Guy Williams as Zorro at Disneyland, 1958

Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2015, this 16mm home movie features the cast of Disney’s “Zorro” television series (1957-1959) as they reenact their roles for a live audience at the Disneyland theme park. As Disney’s “Zorro” was a black-and-white program, this film contains rare behind-the-scenes footage of the show’s characters in color. The film was shot by George Wilbern, who worked as a film editor and was part of the motion picture unit during World War II. In addition to featuring the stars of the popular “Zorro” series, this footage provides a glimpse of operations at Disneyland when the park was still young. Walt Disney began developing ideas for a theme park as early as the 1930s but struggled for decades to get the appropriate budget to move forward. In 1954, he secured funding from the ABC network, under the condition that his Walt Disney Studio would produce a weekly anthology series, entitled “Walt Disney’s Disneyland.” The park opened to the public in 1955, though by 1957, Disney