this day in disney history

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8/5

1930:
Neil Armstrong, the first human to step foot on the moon, is born in Tapakoneta, Ohio. In July 2005 he took part in the re-opening of Disneyland's Space Mountain. An astronaut, test pilot, university professor, and United States Naval Aviator - Armstrong flew aboard Gemini 8 in 1966 and Apollo 11 in 1969.
1955:
The 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea Exhibit opens in Tomorrowland at Disneyland. The walk-through exhibit features props and set pieces from the 1954 blockbuster release 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Guests can view the exterior of the Nautilus, Professor Aronnax's cabin, the pump room, the chart room, the diving chamber, the wheelhouse and the famous organ (which will later reside in Disneyland's Haunted Mansion ballroom). The exhibit will remain open until August 28, 1966 (and ultimately be replaced with Star Tours).
1967:
Disneyland's attraction Adventure Thru Inner Space opens on this day in
Tomorrowland (in the space once used for the 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea Exhibit). Guests are transported through a microscope where they are
shrunken down and sent off to explore the inside of an atom. Featuring the voice of Paul Frees & the song "Miracles from Molecules" written by the Sherman Brothers, it is the first to use the OmniMover system - called Atomobiles - to transport guests.
1981:
At Walt Disney World, site work begins on Horizons, an attraction in the
not yet open EPCOT Center. (Actual construction on Horizon's building
won't begin until January 1982 and the attraction and EPCOT will open the following October.)
1992:
Walt Disney World welcomes its 400-millionth guest Brandon Adams, a 10-year-old from Baltimore. Amid the clang of bells and a shower of confetti, the sixth-grade student dances joyously with Mickey Mouse after stepping through the turnstiles at Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park just after 10 a.m. Brandon and his family will be given lifetime passes to all Disney parks worldwide!
1999:
Production begins on Disney's newest animated feature Lilo and Stitch. (The film will be released in June 2002.)
2010:
The grand opening ceremony and media event for the new restaurant in the Italy pavilion, Via Napoli, takes place at Epcot. Operated by the Patina Restaurant Group, the 300-seat Via Napoli features a menu inspired by the famous pizzerias of southern Italy.

 

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8/6

1961:
The Flying Saucers attraction opens in Disneyland's Tomorrowland.
Guests control the crafts, which float on powerful jets of air, by leaning to one side or the other. The saucers float just inches above a 16,000 sq. ft. arena. (Due to technical problems and the fact that the huge air compressors need constant repair, the attraction will close after only 5 years in operation.)
1965:
Although it has been running since July, Disneyland hosts an invitation-only showing of its new park attraction Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. The evening program includes a retreat ceremony and dinner at the Plaza Inn.
1970:
A bizarre occurrence takes place at Disneyland when 750 "Hippies" and "Radical Yippies" infiltrate the park, and take over the Wilderness Fort. They raise the Vietcong flag and pass reefers out to passersbys. Later, they march in a Main Street parade, and sing their own lyrics to "Zipadee Doo Dah" ("Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Mihn is going to win..."). More conservative park guests try to drown them out by singing "America the Beautiful." Before the confrontation can heat up, a platoon of Anaheim Police officers in full riot gear pour into the park from backstage areas! A riot is adverted and Disneyland vice president of Operations ________ Nunis
1993:
Disney's Touchstone Pictures releases the comedy My Boyfriend's Back.
A teenage boy named Johnny returns from the dead as a zombie to meet Missy McCloud, the girl he's in love with, for a date.
1999:
The psychological thriller The Sixth Sense, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures and starring Bruce Willis, is released. About a troubled, isolated boy (played by Haley Joel Osment) who is able to see and talk to the dead, The Sixth Sense will become Disney's highest-grossing live-action film.

As of this day, Disneyland's Monorail Café (part of the Disneyland Hotel) closes. Opened since 1986, it will be removed to make room for areas of the new DownTown Disney, which is part of the large Disneyland Resort Expansion Project. (The Monorail Café occupied the spot first called the Coffee Shop, which opened in 1955.)
2003:
Disney's Freaky Friday, starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, opens in theaters. It is a remake of Disney's 1976 comedy (and based on the novel of the same name by Mary Rodgers) about a mother and daughter whose personalities are switched. (This is actually the third time Disney has made Freaky Friday, as a television version was aired in 1995.)
2009:
It is announced that two young sisters from Santa Clarita, California have won a contest to spend a night in Disneyland's Haunted Mansion! Jessica, 12, and Stephanie Sutton, 10, will be joined by their parents, Cyndi and Tim Sutton, in the mansion on Sunday (August 9) - the ride’s 40th anniversary. The sisters won the contest, through radio station 95.5 KLOS, by receiving the most votes on the station’s Web site for their talent ... singing "Happy Birthday" with a dog barking in the background.

Film director, producer, and writer John Hughes passes suddenly at the age of 59 in New York City. His Disney credits include Flubber and 101 Dalmatians. Hughes is best remembered for his classic comedy features Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Home Alone, and Planes, Trains & Automobiles.

 

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8/7

1955:
Comedic actor Wayne Knight, the voice behind many of Disney's animated characters including Al McWhiggin (the toy collector) in both Toy Story & Toy Story 2, adult Tantor in Tarzan, and Demetrius the Pot Maker in Hercules, is born in Cartersville, Georgia. He is also the voice of Emperor Zurg in TV episodes of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. TV viewers will remember Knight for his comedic role of Newman the frenetic mailman on Seinfeld.
1964:
The Astro Jets at Disneyland become known as the Tomorrowland Jets.
Opened since 1956, the Astro Jets was the first rocket-spinner attraction at the park. Supposedly the attraction's name has been changed to appease United Airlines, who has just taken over sponsorship of The Enchanted Tiki Room. Seems United contended the Astro Jets name was free advertising for American Airlines' coast-to-coast "Astrojet" service. (The Tomorrowland Jets name will last until September of 1966, when the attraction is closed to make room for a new Tomorrowland - featuring a similar attraction called Rocket Jets.)
1969:
The new Haunted Mansion in Disneyland opens to Cast Members only, from 7:00 PM to midnight. The attraction will open to the public 2 days later. The Mansion's beginnings can be traced back to to the mid-1950s when Walt Disney had artist Ken Anderson work on a walk-through "ghost house."
1988:
Academy Award-winning director and Disney veteran Wilfred Jackson passes away in Balboa Island, California. He first started his career in April 1928 as an unpaid helper at the Walt Disney Studios. During his 33-year career, Jackson worked on early Mickey shorts, the Silly Symphony cartoons, and features such as Snow White, Song of the South, and Peter Pan. Retired since October 1961, he was honored in 1983 by Hollywood's International Animated Film Society with its Winsor McCay Lifetime Achievement Award. Jackson will be named a Disney Legend in 1998.
2005:
SaveDisney.com permanently closes down. Roy E. Disney has come to an agreement with the new management at the Walt Disney Company regarding their mutual relationship.
2008:
At Disneyland Resort, in Anaheim, California, the U.S. Postal Service issues
42-cent The Art of Disney: Imagination commemorative stamps in four designs. Illustrating the theme of imagination, the stamps feature Mickey Mouse as Steamboat Willie; Princess Aurora and her helpers Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather from Sleeping Beauty; Pongo and one of his pups from 101 Dalmatians; and Mowgli and Baloo from The Jungle Book.

