this kind of resolution.
@dongordo63 - There are some notes in the description about what software I used. The first few segments were on 16mm film, and probably a big part of the quality is the 4k digitization that was done before applying the software mentioned in the description.
Hey Matt,
How can I get in direct contact with you? Your email associated with this RUclips account bounces back?
Thanks!
Mark
Hello - I updated the email associated with the account - can you try again?
What kind of camera used? These videos are HD? How?
For most of the film segments a hobbyist 16mm silent film camera was used. There are some notes in the video description talking about the process of digitizing this footage.
So cool! All of our movies were lost in a house fire. 😢
1961 adult entry fee $5.50 at 16:42.
After my hostile takeover, Disneyland will go back to these days as part of my plans to make Disney great again.
Women and families used to be so beautiful! Such a cool video even though there's no sound.. just open up a Disneyland Background music video on a different browser tab and there you are.
Why the border, it’s very distracting
Would pay extra to not see the special effect film overlay. But still amazing.
It's not a special effect - you're seeing a digitized scan of the entire film negative.
@@transactionalsoa How was it scanned then?
@@EverScrolls Film is fed through an scanner which lights it from behind and a digital photo of each frame is taken. In this case the scanner was configured to capture the entire film frame. The particular scanner was a Lasergraphics brand ScanStation.
I went when i was 6 years old in 1968. And many times after that. What wonderful memories. At least i have those because i don't support this company anymore because of their politics.
I feel sorry for you that you made it about politics.
@@briancomiskey9824 Too bad, mijo.
No audio