Image by Disney Parks

Disneyland Resort is gearing up to for its 60th Diamond Anniversary Celebration on May 22, 2015, and to kick off the event Disneyland Park and Disney’s California Adventure Park will both be open for 24 hours! Disneyland opened its gates for the first time on July 17, 1955, and Disney Parks have an entire year of surprises planned for the big 6-0!

Courtesy of ABC

Not able to attend Disneyland to celebrate its 60th anniversary? Don’t worry, Disney has thought of everything, including a Disneyland television special! It was announced yesterday during the ABC Upfronts that ABC will air a LIVE Disneyland television special to celebrate the 60th Diamond Celebration in February 2016!

This collaboration between ABC and Disneyland is hardly a first. By 1953 CBS and NBC had for some time been asking Walt and Roy Disney to develop programming for their networks. Walt was reluctant to do so, but faced with the looming construction costs of Disneyland he relented. (Other than a special on NBC in 1950, An Hour in Wonderland, he had thus far shunned TV.) So he proposed his idea for a TV show named Disneyland, but both networks declined!  Roy tried their luck at ABC, a new network that was hungry for quality shows, with great success. ABC ended up loaning Walt and Roy $5 million in exchange for part ownership of Disneyland. Walt got both his needed funding and a new outlet to promote his venture – television.

Arguably, this was one of the most important deals in entertainment. ABC became one of “the big 3” networks.  Disneyland (the show) debuted in 1954 and through several incarnations became the second longest running TV program in history. And Disneyland (the Theme Park) opened in 1955 and its success speaks for itself. Some 40 years later The Walt Disney Company bought and continues to own ABC.

News Source: wdwinfo.com