 

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8/8

1942:
Disney's 5th animated feature Bambi has its world premiere in London, England. (It will be released in the U.S. 5 days later.) Directed by David Hand, it is released by RKO Pictures and based on the 1923 book Bambi, A Life in the Woods by Austrian author Felix Salten.
1952:
Disney's The Little House, narrated by Sterling Holloway and directed by Wilfred Jackson, is released. The cartoon is an adaptation of Virginia Lee Burton's Caldecott Medal winner "The Little House" (first published in 1942). Noted for its insights on urban sprawl, the story centers on a little house
built at the top of a small hill, far out in the country.
1953:
Animator Jim Jinkins, the creator of Doug, is born in Virginia. Jinkins and his team at Jumbo Pictures have produced the PB&J Otter and 101 Dalmatians animated series and featue film Doug's 1st Movie for Disney.

Walt Disney reviews the site map that Imagineer/art director Marvin Davis has been working on for the new California theme park. Walt picks up a pencil and draws a triangle around the plot of land to indicate where he wants his railroad to run. For the next two years, Davis (not to be confused with Marc Davis - also an Imagineer/animator) will work on more than 100 different versions of the master plan for Disneyland.
2000:
Disney's direct-to-video Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins is released. The voice cast includes Tim Allen (as Buzz), Nicole Sullivan (as Mira Nova), Larry Miller (as XR), Stephen Furst (as Booster), Wayne Knight (as Evil Emperor Zurg), and Patrick Warburton (as Little Green Men).

Walt Disney World begins offering new sounds around the Magic Kingdom. The four new musical acts officially debuting on this day include The Main Street Philharmonic (a 12-piece brass and percussion enesemble), The Tomorrowland Blast (specializing in rock 'n' roll), The Fantasyland Woodwinds Society (a quartet playing Disney favorites) and The Notorious Banjo Brothers and Bob (a comical traveling trio in Frontierland).

 

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8/9

1934:
Walt Disney presents his animators with an outline of what will be his first full-
length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Included in the outline is a list of potential names and personality descriptions for the dwarfs. Walt recommends actor Sterling Holloway for the voice of Sleepy. (Though Holloway will not play the role - Pinto Colvig will - Holloway will later voice many Disney characters including Winnie the Pooh.)
1955:
At Disneyland, the Aunt Jemima Pancake House opens in Frontierland.
Guests are greeted at the door by Aunt Jemima herself!
(Later known as the River Belle Terrace, the Aunt Jemima Pancake House existed until 1962. After absorbing the adjacent Don DeFore’s Silver Banjo Barbecue Restaurant, it became Aunt Jemima’s Kitchen until 1970.)
1969:
The Haunted Mansion attraction opens in New Orleans Square at Disneyland. The grand opening of the attraction is heralded by a promotional blitz
that include the "I Scream" Sundaes sold at Disneyland's Carnation Plaza. Madame Leota, the medium in the séance room and the tiny talking figure at the end of the ride, is modeled after Imagineer Leota Toombs (also known as Leota Thomas).
2004:
It's a moist day for some Disney World guests when a water main on the 12th floor of the Contemporary Resort breaks! The water cascades from the 12th floor down to the 5th floor around 7PM. Hundreds of guests are evacuated and given the option of staying somewhere else.

Disneyland's Haunted Mansion celebrates its 35th birthday with a special scavenger hunt.

Donald Duck receives the 2,257th star on the legendary Hollywood Walk of Fame at 10:30 a.m. in front of the Disney Store/El Capitan Theatre at 6840 Hollywood Boulevard.
2007:
Disney World announces that beginning January 2008,
Disney-MGM Studios will be known as Disney's Hollywood Studios.
2009:
Haunted Mansion 40th Anniversary Merchandise Event takes place at Disneyland. The sold-out event includes admission into Disney’s California Adventure after 6:30 PM & Disneyland after 9 PM, a Haunted Mansion seminar, a wedding "Feast or Famine" dinner, and of course a ride through the classic Haunted Mansion!

A family from Santa Clarita, California spend the night in Disneyland's Haunted Mansion on the attraction's 40th anniversary! The Sutton family have won a night’s stay inside the classic attraction in a 95.5 KLOS radio station promotion for the Haunted Mansion's 40th anniversary. The family moves in at midnight after the park closes and will stay until 6 a.m.

 

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8/10

1934:
Walt and Lillian Disney sail for Hawaii from Los Angeles aboard the Matson Lines vessel SS Lurline. It is their first visit to the islands. SS Lurline is the third Matson Lines vessel to hold that name and the last of four fast and luxurious ocean liners that Matson built for the Hawaii and Australasia (Australia, New Zealand, & the island of New Guinea) runs from the West Coast of the U.S.
1955:
Chuck Abbott begins work at Disneyland as a ride operator on the Autopia. Abbott has to really pay attention - as there is no track on the attraction (at this time) and drivers frequently crash into anything and everything - including Cast Members! He will go on to become a foreman at Disneyland for 36 years and be named a Disney Legend in 2005 (two years after his death) - a first for an hourly theme park Cast Member.
1959:
Walt Disney reads an article in The New York Times about the upcoming 1964 World's Fair in New York. He immediately sees opportunities for his company.
1994:
The Concourse Steak House opens at Walt Disney World, on the site of
the former Concourse Grill. It is located next to the escalators to the monorail station at Disney's Contemporary Resort's Grand Concourse (4th floor). (It will close in May 2008 to make way for the counter service Contempo Cafe.)
2007:
“Muppets, Music and Magic: Jim Henson’s Legacy,” takes place at the Cinema Arts Center in Huntington, New York (for the next 3 days). A traveling series of films, workshops and discussions, “Muppets, Music and Magic: Jim Henson’s Legacy” also features special guest puppeteers.

