I spoke to an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker about her upcoming Disneyland documentary, and she revealed some BIG details about the new film coming to the Disney+ streaming service!

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Disneyland Handcrafted is a brand-new documentary focused on the creation of Disneyland, featuring rarely seen footage from the Disney Archives. Coming to Disney+ and Disney YouTube on January 22nd, 2026, this documentary is helmed by Leslie Iwerks — an award-winning director and producer who comes from a long lineage of Disney icons.  We were afforded the opportunity to speak with her, and she shed some insight on the film, Disneyland history, Walt himself, and the filmmaking process!

To say Leslie Iwerks is accomplished is an understatement. Iwerks is an Oscar and Emmy-nominated filmmaker, with several credits under her belt that largely relate to the documentary genre. The daughter of Don Iwerks (a Disney camera technician and notable inventor/overseer of the Studio Machine Shop and the Camera Service Department) and the granddaughter of Disney Legend Ub Iwerks (Walt Disney’s original animator and the designer and co-creator of Mickey Mouse), Leslie has turned her talents to showcasing the chaotic creation of Disneyland back in 1955 through video and images that were once tucked away in the Archives.

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Having grown up around such rich Disney history, it’s no wonder that Iwerks found her filmmaking path leading back to Disneyland. She started her career in 1999 by sharing her grandfather’s story with The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story, and has revisited Disney history with The Pixar Story and The Imagineering Story.

The Imagineering Story ©Disney

While putting together Disneyland Handcrafted, Iwerks went through over 100 hours of raw material depicting Disneyland’s earliest days and discovered fascinating outtakes that hadn’t been shown to the public, as they were sitting away in the Walt Disney Film Archives. Iwerks and her team were able to produce high-resolution scans of every reel and restore the content for this innovative documentary.

I spoke with Iwerks about her film and what viewers can expect, and she gave some very thoughtful responses.

When asked about the early stages of filmmaking and what draws her to a story (like the history of Disneyland), Iwerks said, “It’s really a matter of what interests me and what feels like is going to be a compelling story and actually has drama to it — an emotional journey I can take the audience on. There are some enlightening moments, and there are some lessons to be learned, and — hopefully — a tear or two.”

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I asked her if there were any surprises she discovered when doing research for the film. Iwerks laughed and said, “Yeah, how they actually did it in one year!” — referencing the hectic completion of Disneyland. “How this whole thing happened in one year is mind-boggling to me, and then to watch the footage as it unfolds over the course of the year and see how unfinished it was still leading up to opening day…The pressure must have been enormous on everybody.”

When Disneyland opened on July 17th, 1955, it had been barely completed, but with some major budgetary sacrifices, non-functional drinking fountains, counterfeit tickets, ride breakdowns, and even melting asphalt. Walt and his team faced massive stress to get the park done so quickly, and it wasn’t perfect when it did open — but it’s come so far since then and continues to grow as Walt’s promise of Disneyland never truly being completed lives on.

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Iwerks teased lots of emotional moments in Disneyland Handcrafted, saying, “I don’t know if there’s any other story of construction that you’ll have a bigger fanbase for. Because Disneyland has such a big fanbase, I think this will give people renewed appreciation for how it was built, why it was built, the passion behind it, and the risk that it took to get it done.”

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When asked about some footage she’s really excited for people to see, Iwerks brought up the gags. “They just had funny ways of having fun with this construction footage. Just a lot of cute things that I think they thought would be fun for the ABC television show.” Iwerks added that it works as a time capsule that takes you back to 1954 Anaheim that provides an honest look at life back then that should invoke nostalgia.

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Considering the level of pressure Walt underwent during the construction of a project he cared so deeply about, I asked Iwerks about how her film will tackle capturing Walt’s emotions through it all. Iwerks said, “We are able to find some soundbites directly from Walt that explain his point of view and what he was thinking at that time. The majority of the audio bites are from people he was surrounded by that can speak about him.” The film provides “an outside-in point of view about Walt, but also Walt himself, almost explaining his own point of view as a counter to what they’re saying.”

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Seeing Walt in the footage was a real treat for Iwerks and her team. “What I think is nice about this is that he is promoting the film on ABC as a showman, and he’s excited, but once you cut from that, you’re in the dirt and you’re in the pressure and it’s real life. It’s this counterbalance between show and reality that makes this film unique.”

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As a reminder, Disneyland Handcrafted will debut on Disney+ and Disney YouTube on January 22nd, and is — per Disney — “a feature documentary that details the legacy, passion, and nostalgia in the year leading up to the creation of Disneyland. [The film] will detail the ultimate story of risk and capture the excitement of Disneyland as it was being built more than 70 years ago. With a chance to peek behind the orange groves and experience the making of the park like never before, this documentary will take you back in time to visit the Disneyland of yesteryear and provide a look at the dedication, expertise, and focus that was required to turn a dream into reality.”

As Disney and Disneyland fanatics, we CAN’T WAIT to watch Disneyland Handcrafted and dive into the impressive story of “The Happiest Place On Earth”! Showcasing Walt’s original theme park, this film is sure to give Disney fans of all ages a unique look at the hard work and dedication it took to bring this incredible concept to life. We’ll continue to keep you posted on all things Disney, so stay tuned right here at the Disney Food Blog!

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Are you looking forward to this documentary? Let us know in the comments!

Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by The Walt Disney Company to a special “Disneyland Handcrafted” press event. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