this day in disney history

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1/12 and fact for the day

A young John Lasseter was the second student to ever be accepted into a
new program for animation at CalArts (located in Valencia, California). There
he won the Student Academy Awards for two consecutive years with his
animated films. Lasseter graduated in 1979, and later joined Disney, where
he worked for five years. In 1984, Lasseter left Disney to join Lucasfilm
... which eventually became Pixar!

2011:

United States Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta, who was recently presented the Medal of Honor by President Obama for his heroic actions in Afghanistan, takes part in the daily flag retreat ceremony at Disneyland. (Giunta is the first living service member to receive the medal for action in any war since Vietnam.) Also in attendance is United States Army Staff Sgt.
Erick Gallardo, Silver Star recipient and a Southern California native from Chula Vista.

 

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1/13 and fact for the day

In February 1986, an additional 150 rooms were added to Disney
World's Golf Resort and its name was changed to the Disney Inn.
Located near the Magic Kingdom and just southwest of the
Polynesian Resort, today it is known as Shades of Green - a
United States Department of Defense-owned resort.


2011:

Pixar's Brad Lewis (co-director) and Jay Shuster (art director) preview Cars 2 at the AutoWeek Design Forum in a dual keynote address that offers insights into the impressive depth and creativity behind the film. Cars 2 will be released in June.

 

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1/14 and fact for the day

Between 1940 and 1941, the Gillette Safety Razor
Company issued paper masks of characters from
Disney's Pinocchio as part of a special promotion.

2011:

Costa Rica greets Mickey and Minnie Mouse aboard the Disney cruise ship the Disney Wonder. It is the very first time a Disney cruise ship has docked in Costa Rica. The Disney Wonder and its 1,800 passengers embarked from Florida and made several stops before coming to visit Costa Rica’s nature parks and reserves. The Disney Wonder is in the midst of a 15-night Panama Canal Westbound Cruise that will end in Los Angeles (its new home for the next few years).

 

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1/15 and fact for the day

The tank used in Epcot's The Living Seas holds 5.7 million gallons of saltwater ... making it one of the largest saltwater tanks in the world! Called “the world’s sixth largest ocean,” Epcot’s Living Seas aquarium is packed with more varieties of fish than probably ever seen in a real ocean.

 

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1/16 and fact for the day

In 1934, the Encyclopedia Britannica gave Mickey Mouse
his very own entry. First published between 1768 and
1771, The Britannica is the oldest English-language
encyclopedia still in print!

2011:

Wild Africa Trek at Disney's Animal Kingdom begins operation. For the first time ever, small

groups of guests can get up close and personal with the animals that call DAK home. The adventure includes

trekking with experienced guides through areas of Harambe Wildlife Reserve (not typically opened to park

guests), crossing a seemingly precarious rope bridge over the Safi River and cliff-hanging at the edge of gullies

that are home to hippos and crocodiles!



Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun!, a new parade debuts at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

in Walt Disney World. It replaces Block Party Bash, which had its last performance on January 1.



Toy Story 3 wins Best Animated Feature Film at the 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards. Singer Justin Bieber and actress Halley Steinfeld present the award to director Lee Unkrich - "Were you two even born when the first Toy Story came out?"
"Thank you to Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Pixar, Disney

and especially John Lasseter who trusted me with Toy Story 3, my incredible cast anchored by Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. I love you for the humor and emotional honesty your brought to the film. Thanks to the audience who came out in record numbers and embraced an animated movie that beat with a human heart." -Toy Story 3 director Lee Unkrich
Discount Disney World Tickets

 

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1/17 and fact for the day

Michael Eisner, chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company from 1984
until 2005, never saw a Disney film until he was a grown man.

2012:

At the National Retail Federation's "Big Show" in New York City; Disney Store announces that its award-winning store design will be in 12 countries by the end of 2012. The store opening slate includes an inaugural location in Shanghai, China opening in the fall, making it the twelfth country to receive the interactive retail model.



The official debut of Katsura Grill at Epcot's Japan Pavilion takes place. Replacing the Yakitori House, Katsura Grill is themed after the gardens of the Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto, Japan and offers a variety of sushi, udon, and teriyaki dishes.

 

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1/18 and fact for the day

As a youngster A.A. Milne had a teacher named H.G. Wells
(who went on to write such classics as The War of the Worlds and
The Time Machine).

2011:

In front of an auditorium packed with local and international press, Disney executives unveil details on a new and improved Fantasyland at Walt Disney World, which is scheduled to be completed by 2013. The biggest expansion in the history of the Magic Kingdom, planned attractions include Castle of the Beast, Princess Fairytale Hall, Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid, The Sound of the Calliope, Storybook Circus and The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Much of the press are in town for the next day's champagne christening of Disney Cruise Line's newest ship, the Disney Dream.



Nominees for the 2011 Orange British Academy Film Awards are announced with

Toy Story 3 earning three for Animated Film, Adapted Screenplay and Special Visual Effects. The awards will be presented on Sunday, February 13 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, England.

 

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1/19 and fact for the day

The only other noted film work Adriana Caselotti did following her premiere as Snow White was an uncredited role in The Wizard of Oz, as the voice of Juliet during the Tin-Man's song,

2011:

The Disney Dream is officially

christened at Port Canaveral,

Florida. The special ceremony

includes a helicopter hoisting a 16-foot

"champagne bottle" across the bow of

the new ship and a performance by

Academy Award and Grammy Award winner Jennifer Hudson (whose career began as a performer on the Disney Wonder ship in 2003). Some 3,000 people witness the Disney Dream ceremony in-person while countless others watch its broadcast live over the Internet. The 4,000-passenger Disney Dream sails its maiden voyage out of Port Canaveral on January 26.