Corbin Bleu from the Disney Channel's High School Musical, Jump In!, and
High School Musical 2 appears on ABC-TV's "Live! with Regis & Kelly."

High School Musical 2 debuts on iO's and Verizon FiOS's Disney on Demand. (This much-anticipated sequel will premiere on Disney Channel seven days later.)

 

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8/11

1925:
Singer/TV host Mike Douglas, the singing voice of Prince Charming for the 1950 Disney classic Cinderella (most notably on the tune "So This Is Love"), is born Michael Delaney Dowd in Chicago, Illinois. He also hosted (along
with Joan Lunden) the very first live broadcast of Walt Disney's Christmas Parade in 1983. (Douglas was best known for his Emmy-award winning daytime talk show which was popular throughout the 1960s and 70s.)
1955:
U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon and his family (wife Pat and daughters Tricia & Julie) visit Disneyland for the very first time. Along with the Nixons are brothers of Richard and Pat and their children. Nixon is presented with the "Key to City Hall" by C.V. Wood (a member of Walt's staff) and meets actor Fess Parker (Disney's Davy Crockett). The Nixons tour Disneyland extensively, riding on such attractions as the Mark Twain Riverboat, the Jungle Cruise, Rocket to the Moon, Autopia, and touring the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Exhibit.
1976:
Actor Will Friedle, the voice of Ron Stoppable on Disney Channel's Kim Possible, is born in Hartford, Connecticut. From 1993 to 2000 he portrayed elder brother Eric Matthews on the popular TV sitcom Boy Meets World (a Touchstone Television production).
1993:
Actress, singer and dancer Alyson Stoner is born in Toledo, Ohio. First known to movie fans for her role in Cheaper by the Dozen and Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (20th Century Fox films), Stoner is the voice of Isabella on the Disney Channel original series Phineas and Ferb. Her Disney credits also include Mike's Super Short Show, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, That's So Raven, and the Disney Channel Original Movie Camp Rock (as Caitlyn). Stoner also portrayed Camille Gage in Step Up and Step Up 3 and recorded a cover version of the song "Dancing in the Moonlight" for the 2009 Disney DVD/Blu-ray movie, Space Buddies.
2006:
Mike Douglas, the singing voice of Prince Charming in Disney's Cinderella,
passes away on his 81st birthday in North Palm Beach, Florida. Originally a
big-band singer, Douglas launched a talk show in Cleveland in 1961. The succesful afternoon show went into national syndication two years later - going on to make some 6,000 telecasts in all through 1982!

Disney Channel first airs episode 42 of Phil of the Future titled "Not-So-Great
Great Great Grandpa," in which Phil finds out that a kid in his school is actually his great-great-grandfather!
2010:
It is reported that Toy Story 3 has earned over $895 million worldwide, surpassing Finding Nemo’s $867.8 million worldwide gross. This makes Toy Story 3 (released in June 2010) Pixar’s all-time highest grossing film!

 

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8/12

1919:
Disney Legend Dodie Roberts is born in Plainview, Nebraska. Starting in 1939, she created colors and mixed paints for the Disney Studios and later served as supervisor of the paint lab. (In the pre-computer days when cel paints were mixed and matched by hand, animation paint mixing was a demanding job requiring both technical and artistic skills.) Disney kept their cel paint mixtures a secret, and mixers were only given partial color information for each batch, without knowing what colors the others were adding. It wasn't until Roberts was promoted to department supervisor in 1972 that she was trusted with the complete formulas for over 500 paints and hues. Roberts mixed paints for virtually every Disney animated project in her 42 years at the company!
1951:
Actor Ronald Reagan (future U.S. president) and ventriloquist Paul Winchell take part in a celebrity race at the Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio. Paul and his dummy Jerry Mahoney beat Reagan in the competition! (Reagan will go on to co-host the opening of Disneyland and Winchell will voice the character of Tigger in countless Winnie the Pooh features.)
1969:
Disneyland televises the historic Apollo 11 moon landing (which had occurred the month before) on the Tomorrowland Stage.
2000:
The Disney Magic embarks on its first seven-day cruise. The luxury liner has previously only offered three- and four-day cruises.
2004:
Manatees, dolphins, and turtles are evacuated from Mote Marine in Sarasota to Epcot’s Living Seas (and to SeaWorld) as Central Florida braces for Hurricane Charley - the third named storm, the second hurricane, and the second major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season.
On August 11, Florida governor Jeb Bush had issued a state of emergency declaration - due to the impending threat Charley presented to the state while the storm was still located south of Jamaica. Property damage from Charley in the U.S. will be estimated to be $15 billion ... making Charley the second costliest hurricane in United States history.
2008:
Disneyland Resort Paris welcomes its 200-millionth visitor!

 

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8/13

1932:
Disney's 44th Mickey Mouse cartoon Mickey's Nightmare is released.
Directed by Bert Gillett, Mickey dreams that he and Minnie are married ... but the imagined union turns to catastrophe when the stork delivers too many little mice who demolish their house! (Mickey's Nightmare is the first Disney film distributed by United Artists.)
1941:
Walt Disney and members of his staff are in Miami Beach, Florida on this day just prior to their extended goodwill tour of South America. Nine of the Disney staff are leaving Florida today and heading off to Brazil, with Walt and his party following on Friday the 15th. (Walt’s life insurance mandates that he can only fly with six of his employees at the same time.) The photo to the left is taken of Walt at the Pancoast Hotel (a luxurious Mediterranean Revival style oceanfront resort) in Miami Beach.
1942:
Disney's 5th full length animated feature Bambi has its U.S. premiere at the
Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Directed by David Hand and distributed through RKO Pictures, the voice cast includes Hardie Albright (as Adolescent Bambi), Donnie Dunagan (as Young Bambi), Sam Edwards (as Adult Thumper), and Sterling Holloway (as Adult Flower). Bambi will receive 3 Academy Award nominations for Best Sound, Best Song for "Love Is a Song" and Original Music Score.
1954:
Excavation of the Disneyland site in Anaheim, California begins with the removal of walnut and orange trees.
1968:
The opening night of the Montreal Expo's World Exhibition of Animation Cinema takes place. The event features a screening of Disney's 1941 Dumbo as part of an "Hommage Aux Pionniers." Retired master animator Vladimir "Bill" Tytla has been invited - and although he is worried no one will remember him ... he attends. When the film finishes, they announce the presence of "The Great Animator". When the spotlight finally finds Tytla, to his surprise the audience goes wild!
2000:
"The New Adventures of Spin and Marty: Suspect Behavior" airs on The Wonderful World of Disney. This updated version of the 1950s "Mickey Mouse" serial features cameos by Tim Considine and David Stollery (the original Spin and Marty).
2004:
Walt Disney World and other anxious Orlando tourists and residents hunker down as Hurricane Charley with 110 mph winds hits Central Florida. Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios and Animal Kingdom all close at 1 p.m. It is the third closing in Disney World history.
2005:
After 18 years, the Walt Disney World Information Center, located just off Interstate 75 and State Road 200, closes at the end of this day. The Internet age has reduced the number of Disney visitors using the center.
2008:
Animation Mentor, the leading online character animation school created by animators for animators, holds a panel discussion and tribute to the life, work and inspiration of Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston (two of Walt's "Nine Old Men") in Los Angeles, California.

