About this season
Walt Disney Productions has produced an anthology television series under several different titles since 1954. The original version of the series premiered on ABC, Wednesday night, October 27, 1954. The show, which was hosted by Walt Disney until his death and then from 1996 to 2002 by then-CEO Michael Eisner (with one-off hosts or no hosts during other periods) has since aired continually as either a weekly program or an irregular series of specials on several networks and streaming services, most recently on ABC and Disney+. The show is the second longest showing prime-time program on American television, behind its rival, Hallmark Hall of Fame. However, Hallmark Hall of Fame was a weekly program only during its first five seasons, while Disney remained a weekly program for more than forty years.
Episodes (26)
1. 4th Anniversary Show
7.0Aired 11 September 1957 • 60 min
Disneyland began its 4th season on the air with a gala, all-star ""special"", essentially designed to promote all 3 of Disney's network TV series. Pressured by his cartoon creations and the latest crop of Mouseketeers to tell them what's in store for the 1957-58 season, host Walt Disney offers tantalizing glimpses of the new weekly adventure show Zorro, the Disneyland miniseries The Saga of Andy Burnett (with Jerome Courtland in the title role) and the newest installments of such Mickey Mouse Club serials as ""Spin and Marty."" The remainder of the 4th Anniversary Show is an uncut presentation of the ""Peter and the Wolf"" segement from the 1946 animated feature Make Mine Music.
2. Four Fabulous Characters
Aired 18 September 1957 • 60 min
This is a look at four stories about Americans who became folk heroes: Casey Jones, a railroad engineer who is borderline fanatical on punctuality; Henry Coy and Grace Martin, a couple from two feuding families; Mighty Casey of the Mudville Nine; and Johnny Appleseed.
3. Adventure in Wildwood Heart
Aired 25 September 1957 • 60 min
Walt takes us to the Studio Morgue where great ideas stored here are used in future projects. He also talks with Winston Hibler about the making of another True-Life Fantasy feature called Perri.
4. The Saga of Andy Burnett: Andy's Initiation
9.0Aired 2 October 1957 • 60 min
5. The Saga of Andy Burnett: Andy's First Chore
Aired 9 October 1957 • 60 min
6. The Saga of Andy Burnett: Andy's Love Affair
Aired 16 October 1957 • 60 min
7. Duck for Hire
Aired 23 October 1957 • 60 min
Donald decides that he's had enough of show business and so decides to quit his job at Disney and leave, never to return. He goes to the Ajax Employment Agency looking for a job. But things don't go as planned.
8. Adventures in Fantasy
Aired 6 November 1957 • 60 min
To teach us about the world of fantasy in animation, inanimate objects come to life and introduce various cartoons.
9. To the South Pole for Science
Aired 13 November 1957 • 60 min
10. The Best Doggoned Dog in the World
Aired 20 November 1957 • 60 min
A show all about ""hero"" dogs. Walt Disney narrates the first segment. Dorothy McGuire gives us a preview of ""Old Yeller"" and the last half of the episode is the 1955 People and Places short Arizona Sheepdog.
11. How to Relax
Aired 27 November 1957 • 60 min
Goofy reveals about mankind's eternal desire to relax. Ever since prehistoric times, when the caveman discovered his thumb, he unfortunately discovered work, too, which robbed him of his ability to relax. So Goofy attempts to demonstrate numerous methods for ensuring sufficient time for leisure.
12. Mars and Beyond
7.3Aired 4 December 1957 • 60 min
"Mars and Beyond" is an episode of Disneyland which aired on December 4, 1957. It was directed by Ward Kimball and narrated by Paul Frees. This episode discusses the possibility of life on other planets, especially Mars. It begins with an introduction of Walt Disney and his robot friend Garco, who provide a brief overview. It continues with an animated presentation about mankind seeking to understand the world in which he lives, first noticing patterns in the stars, and developing certain beliefs regarding the celestial bodies. Theories from scientists and philosophers are discussed, including Ptolemy's inaccurate, but formerly-accepted theories, as well as those of Copernicus. Life on other planets is considered, soon focusing on Mars. Ideas from science-fiction authors H.G. Wells and Edgar Rice Burroughs are brought to life with more colorful animation. Pulp science fiction comics of the time are parodied in the same straightforward tone as everything else. After this, the program adopts a serious tone as it profiles each of the planets in the solar system, from the perspective of what would happen to a man on them. The program claims that whereas most of the planets are either too cold or too hot for life as we know it, life on Mars could almost be normal, something that is of increasing importance for the future. Dr. E.C. Slipher then discusses the Red Planet and the possibility that life is already there. More animation speculates what the conditions on Mars might be like. This section is filled with striking, inventive and atypical Disney animation.
13. The Horse of the West
Aired 11 December 1957 • 60 min
The story of The Bay Lady, a quarter horse born on Rex Allen's ranch. The Bay Lady is the favorite filly of Elena Vasquez until the young horse is accidentally shipped from the ranch to be sold at an auction.
14. Faraway Places: High, Hot and Wet
Aired 1 January 1958 • 60 min
15. Saludos Amigos
Aired 8 January 1958 • 60 min
16. Donald's Weekend
Aired 15 January 1958 • 60 min
Walt invites the audience to spend a weekend with Donald Duck.
17. The Littlest Outlaw: Part 1
Aired 22 January 1958 • 60 min
Littlest Outlaw, The (1955) re-edited into a two-part television presentation.
18. The Littlest Outlaw: Part 2
Aired 29 January 1958 • 60 min
Littlest Outlaw, The (1955) re-edited into a two-part television presentation
19. The Saga of Andy Burnett: The Land of Enemies
Aired 26 February 1958 • 60 min
20. The Saga of Andy Burnett: White Man's Medicine
Aired 5 March 1958 • 60 min
21. The Saga of Andy Burnett: The Big Council
Aired 12 March 1958 • 60 min
22. Magic and Music
8.0Aired 19 March 1958 • 60 min
The Slave in the Magic Mirror returns to host this look at one of his favorite subjects: the magic of music.
23. An Adventure in the Magic Kingdom
Aired 9 April 1958 • 60 min
Tinker Bell takes us on a tour of Disneyland with her pixie dust.
24. Four Tales of a Mouse
Aired 16 April 1958 • 60 min
25. An Adventure in Art
10.0Aired 30 April 1958 • 60 min
Walt talks about how art has many different visions.
26. Magic Highway U.S.A.
Aired 14 May 1958 • 60 min
The theme of this is the significance of the American highway, featuring the history of motoring, which explains that to drive the first cars was quite an adventure in itself, due to awful roads (which back then were not much more than rutted wagon paths) and the scarcity of fuel supplies and spare parts, not to mention the lack of useful maps and signposts, resulting in short drives turning into day-long affairs.