 

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1/20 and fact for the day

Walt Disney personally selected Richard Fleischer (son of his old
competitor in animation, Max Fleischer) to direct the live-action film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Named a Disney Legend in 2003, Fleischer is
also best known for directing Fantastic Voyage (1966), Doctor Dolittle
(1967), and Tora! Tora!Tora! (1970)

2011:

Disney Publishing announces the original TRON: Legacy The Complete Story

App available for iPad. The $8.99 app features stunning illustrated artwork, true-to-life stills from

the film, thrilling music by Daft Punk, and an electrifying episode of TRON: Legacy Motion Comics.

 

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1/21 and fact for the day

Freaky Friday has been adapted three times by the Walt Disney
Company into films with similar plots. The original 1976 version
was released on this day. A Disney television version was
made in 1995, starring Shelley Long and Gaby Hoffmann.
The 2003 remake starred Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan.

2011:

Celebration in the Air - a year-long celebration marking Hong Kong Disneyland Resort's 5th year milestone - begins.



The 964-foot-long Disney Wonder arrives at its new home the Port of Los Angeles. Disney Cruise Line will call the Port of L.A. home for the next two years, offering seven-night cruises to the Mexican Riviera through April. It will then reposition to Vancouver and sail to Alaska from May -September.



Over on the East Coast, a special sail-away ceremony is held when Disney Cruise Line leaders led by President Karl Holz presents Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida with a check for $750,000 to kick off a two-night "Benefit Preview Cruise" aboard the newest ship the Disney Dream.

 

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1/22 and fact for the day

Years before Ariel surfaced to worldwide fame in Disney's The
Little Mermaid, Disneyland featured "live mermaids" at the Submarine
Voyage lagoon. Between 1965 and 1967, these "Cast Mer-members"
(women in mermaid tails) swam,brushed their hair and sunned
themselves on nearby rocks for 4 hours a day. These mermaids
were found during a special tryout at the Disneyland Hotel
swimming pool!


2011:

Darla K. Anderson wins the animated trophy at the 22nd Annual Producers Guild Awards for her work as producer on Toy Story 3.

 

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1/23 and fact for the day

In 1957, the average Disneyland guest shelled out
$4.90 ... $2.72 for rides and admission, $2 for food, and
another 18 cents for various souvenirs. (In 1957, gas cost 31 cents a
gallon and a person's average annual salary was $5,500.)

 

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1/24 and fact for the day

Pixar was founded as the Graphics Group - the computer division of Lucasfilm in 1979. It was purchased in 1986 by Steve Jobs (of Apple Computer fame) for $5 million and given its current name. Today it is part of the Disney family.

 

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1/25 and fact for the day

Dalmatians" is probably the most-misspelled Disney
word (most people spell it "dalmations"). However,
according to Disney it is a place ... so both people and dogs from there
are Dalmatians.

 

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1/26 and fact for the day

Lizzie McGuire was a popular teen sitcom which aired on the
Disney Channel. Starring Hilary Duff, the original 65 episodes aired
between January 2001 and February 2004. The series won
Favorite TV Show at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice
Awards two years in a row in 2002 and 2003.

2011:

After several years of planning, construction and preparation, the Disney Dream

sets sail on her 4-night maiden voyage to the Bahamas. The Smolsky family of Leesburg,

Virginia (Matt, Alison and their three children) are the first guests to step aboard.

 

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1/27 and fact for the day

Walt Disney World's Shades of Green Resort was sold outright to the U.S. Military in 2004. (At one time called the Disney Inn, it
was first leased by the Department of Defense in 1994.) The deluxe
resort is located in a secluded area near the Magic Kingdom -
nestled between the Magnolia and Palm golf courses.

 

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1/28 and fact for the day

It took more than 650 Walt Disney Imagineers more than 350,000 hours (the equivalent of 40 years of time) to develop Epcot's Mission: SPACE!

 

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1/29 and fact for the day

The animated feature Sleeping Beauty (premiering on this day in1959)
was made while Walt Disney was building Disneyland
(hence the 4 year production time). To help promote the
film, Imagineers named the castle at the park Sleeping Beauty's
(it was originally to be Snow White's).


2011:

The Disney Dream visits Castaway Cay (Disney's private island) for the very first time. The ship will head back to Florida the next day, ending her four-night maiden voyage.

 

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1/30 and fact for the day

Jim Cummings, the voice of Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Zummi Gummi
and countless other Disney characters, provides the narration
at the beginning of Epcot's IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth.
Reflections of Earth's beginnings can be traced back to the original
IllumiNations, which premiered this day in 1988.

 

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1/31 and fact for the day

CommuniCore (short for Community Core) was an Epcot pavilion dedicated to technological advance. Held in two semi-circular buildings to the east and west of Spaceship Earth, they are now the home of Innoventions. CommuniCore closed on this day in 1994.

2011:

Wearing mouse-eared hard hats, the rescued Chilean coal miners (whose

dramatic rescue last fall made worldwide news) take part in a parade as Grand

Marshals at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. Since last Thursday January 27,

the miners and their rescuers and families have been taking part in a festive gathering in their honor at WDW.