A two-story tall dinosaur for Walt Disney World's T-Rex restaurant is transported on a flatbed truck to its new home in Downtown Disney.
The restaurant (still under construction) is scheduled to open this fall.

The new Mona Lisa Suite Hotel announces that the all-suite hotel and its Galerie Restaurant and Bar are open and welcoming guests. The luxurious 240-room property is located in the award-winning town of Celebration, Florida - just minutes from Walt Disney World.

 

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8/14

1765:
In colonial America, a group of men calling themselves the Sons of Liberty gather in Boston under a large elm tree at the corner of Essex Street and Orange Street near Hanover Square to protest the hated Stamp Act. In 1765 the British government imposed a Stamp Act requiring all legal documents, permits, commercial contracts, newspapers, pamphlets, and playing cards in the American colonies to carry a tax stamp. The Sons of Liberty conclude their protest by hanging two tax collectors in effigy from the tree! From that day forward, the tree will become known as the "Liberty Tree." In Disney World's Liberty Square, a replica of the Liberty Tree stands opposite The Hall of Presidents. The replica is an actual 100-year-old oak found on the Florida property and transplanted, with a younger oak grafted into the base.
1939:
Today is Donald Duck Day at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Donald has been flown in from Hollywood to attend the premiere of his latest cartoon Donald's Penguin, playing at the National Biscuit Theatre in the Food Pavilion. Donald hands out gifts to five hundred lucky children and even takes part in a special parade. Afterwards Donald is presented with an honorary degree of Doctor of International Friendship from Dr. Frank Monaghan (a professor of American History at Yale University) during a ceremony held in Carnivaland. (The World's Fair has been running since April 30 in Flushing Meadows - the same location that the 1964-65 World' Fair will take place.)
1945:
Comedy writer, stand-up comedian, actor & director Steve Martin is born in Waco, Texas. In 1950, his family moved to California and Martin from the age of 10 till 18, worked at Disneyland after school, on weekends and during the summers. His jobs included working in Merlin's Magic Shop on Main Street and selling guidebooks at the gate. He was greatly influenced by legendary Disney entertainer Wally Boag (Martin himself was named a Disney Legend in 2005).
Martin today can be seen in Disney's Fantasia 2000 and the Disney/Buena Vista feature Father of the Bride. He also appeared in the special attraction "Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years" which was shown (from 2005-2009) at the Disneyland Main Street Opera House in Town Square. In 2005 he starred in Touchstone Pictures' romantic drama Shopgril (based on his bestselling 2000 novella of the same name). Martin can also be spotted in the "home movie" Disneyland Dream (a film shot in July 1956 and later chosen by the Library of Congress for its National Film Registry). A 10-year-old Martin briefly appears about 20 minutes into the film ... selling guidebooks at the entrance to Disneyland!
1953:
Composer James Horner, whose music can be heard in Disney theme parks, is
born in Los Angeles, California. He has also wrtten music for Walt Disney
Pictures' The Rocketeer, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Mighty Joe Young.
(Horner is most notably known for his critically-acclaimed score to Titanic.)

Walt and Lillian Disney along with animator Bill Cottrell (the first president of
what is today known as Walt Disney Imagineering) and his wife Hazel, arrive in
Bennington, Vermont. They are driving through New England on an informal week-long research trip for Disneyland. They will stay 2 nights at the Walloomsac Inn before heading off to Sturbridge, Massachusetts to visit Old Sturbridge Village. It is during their stay in Vermont that they visit Walt's friend painter/illustrator Norman Rockwell (who is living in Arlington).
1958:
The grand opening of Disneyland's Alice in Wonderland dark ride takes place with a ceremony hosted by Walt Disney himself and Mouseketeer Karen Pendleton - dressed as Alice.
1995:
Michael Ovitz is appointed president of the Walt Disney Company under Michael Eisner. (Although his contract is for 5 years, he will leave after trying for 14 months to share power with Eisner.)
2004:
Due to the impact of Hurricane Charley, Walt Disney World adjusts this day's schedule of operations. All theme parks with the exception of Animal Kingdom reopen to guests.
2006:
Actor Bruno Kirby - who portrayed Stanley in Disney's 1973 live-action comedy Superdad - passes away at age 57 in Los Angeles, California. (The veteran actor appeared in such classics features as Good Morning, Vietnam, The Godfather Part II, When Harry Met Sally, and City Slickers.)
2007:
The names of the towers at the Disneyland Hotel are changed. As of this day, the Marina Tower is known as the Magic Tower, the Sierra Tower is called the Dreams Tower, and the Bonita Tower (named for the wife of Jack Wrather - the hotel's original owner) is now the Wonder Tower.
In addition, Marina Sundries is renamed Donald’s Gifts and Sundries.
2010:
The Last Tour to Endor special-ticket event is held at Disney’s Hollywood Studios as part of the Star Wars Celebration V convention. The event allows attendees a last chance to ride Star Tours before it closes September 8, 2010. In attendance is Star Wars creator George Lucas!

