The Mature Mouse™ was disappointed in The Wonderful World of Disney: Disneyland 60. Maybe I missed something in the promos for this special, but I was expecting a celebration of Disneyland. Instead of an overview of the creation, evolution, and future of Walt Disney’s original theme park, ABC and Disney delivered a two-hour promotion of all things Disney.

There were some bright spots, like the appearance of Dick Van Dyke dancing to Step In Time; Idina Menzel singing Let It Go; Elton John singing Circle of Life; and, Kermit the Frog singing The Rainbow Connection. Of course, Kermit’s song was done as a duet with a singer I am not familiar with, but I know she had not yet been born in 1979 when Kermit first sang the song in The Muppet Movie. These were the sole ‘original’ performers singing/dancing to the songs they made famous. However, other than Elton and Idina performances in two separate park locations, the other Disney performers were unfamiliar to me. And, NONE of these performances had anything to do with Disneyland Park.

Walt Disney created The Wonderful World of Disney to promote Disneyland, as well as his animated creations. However, he featured the park in many of the episodes, which were always my favorite shows. This 60th Anniversary show had little to do with Disneyland Park.

This is my idea of a celebration of Disneyland: Walt Disney’s tour of Disneyland. Now, I realize Walt is unable to give us a tour of his park today, but this type of show is a better way of honoring Walt’s dream.