Disney Experiences Sweeps Telly and Shorty Awards With 12 Wins for Disneyland Handcrafted, Kylie Kelce Podcast and More

Disney Experiences earned 10 Telly Awards and 2 Shorty Awards for a slate of 2026 work, headlined by three gold honors for the documentary Disneyland Handcrafted and a video-podcast win for the Magic Kingdom-shot Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce episode.

Disney Experiences turned a victory lap at the 47th Annual Telly Awards and the 18th Annual Shorty Awards, collecting 10 Telly Awards — including three gold honors — and two Shorty wins for a slate of documentaries, podcasts, and social videos rolled out across the past year. The recognized work ranges from Disneyland Handcrafted, the long-form documentary built around 50 hours of restored 1955 construction footage, to a Magic Kingdom-shot episode of Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce and Dude Perfect's whirlwind tour of every Disney park in 75 hours.

Inside the Telly Awards Recognition

Based in New York City, the Telly Awards are the premier honors recognizing video and television work across every screen, drawing more than 13,000 entries globally each year. Winners are selected by The Telly Awards Judging Council, a panel that pulls from top advertising agencies, production companies, and major television networks. The competition's gold, silver, and bronze tiers are designed to spotlight creators, producers, and brands that find original ideas inside an ever-shifting media landscape — and Disney Experiences walked away with ten total honors at this year's 47th edition.

Disneyland Handcrafted Leads with Three Wins

The biggest single haul went to Disneyland Handcrafted, the long-form documentary covering the rapid construction of Disneyland in the months before its July 1955 opening. The film earned Gold for Craft, Best Sound and Sound Design; Gold for Craft, Best Use of Archival Footage; and Silver for Best Documentary, Long Form. Director Leslie Iwerks spent the production combing through more than 50 hours of raw construction footage stored at the Walt Disney Film Archives, scanning binders of 16mm reels at high resolution and assembling once-forgotten outtakes — including build footage of the Jungle Cruise and the Mark Twain Riverboat — into a fresh narrative about Walt Disney's race to opening day.

Because almost none of that archival footage carried production audio, the team at Skywalker Sound rebuilt the soundscape from scratch — every footstep, hammer strike, and ambient cue created through sound design, mixing, and foley artistry. That painstaking work is what earned the film its two craft golds.

Kylie Kelce's "My Disney Spectacular" Podcast Episode

Disney Experiences' collaboration with podcaster Kylie Kelce on the Not Gonna Lie episode titled "My Disney Spectacular" picked up Gold for Best Video Podcast. Recorded with Cinderella Castle as a backdrop at Magic Kingdom, the special blended the show's candid conversational format with on-property Disney World footage. Kelce's mother-in-law Donna Kelce appeared to share her own Disney travel tips — caramel apples included — in an episode aimed at capturing the small moments that shape a family park day.

Dude Perfect's 75-Hour Disney Park Tour

The collaboration with YouTube group Dude Perfect — chronicling a fast-paced visit to every Disney park in the world inside 75 hours — earned Bronze for Best Creator/Brand Partnership. The piece leans on Dude Perfect's signature mix of humor, competition, and physical challenge to highlight the global footprint of Disney Parks while introducing the property to the group's massive creator-fan audience.

Imagineer That! and the Olaf Reveal

The behind-the-scenes Imagineer That! series, hosted by the returning audio-animatronic Tom Morrow 2.0, claimed Silver for Best Education and Discovery Series. Episodes break down how Walt Disney Imagineering thinks years in advance about new rides and why coasters like Space Mountain and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind read as faster in the dark.

A separate R&D-focused episode of We Call It Imagineering, which featured the new robotic Olaf bound for World of Frozen at Disney Adventure World in Paris and a fresh look at the BDX droids from Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, won Silver for Best Science and Technology Video.

Holiday Magic and a Cast Member Tribute

Two holiday-themed pieces also landed on the winners list. Disney Unscripted: Installing 20 Disney World Christmas Trees in ONE Night earned Bronze for Best Unscripted Video, while a separate Instagram cut covering the overnight Magic Kingdom tree installation took home Silver for Best Holiday and Seasonal Social Video. The films walk viewers through the logistics of Disney Holiday Services' overnight installations along Main Street, U.S.A.

A more personal honor came on the social side: a TikTok spotlighting Willie, a 15-year cast member at Disney's Hollywood Studios, receiving the Walt Disney Legacy Award from his PhotoPass team. That clip earned Bronze for Best Workplace Culture Social Video.

What Are the Shorty Awards?

Judged by the Real Time Academy, the Shorty Awards recognize the most creative and innovative work in digital and social media from brands, agencies, nonprofits, and creators worldwide. Categories span design, podcast, video, campaign, and beyond, with nominees competing for winner, gold, silver, bronze, or audience honor recognition.

Disney Experiences at the Shorty Awards

At the 18th Annual Shorty Awards, the "My Disney Spectacular" collaboration with Kylie Kelce won Audience Honors in Brand Partnership and Travel & Tourism — its third major award of the year alongside earlier Webby and Telly recognition. The Walt Disney World-shot episode was pitched from the start as an unscripted, family-first look at how parents actually navigate the parks with small children, rather than a polished marketing piece.

Why This Matters

The award sweep is a reminder that the storytelling arm of Disney Experiences — the part of the company responsible for both promoting and documenting the parks — has been leaning hard into long-form documentary and creator partnerships rather than the traditional pre-roll-and-trailer model. Fans who follow Disney content beyond ride-reveal videos will find the recognized titles — Disneyland Handcrafted in particular — worth tracking down on Disney+ and the official Disney Parks YouTube channel.