 

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8/15

1843:
Tivoli Gardens, an amusement park in Copenhagen, Denmark, opens.
It includes a variety of attractions such as mechanical amusement rides, a theatre, restaurants and flower gardens. On certain evenings, specially designed fireworks will fill the sky over Tivoli's lake. (One of the oldest amusement parks in the world, Tivoli Gardens will greatly inspire and influence Walt Disney.)
1917:
Disney Legend Chuck Boyajian - who in 1955 became Disneyland's very first Manager of Custodial operations - is born in Ohio. He developed a reputation for cleanliness and efficiency that had never been seen before in an outdoor entertainment enterprise. Retired since 1983, Boyajian was later honored with a window on Disneyland's Main Street that reads:
Royal Care Co. - We Keep Your Castle Shining - Chuck Boyajian - Prop.
1935:
Actor Jim Dale, whose Disney credits include the 1978 Hot Lead and Cold Feet and the 1977 Pete's Dragon, is born in England. Dale is the narrator of the Harry Potter audiobooks in the USA and Stephen Fry is the narrator of the Harry Potter audiobooks in the UK .
1941:
Walt and members of his staff depart Miami Beach, Florida on their way to Brazil to begin their extended goodwill tour of South America. As it will be a two-day flight, with a stop in Belém (a city in the northern part of Brazil) on the 16th, the group won't arrive in Rio de Janeiro until the 17th.
1955:
LIFE magazine runs a 4-page article on Disneyland's grand opening day (which happened 3 weeks ago).
1989:
Joseph Adam "Joe" Jonas, a member of Jonas Brothers, is born in Casa
Grande, Arizona. The "middle Jonas," he will actually start out wanting to be a comedian, not a singer.
1994:
As part of the re-Imagineering of Future World's pavilions, the Spaceship Earth attraction at Disney's Epcot park closes. (The revamped attraction will open November 23, 1994 with 12 new scenes and a new musical score.)
2003:
Disney World's newest attraction, Mission: SPACE liftts off with a soft opening. Located in Epcot's Future World, Mission: SPACE will have
its official opening in October.
2006:
After nearly 13 years of entertaining Walt Disney World guests, Merlin performs his last Sword in the Stone show in front of Cinderella's Golden Carousal. Merlin has been challenging young guests to pull the sword from the stone several times a day in Fantasyland (at the Magic Kingdom) since 1994.
"I am Merlin, adviser to King Arthur and right now it is my job to discover which one among you is qualified to be temporary royal ruler. Since the responsibilities are so great, I will be selecting several people throughout the day to share these burdens of leadership. So, have no fear! If you get selected, it is just a part time job."
2007:
Florida Governor Charlie Crist visits the Walt Disney World Resort to promote
two of his pet issues - energy conservation and physical fitness.
2009:
Kouzzina by Cat Cora, a restaurant serving Mediteranean-style cuisine, opens at the former site of Spoodles on the Boardwalk at WDW.

Disney Legend Virginia Davis, Walt Disney's first human star and the original Alice of his Alice Comedies, dies at age 90. As a child, Davis appeared in the first 13 titles of Disney's Alice Comedies series - an innovative blend of live action and animation. Born Virginia Margaret Davis in Kansas City, Missouri on New Year's Eve 1918, she later earned a degree from the New York School of Interior Design and became a decorating editor for the popular 1950s magazine Living for Young Homemakers. In 1963, she began a successful career in the real estate industry in Connecticut and later, Southern California. Over the years, Davis remained in contact with the Walt Disney Company, and was often a special guest at such events as the annual Disneyana Conventions held at either Disneyland or Walt Disney World.

 

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8/16

1924:
Actor Fess Parker, famous for his Disney role of Davy Crockett, is born in Fort Worth, Texas (though he was raised in San Angelo). Taking part in the grand
opening of Disneyland in 1955, Parker also appeared on the 1955 TV special Dateline: Disney, the prequel Davy Crockett and the River Boat Pirates, the 1956 film The Great Locomotive Chase, and the 1957 film Old Yeller. Parker will be named a Disney Legend in 1991. (Upon retiring from acting, he owned and operate a family winery and two hotels in California.)
1934:
Walt and Lillian Disney arrive in Honolulu, Hawaii aboard the Matson liner Lurline. Walt's arrival in the islands will be big news, rating a headline at the top of the Advertiser's August 17 front page, accompanied by photos of both he and Lillian
1943:
Sharon Baird, a member of the 1950s The Mickey Mouse Club (for all 4 years), is born in Seattle, Washington. She also appears on the 2001 television special Walt: The Man Behind the Myth.

Mexican President Avila Camacho announces his selection of four American film producers to receive the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle (the highest decoration awarded to foreigners by the Mexican government). Walt Disney, along with Louis B. Mayer, James Fitzpatrick and Francis Alstock have been chosen to receive the medal (given to luminaries as a reward for services to humankind or Mexico).
1955:
Disneyland's Dumbo Flying Elephants opens in Fantasyland on the same day
the 14 Tomorrowland Boats are renamed Phantom Boats of Tomorrowland.
(Walt had originally hoped to have Dumbo ready on July 17, but the fiberglass
elephants only arrived about three weeks before opening day.)
1958:
At Disneyland, a motorized fire truck is added to Main Street, U.S.A.'s fleet of vehicles.
1973:
Santa Rosa Land Company, Incorporated (which owns some of the Walt Disney World Resort) changes its name to Walt Disney Travel Company, Incorporated.
1976:
TIME magazine features the article "Running Disney Walt's Way" in this week's issue. ( Wow sounds like a good idea to me Meg crofton and Bob Iger !)1985:
Disney's 1979 feature The Black Hole is released to U.S. theaters for a third time. A science fiction film directed by Gary Nelson for Walt Disney Productions, The Black Hole stars Maximilian Schell, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Anthony Perkins, and Ernest Borgnine
2004:
Walt Disney World announces relief efforts for Central Florida families and Cast Members impacted by Hurricane Charley. Hurricane Charley has severely affected the state of Florida. There were eight direct fatalities, 16 indirect fatalities, and 792 injuries attributed to the storm.
2005:
This day's Disney DVD releases include Walt Disney's Timeless Tales: Volume 1 (containing 5 classic animated shorts including The Three Little Pigs), Walt Disney's Timeless Tales: Volume 2 (containing 4 classic animated shorts including The Ugly Duckling), Pom Poko, My Neighbors the Yamadas, That's So Raven: Disguise the Limit, and Phil of the Future: Gadgets & Gizmos.

The Disney-owned Hollywood Records releases Hilary Duff's new album Most Wanted (a greatest hits collection featuring four new tracks). Also released is Into the Rush the debut album from teen pop duo Aly & AJ.

Walt Disney Records releases the Valiant Soundtrack - featuring music from the newest computer-animated comedy-adventure opening nationwide August 19.

