Take a 44-year step back in time to enjoy a little Disney-style Christmas magic with The Wonderful World of Disney 1976 episode/special “Christmas in Disneyland.”
The hour-long program was filmed in Disneyland, of course, and stars Art Carney as a grouchy grandfather anxious to leave the park with his two grand children. That is until Disney tour guide Sandy Duncan intervenes with plans to trick gramps into becoming a believer in the magic of the holidays by the end of the day with occasional assistance from Glen Campbell.
Watch the transferred from VHS show on YouTube.
https://youtu.be/fHwZtUOEs9M
I rate it a C.
Most of the enjoyment that I get is in seeing things as they used to be in the 1970s.
First, I’ll tell you that we get the briefest glimpse of an empty French Market Restaurant patio as the party takes a descending stage to get to, for the purposes of the show, the office of Mr. Wunderbar who evaluates the convictions of disbelievers- a convincingly re-dressed castle entrance.
The second thing of note is Glen Campbell’s montage Christmas songs all with overdubbed America Sings audio-animatronics that was just two years old at the time.
Neither Adventureland nor Frontierland are featured film locations. For a chronological perspective, in the fall of 1976, New Orleans Square is ten years old; The Golden Bear Lodge is a year away from being renamed The Hungry Bear Restaurant; Big Thunder Mountain is still to come in 3 years; Bear Country is four years old and 13 years away from being re-themed as Critter Country with Splash Mountain and it is 17 years until Mickey’s Toontown opens.
Have you ever seen the French Market stage descend? What 1976 Disney memories do you have?
And if you take away just one thing - Kids love pudding!
