The Happiest Story on Earth 70 Years of Disneyland 2025 ABC News Special Amusement Park Walt Disney

Celebrate 70 years of magic at Disneyland in the television event “The Happiest Story on Earth: 70 Years of Disneyland – A Special Edition of 20/20,” which aired Sept. 21 on ABC and streamed on Disney+ and Hulu. Produced by ABC News Studios, the special reveals the stories behind Walt Disney’s groundbreaking dream.

Hollywood favorites, including Neil Patrick Harris, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jon Favreau, Patrick Warburton, and Tiffany Haddish, share their park memories. Disney CEO Bob Iger offers a glimpse into the future, while Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, reflect on what Disneyland means to their family. Former Imagineer Bob Gurr provides rare insight from opening day.

The program highlights iconic attractions, from the Jungle Cruise to the Haunted Mansion, showcases behind-the-scenes access to parades and spectaculars, and introduces the Imagineers behind “Walt Disney – A Magical Life.” Notable appearances include Julie Andrews recalling her time with Walt and Josh Gad imagining life as a Jungle Cruise skipper.

Looking ahead, the notable teases include expansions at Disney California Adventure Park, including a larger Avengers Campus, a new Coco attraction, and an immersive Avatar destination.

DIRECTOR
David Hoffman

WRITER
Kim Powers

PRODUCERS
Gigi D’Amore — Archival Producer
Monica DelaRosa — Supervising Producer
Gwen Gowen — Coordinating Producer
Janice Johnston — Executive Producer
Emily Kohlberg — Field Producer
Matt Lombardi — Executive Producer
Kyla Milberger — Associate Producer
Maya Newman — Associate Producer
Ashley Riegle — Producer
David Sloan — Senior Executive Producer
James Tumminia — Talent Producer
Sami Wanderer — Associate Producer
Lydia Noone — Producer
Sunny Antrim — Producer
Zoe Magee — Producer
Santina Leuci — Chief Editorial Producer
Monica Escobedo — Senior Producer, GMA Booking
Brandon Bodow — Coordinating Producer, GMA Booking
Kate Hodgson — Coordinating Producer, GMA Booking
Kendall Coughlin — Producer, GMA Booking
Anastasia Williams — Producer, GMA Booking
Sean Reynolds — Segment Producer, GMA Booking

EDITORS
Jonathan Cordell
Ted Eckel
Gary Falkowitz
Scott Levy
Luis Mendizabal
Nicole Swink
Pete Vandall

FOR DISNEY EXPERIENCES
SENIOR EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Sally Hopkins Conner

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Bill Fortney

CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
David Guertin

SENIOR PRODUCER
Jessica Safran

PRODUCER
Rhonda Parker-Nagle

DISNEYLAND MEDIA PRODUCTIONS
Brad Boneville
Chris Choi
Russ Gee
Donny Hall
Ajay Miller
Kari Monreal
Chris Perez
Christen Vargo
Nathan Yeoman

CAMERA OPERATORS
Akram Abi-Hanna
Chris Gillhaus
Chris Komives
Thomas Krakowiak
Edgar Llamas
Sam Painter
Ethan Pisz
Brian Young

AUDIO
Steve Bedaux
Dan Cook
Jeremy Drowne
Dustin Eddo
Shane Holder
Jean Claude Malet
David Mitlyng
Gary Stevenson
Percy Urgena
Gil Ben Ze'ev

UTILITY
Whitney Simon

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Andrew Katz

POST PRODUCTION EDITORS
Patrick Farley
Mitch Kress
Ryan Megan

ASSISTANT EDITORS
Jennifer Amon
Kevin Mackler
Alessandro Tabora

EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR
James Holbrook

CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Kevin Bartels

GRAPHIC ARTISTS
Steven Jackson
Matthew Kaskel
Jonathan Pawson
Patrick Stewart
David K. Thomas

SUPERVISING LINE PRODUCER
Lucia Soven

LINE PRODUCER
Nevena Bentler

DEVELOPMENT PRODUCER
Emilia Baldwin

DIGITAL PRODUCER
Brian Mezerski

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR
Gavy Contreras

PHOTOS / VIDEOS COURTESY OF
20th Century Studios
AP Images
Bob Gurr
CBC Licensing
Disney Enterprises
E.A. Hanks
Fort Collins Museum of Discovery
Getty Images
Henry "Hank" Ameen
Josh Gad
KABC-TV, Los Angeles, CA
Kinolibrary
Lucasfilm
Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Marvel Studios
Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library
Neil Patrick Harris
Pond 5
Shutterstock
Stephanie Beatriz
Steve Martin
Walt Disney Archives
Walt Disney Family Museum

SPECIAL THANKS
Richard Allen
Scott Zone
Dena Schulze
Abbie DePaola

©2025 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved
http://www.abc.com
Posted for entertainment and educational purposes only. No copyrights were infringed.

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