Tragedy strikes when Joe Ranft, the widely respected story artist for many Disney/Pixar features, is killed in an automobile accident in California. The 45-year-old was one of seven writers nominated for an Academy Award for best original screenplay for the 1995 Toy Story. After graduating from the California Institute of the Arts, Ranft worked at Disney throughout the 1980s doing story work on animated features including The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast before joining Pixar in 1992. He worked on story development for all of Pixar's feature film releases, most recently as Head of Story on Cars. Ranft will be named a Disney Legend in 2006.
2007:
The United States Post Office debuts a new set of four 41-cent Disney
character stamps at Disney World. Honoring the theme of magic, the stamps feature Dumbo & Timothy Mouse, Peter Pan & Tinker Bell, Mickey Mouse as "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," and Aladdin & Genie.

 

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8/17

1936:
Veteran Disney animator Les Clark (one of Walt's "Nine Old Men") speaks at a studio training course for new animators. Since the departure of Ub Iwerks, Clark has animated Mickey Mouse in numerous films, thus becoming a specialist on the character's personality and movement.
1941:
Walt Disney begins a goodwill tour of Latin America (underwritten by a $70,000 government grant) accompanied by his wife Lillian, studio employees Mary Blair, Frank Thomas, Bill Cottrell, Ted Sears and 12 other animators and designers. On this day the group arrives in Rio de Janeiro via Pan American Airways for the start of their 10-week trip of South America.
1981:
A WEDWay PeopleMover opens at the Houston International Airport in Houston, Texas. The system has been constructed by Disney's Community Transportation Services division and is the first use of a Disney system outside of its theme parks.
1984:
The Walt Disney Company informs it's chairman Ron Miller that they want his
resignation. Disney has fallen to 14th in film box office. Miller's only Qualifications to run a conglomerate other than being Walt's son-in-law was that he was a tight end for the LA Rams. (Within two years of the Michael Eisner regime taking power, Disney will be number one. Years later Miller will be praised for his support of Disney's 1982 Tron.)
1986:
Luxo Jr., the first film produced in 1986 by Pixar Animation Studios (following its establishment as an independent film studio) premieres in Dallas. A computer-animated short film (just two and a half minutes, including credits) it is John Lasseter's second short and the first film from Steve Jobs' newly formed company Pixar. The success of Luxo, Jr. will be followed by a series of shorts (Red's Dream, Tin Toy and Knick Knack) in which the Pixar artists explore and develop their medium, much as Disney had used the Silly Symphonies as stepping stones to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Today Luxo is the small hopping desk lamp included in Pixar's corporate logo.
Luxo Jr. will be re-released in 1999 along with Toy Story 2.
1992:
Original Mouseketeer Annette Funicello appears on the cover of People magazine.
2002:
The Orlando Rays, the Class AA affiliate of Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Devil Rays, take on the Carolina Mudcats (for the first of a 4-game series) at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex in Florida.
2006:
Disney announces that Meg Gilbert Crofton, a 27-year veteran, has been named the new President of Walt Disney World. She is
the fourth executive to lead Disney World since it opened in 1971, and the first female to ever hold that position in the Florida resort.
2007:
Disney Channel debuts the much-anticipated sequel High School Musical 2.
An amazing 17.2 million viewers tune in, making it the most-watched cable telecast ever!

Disney Channel follows up the sequel with a sneak peek of a new animated series - Phineas and Ferb with the episode "Rollercoaster." High School Musical's Ashley Tisdale is the voice of Candace. (The show will "officially" debut as a regular series in February 2008.)

Hollywood Records recording artists Jonas Brothers appear on the new Hannah Montana episode "Me and Mr. Jonas and Mr. Jonas and Mr. Jonas."

Disney World releases a commorative pin honoring Kitchen Kabaret as part of its White Glove Remember When series. Kitchen Kabaret, an original Epcot attraction, was an Audio-Animatronic show which closed in 1994.

 

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8/18

1922:
Actress Shelley Winters, who appeared in Disney's 1977 Pete's Dragon as Lena
Gogan, is born Shirley Schrift in an apartment on Newstead Ave. in St. Louis,
Missouri. A brassy actress and raconteur who appeared in more than 120 films and twice won the Academy Award for supporting performances, Winters is probably most remembered for her roles in A Place in the Sun,
Alfie, and The Poseidon Adventure.
1934:
While on holiday in Hawaii with his wife Lillian, Walt Disney attends a charity event - the opening game of the Army's baseball championship series between teams from Fort Shafter and Wheeler Field. Prior to the game Walt appears at Honolulu's Princess theater at 10 a.m., for the regular meeting of one of the many "Mickey Mouse Clubs" that are popular with children across the U.S.
1943:
Actor-comedian-musician Martin Mull is born in Chicago, Illinois. He was the voice of Governor Kevin for the Disney animated television series 'Teamo Supremo. First famous for playing twins Garth Gimble and Barth Gimble in the television nighttime absurdist soap opera Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Mull has appeared on many sitcoms including a 1990 episode of The Golden Girls.
1986:
Crockett's Tavern opens in Walt Disney World's Fort Wilderness. Part of Trail's
End Restaurant, it is located at the northern end of the campgrounds.
2000:
The Disney Channel Original Movie Quints starring Kimberly J. Brown debuts.

The White River Historical Society and the community of White River hold the 12th Annual Winnie's Hometown Festival in White River, Ontario, Canada. The 3-day festival is a tribute to a black bear cub named Winnie who made an unforgettable contribution to children's literature.
2002:
The 5th Anniversary Disney Institute Animation Event - Drawn to Be Bad (a 6-day event featuring workshops and visiting artist presentations) begins at Disney World.
2008:
Jonas Brothers attend the unveiling of their very own wax figures at Madame Tussauds in Washington, D.C.

 

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8/19

1692:
The Reverend George Burroughs - an ancestor of Walt Disney - is hanged in Massachusetts, as the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 rages on. Walt Disney through maternal lines is a descendant of this minister, who along with George Jacobs, Sr., John Proctor, John Willard, and Martha (Allen) Carrier are wrongfully put to death on this day. Burroughs had been the minister at Salem Village from 1681 to 1683 and had made several enemies there, in particular, the Putnam family, who accused him of witchcraft!
1935:
Story Musgrave, six-time NASA Space Shuttle astronaut and a consultant to the Epcot attraction Mission: SPACE, is born in Boston, Massachusetts. With a 30 year career spanning the Apollo era of the 1960s right through to the Space Shuttle program of the 1990s, Musgrave is the only astronaut to have flown on all five Space Shuttles. He is also a pilot, surgeon, mechanic, poet and philosopher. In 1997 he appeared at the Disney Institute in Florida.
1955:
Casa de Fritos located next door to Aunt Jemima's Pancake House opens at Disneyland. The Mexican eatery features a Frito Kid chip-dispensing machine.
Guests can place a nickel in a cash box and watch the Frito Kid come to life! While rolling his eyes, licking his lips, and turning his head, he hollers back to an unseen partner inside the mountain to send down a wax-paper bag of Fritos!
1963:
Actor, musician, producer & Disney fan John Stamos, who was the e-bay winning bidder for Disneyland's entrance sign used between 1989 and 1999, is born in Cypress, California. He also appeared on a 1989 "Guest Day" episode of Disney Channel's MMC. TV fans will know him from Full House as Uncle Jesse, and General Hospital as Blackie Parrish and on ER as Dr. Tony Gates. When ER finished filming its very last episode in March 2009, Stamos was asked on camera what he was going to do next. He appropriately replied - "I'm going to Disney World!" (And he did!)
2001:
Scuttle's Landing (a small refreshment/snack booth) in Disney World's Fantasyland closes for a 6-day rehab.

The Tomorrowland attraction The Timekeeper once again opens seasonally
at the Magic Kingdom. The Disney World attraction will now remain open until
September 22 (while It's A Small World, Astro Orbiter and Hall of Presidents are being refurbished).
2005:
Disney's animated feature Valiant opens in theaters. Set in 1944, Valiant is a woodland pigeon (voiced by Ewan McGregor) who wants to become a great hero someday. When he hears they are hiring recruits for the Royal Homing Pigeon Service, he immediately sets out for London!
2006:
Kumiko Mori, Japan's popular television personality, makes her worldwide debut on Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. Mori is the host of Disney Japan's Disney Paradise, a variety show based on Disney trivia.

Disney-MGM Studios' Who Wants to Be a Millionaire - Play It closes.
(A new interactive ride-through attraction, Midway Madness, is scheduled to open in summer 2008.)

"The Great American Concert: Walt Disney’s Fantasia with Fireworks" is performed for a second night at the Hollywood Bowl in California.

Disney Channel airs the series finale of Phil of the Future. The episode "Back to the Future (Not the Movie)" is the 43rd and last show about the Diffy family.
2008:
Verizon FiOS TV video-on-demand customers get a first look at the summer's hottest new movie from Disney Channel. The highly anticipated film, The Cheetah Girls One World, begins premiering today on FiOS TV's Disney Channel on Demand - three days ahead of the movie's Disney Channel premiere on August 22!

Walt Disney Records releases "One World" - the newest soundtrack CD from The Cheetah Girls.

Walt Disney World opens all four theme parks and the Downtown Disney area one hour earlier - at 8 a.m. - due to the possibility of Tropical Storm Fay striking Central Florida sometime later this day. The sixth named storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, Fay will travel through the entire state!

 

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8/20

1907:
Actor and voice artist Alan Reed, the voice of Boris in Disney's 1955 classic Lady and the Tramp, is born in New York City. Cartoon fans may know him as the original voice of Fred Flintstone. Reed is credited with the catchphrase "Yabba dabba doo!"
1928:
Disney's Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon Hot Dog is released.It is the final Oswald short produced.
1974:
Actress Amy Lou Adams is born in Vicenza, Italy to American parents. She
appears as Princess Giselle in the 2007 Walt Disney Pictures fantasy animated-live action film Enchanted
2005:
Conductor John Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra pay tribute to
Walt Disney with a performance of Walt Disney: 75 Years of Music. Special guests include ________ Van , Jodi Benson, Paige O'Hara, and Alan Menken.
2009:
Variety reports that director Robert Zemeckis is in talks with Disney for a remake of the 1968 animated Beatles film Yellow Submarine. Zemeckis plans to make the new Yellow Submarine in the same cutting-edge 3-D process he has used for other films like The Polar Express and his upcoming version of A Christmas Carol.

 

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8/21

1921:
An 18" high Alpha Farnell teddy bear from Harrod's in London, England is given to Christopher Robin Milne on his first birthday. The bear will first be named Edward Bear before being known as Winnie-the-Pooh. (This is the exact bear that in 1987 will be put on display at The New York Public Library.)
1929:
Vance Gerry, a writer, story artist, character designer, & layout artist for Disney, is born in Pasadena, California. Gerry studied art at the Chouinard Art Institute before being hired at Walt Disney Studios in 1955 as an assistant in-betweener. His early works include such classics as Oliver & Company, The Black Cauldron, The Great Mouse Detective, The Fox and the Hound, and The Jungle Book. In the 1990s he worked on Pocahontas, Hercules, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, and Tarzan.
1989:
Actress Hayden Panettiere, who appears in the Disney 2005 feature Ice Princess, is born in Palisades, New York. She also supplied the voice of Suri for the Disney animated Dinosaur and the voice of Dot for Disney/Pixar's A Bug's Life.
1995:
The PeopleMover (sponsored by Goodyear) closes at Disneyland. Running since July 1967 (as part of the New Tomorrowland) guests could board small trains that ran on elevated tracks for a "grand circle tour" above Tomorrowland. The PeopleMover will be replaced by a faster new attraction called Rocket Rods on May 22, 1998.
2007:
The "Muppet Mobile Lab," featuring robotic Muppets Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his able assistant Beaker riding a two-wheeled rocket-ship, interact with guests at Epcot. The Lab is part of a play test that Walt Disney Imagineering is running for the next few weeks, giving the research and development staff a chance to try out more advanced robotic, interactive and transportation technologies, mixed with human comedy talent.
2010:
Spring-a-Leak, a 2,400-square-foot water playground, opens at Disney Cruise Line’s Castaway Cay. Themed to be a storm-ravaged structure, guests enter and are greeted by dripping pipes and broken plumbing. Open to all ages, it is the latest in a series of improvements to Disney’s private island.

The Creative Arts Emmys are announced with ABC's holiday program Prep & Landing winning four awards - more than any other broadcast program.

 

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8/22

1905:
Animator Robert W. Youngquist is born. He will spend his entire career at
Disney (from 1935-1970) and work on such features as Fantasia, Bambi, Sleeping Beauty, and The Sword in the Stone.
1920:
Science-fiction, fantasy, and horror writer Ray Bradbury - a friend of Walt Disney's and a consultant to the Imagineers who designed Epcot's Spaceship Earth attraction - is born in Waukegan, Illinois. Best known for his 1950 book The Martian Chronicles and his 1953 novel Fahrenheit 451, Disney produced a film based on his 1962 tale Something Wicked This Way Comes. In the original
version of Epcot's Journey Into Imagination ride, the words 'Something Wicked' are printed on the spine of one of the colossal books in the literature scene - a reference to the Disney film and an ode to Bradbury. Brabury's 1969 short story "Downwind from Gettysburg" was inspired by Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.
1956:
The Carefree Corner guest registration area opens at Disneyland. A little shop
located at the Hub end of Main Street, guests can sign one of the guestbooks for each U.S. state. (The Carefree Corner will operated until 1985, when it becomes Card Corner.)
2006:
It is reported that Celebration, the Florida community Disney created in Osceola County, will be getting its third hotel (the largest one to date). Mona Lisa Development, the U.S. affiliate of Mona Lisa Hotels and Residences of France, is partnering with the Related Group of Florida, one of the state's
biggest condo builders, to build a 450-room condo hotel in the southern part of Celebration. (The hotel will welcome its first guests in August 2008.)
2009:
Disney Live! Rockin' Road Show premieres in Lakeland, Florida. A touring stage production, Mickey, Minnie and the gang round up acts for a spontaneous talent show.

 

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8/23

1912:
Legendary animator and layout artist Ed Benedict (best known for his work with Hanna-Barbera Studios - most notably on The Flintstones) is born in Ohio. Benedict began his animation career in 1930 at Walt Disney Studios working on such shorts as The China Plate and Blue Rhythm. He left in 1933 to work at Universal Studios as an animator on Walter Lantz's Oswald the Lucky Rabbit shorts, but in 1940 briefly returned to Disney as a layout artist for Make Mine Music. By 1952, Benedict was MGM’s lead layout artist and later went on to work for Hanna-Barbera as a designer of such characters as Yogi Bear, The Flintstones, Huckleberry Hound and Quick Draw McGraw.
1953:
The newspaper article "Vacaction Ducky for Donald's 'Ghost,' Arkansas Visitor"
appears in this day's Arkansas Gazette. The story centers on Disney cartoonist Al Taliaferro who is on a working vacation with his wife and children at Tanglewood Acres (a camping facility).
1986:
The U.S. Senate passes a bill, Public Law 99-391, designating December 5, 1986 as "Walt Disney Recognition Day."
1990:
Disney releases updated versions of You - and Your Five Senses, You - the
Human Animal, You - the Living Machine, and You - and Your Food all for
educational use. The "You and Your ..." series of educational shorts were originally produced for TV's "Mickey Mouse Club" back in the mid-1950s.
1991:
Disney's Touchstone Pictures releases the adult comedy True Identity. When
Miles Pope, an African-American man (played by actor-comedian Lenny Henry) has to escape from the mob, he disguises himself as a white man. The cast also features Frank Langella, Charles Lane (who also directs the film), Michael McKeon, and James Earl Jones.
2004:
Marceline, Missouri honors the memory of Walt Disney with a ceremony renaming the Marceline Post Office as the Walt Disney Post Office
Building. Today is also "Walt Disney Day" in the state of Missouri

 

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8/24

1914:
Lieutenant Harry Colebourn (a Veterinary Officer) stops at White River
Ontario, Canada, on his way to fight the ongoing war in Europe. There he purchases a small black female Canadian bear cub (for $20) and names her Winnie, after his home town of Winnipeg. In October, his regiment will be sent to England (and ultimately France) and Colebourn will leave Winnie in the
care of the London Zoo. Mascots and pets are not uncommon among the Canadian soldiers. (Writer A.A. Milne and his son Christopher will later visit the zoo ... and become fond of the bear - later known as Winnie the Pooh.)
1916:
Voice artist, writer, and actor Hal Smith is born in Petoskey, Michigan. His Disney voice credits include Philippe the horse in Beauty and the Beast, Owl in in many of the Winnie the Pooh shorts and feature films, and Goofy in countless TV cartoons. (TV fans will recognize him from his role as Otis Campbell on the classic series The Andy Griffith Show. One of the most sought after voice actors in the 1960s, Smith was the original voice of Barney Rubble!)
1958:
Actor Steve Guttenberg, star of the 1997 TV movie Tower of Terror - based on the Disney World attraction - is born in New York. (Film fans will know him from such classics as Diner, Cocoon, Short Circuit and the Police Academy series.)
1963:
Film director, animator and writer Kirk Wise is born in San Francisco, California. He's directed such Disney movies as Atlantis: The Lost Empire, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Beauty and the Beast (along with Gary Trousdale). He also co-directed Cranium Command, a short film for the Wonders of Life pavilion at Epcot.
1978:
Trumpeter, bandleader, singer and composer Louis Prima, known for his memorable contribution to Disney's The Jungle Book, passes away in a New Orleans nursing home at age 67. Born in Louisiana in 1910, Prima was best known for his 1956 recording of "Just a Gigolo" and his 1959 Grammy
Award-winning version of "That Old Black Magic." Prima provided the voice of the orangutan King Louie in the Disney animated feature, and sang the film's hit song, "I Wanna Be Like You." In 1974, shortly after the release of Disney's animated Robin Hood, Prima was asked to record the Disneyland Records release Let's "Hear It" for Robin Hood. Prima narrated as well as sang two covers and six new songs. That same year Disney conceived an early version of The Rescuers, which would star Prima as the voice of Louis the Bear. About a bear who escapes from a zoo with the help of two mice, it was to feature six songs sung by Prima as well. Unfortunately in 1975, following headaches and episodes of memory loss, Prima discovered he had a stem brain tumor. The Disney project was scrapped. Prima's tombstone reads: "When the end comes I know they'll say just a gigolo and life goes on without me" (a nod to his 1956 hit song).
1989:
In Florida, the Ewok Village opens at the entrance to the Star Tours attraction at the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park.
1994:
After months of rumors that Jeffrey Katzenberg will exit as chairman of
Walt Disney Studios, the company announces he will step down in September, at the end of his contract, and that Caravan Pictures
producer Joe Roth will take over.
2006:
It is reported that two white rhinos have taken their first steps on African
soil after being flown into the country from Disney's Animal Kingdom to boost
stocks. (The two bring the number of endangered white hinos in the country to just eight.) They were released in the Ziwa RhinoSanctuary in Nakasongola district, about 110 miles northwest of Uganda's capital Kampala after a four-day journey from their home in Florida.