this day in disney history

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2/20 and fact for the day

Some 8,300 acres of the 30,000 plus acres at Walt Disney World is designated as a permanent wildlife conservation area ... it will never be developed.

2011:

The first TV spot for Pixar's upcoming Cars 2 airs during the broadcast of the

NASCAR Daytona 500. The computer-animated 3-D film, a sequel to the 2006 Cars, is

scheduled for release on June 24.

 

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2/21 and fact for the day

Since 1955, Disneyland's Market House (on Main Street) has
given free refills on coffee. Purchase a cup of coffee and
save your receipt. No need to keep the cup - simply bring
back the receipt and enjoy free refills all day!

 

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2/22 and fact for the day

The Hall of Presidents (at WDW) is the only place in the world, besides
the White House, that is allowed to display the Official Presidential Seal.
Commercial use of the seal is prohibited (though it is sometimes
used in modified form as a marketing tool, or to make a political statement).

 

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2/23 and fact for the day

Walt Disney's Oscars, including the special statuette presented on this day
in 1939, are today displayed at The Disney Family Museum in San Francisco,
California.

2011:

Bill Nye The Science Guy is on hand at Epcot to give presentations in the midst of Engineers Week (which shines the spotlight on math, science and engineering, from February 21 to 25).

 

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2/24 and fact for the day

Actors Dennis Weaver and Clint Howard played father and son on
the 1967 television series Gentle Ben. Weaver went on to voice
the character of Abner in the 2004 Home on the Range and
Howard went on to supply the voice of Roo for the 1974 Winnie
the Pooh and Tigger Too.


2011:

The Animated Feature Symposium, hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and

Sciences, takes place in California just 3 days before the 83rd Annual Academy

Awards. Toy Story 3 director Lee Unkrich joins fellow animated feature nominees for an on-stage discussion

about their films.



Guests aboard the departing Disney Dream in Florida get a glimpse of the space

shuttle Discovery as it blasts off from the nearby Kennedy Space Center for its final

launch. The mission marks Discovery’s last liftoff for NASA’s oldest orbiter.

 

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2/25 and fact for the day

The "Gracey" family depicted in the Disney film The Haunted Mansion
is a nod to Disney Imagineer Yale Gracey, who was an animator and
mechanical genius. He had a hand in developing many of the
attraction's illusions.As a layout artist, Gracey
worked on more than 50 Disney animated shorts!

2011:

Live! with Regis & Kelly broadcasts live from Disneyland for the kickoff of

"Regis & Kelly’s Run Across America with Dean Karnazes." With a blast of red, white and blue confetti and the sound of a horn, a few hundred local runners and Disney characters in jogging suits run with Karnazes from the Sleeping Beauty Castle down Main Street to begin the run across America. Karnazes will run an average of 40 to 50 miles a day before completing his journey in mid-May by running into the New York City "Regis and Kelly" studios while the show is on the air. (One of the most well-known long-distance runners in the United States, Karnazes is the author of two best-selling books.)

 

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2/26 and fact for the day

Port Discovery is an Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland, children's
museum that opened in 1998. Port Discovery's permanent
exhibits were designed by Walt Disney Imagineering. Located
in the old Fish Market building, "kid-powered" Port Discovery is
for kids age 2 to 10.

2012:

Rachel Booth, 31, of Mandeville, Louisiana, wins the 2012 Disney's Princess Half

Marathon at Walt Disney World Resort. She crosses the finish line in record time, with an official time

of 1:18:11. Booth had also won the 2011 Disneyland Half Marathon, in California, for her second time. This makes

Booth the first runner to win titles at both runDisney events!



Michelle Chille and Lindsay Rabbitt also earn top honors in their respective divisions. Chille, 45, of Rochester,

New York, takes the Women's Masters with a time of 1:29:39. Rabbitt, 28, of Muskegon, Michigan, finishes in

2:19:43 in the Women's Push Rim division.



"Man or Muppet," penned by Bret McKenzie, wins the Oscar for original song at the 84th Academy Awards. From Walt Disney Pictures’ The Muppets, the first film featuring the iconic Jim

Henson characters in more than a decade, the song was sung largely by Jason Segel and Peter Linz, who voiced

the Muppet Walter. McKenzie (one half of comedy duo Flight of the Conchords) was musical supervisor on The

Muppets, a role that involved overseeing the songs on the film and writing three himself.

 

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2/27 and fact for the day

The Incredibles was written and developed by Brad Bird, former
director of The Simpsons and previously best known for
directing the animated movie The Iron Giant.

 

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2/28 and fact for the day

Veteran animator Eric Larson (who retired on this day in 1986)
spent 53 years at the Disney Studios. In addition to feature
films (such as Fantasia and Peter Pan), he was animator on
18 shorts and six television specials.

2012:

The Disney Fantasy sails into New York Harbor on this morning marking the arrival to

the U.S. of the newest cruise ship in the world. The 4,000-passenger Fantasy is in

New York for its christening ceremony Thursday (March 1) before making its way down to its home of Port

Canaveral, where it's expected to arrive on March 6.

 

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2/29 and fact for the day

During World War II, 93 percent of Disney Studios' output was under
government contract to benefit the war effort.


2012:

Disneyland in California and the Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World in Florida

open at 6 a.m. in celebration of Leap Day. A 24-hour event dubbed "One More Disney Day," this is the

first time in Disney's history that both parks operate for 24 hours at the same time. To commemorate the event, Disney

hands out special Mickey ear hats to the first 2,000 guests who enter the parks. The event will run until 6 a.m. on March 1.



At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, a Leap Day event aimed at helping guests learn more about frogs, toads and other amphibians takes place at Rafiki’s Planet Watch.



"The Road to Cars Land," a sneak preview of the plans for Cars Land, featuring a model of the land, scale models of some of the new ride vehicles, and sketches & early concept art, debuts at Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar at Disney California Adventure park.

 

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3/1 and fact for the day

Walt Disney received 32 Academy Awards personally
over his lifetime. Along with members of his staff, more than 950 honors
and citations from every nation in the world
(including 7 Emmys) were received during Walt's 65 years.

2012:

The Disney Fantasy, the fourth ship in the Disney Cruise Line fleet, is christened

during a star-studded evening celebration at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal in New

York City. Disney Fantasy godmother, Mariah Carey, leads the audience in a countdown that triggers a 6-foot

tall bottle of champagne in the Atrium Lobby with confetti and streamers as a traditional bottle of champagne breaks

against the ship's hull. Celebrities taking part in the occassion include Jerry Seinfeld, Neil Patrick Harris, Nick

Cannon, Heather Headley and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

 

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3/2 and fact for the day

Adult Mouseketeer Jimmie Dodd wrote the original
theme song for TV's the "Mickey Mouse Club."

2011:

The 18th annual International Flower and Garden Festival begins at Epcot.

Running through May 15, the event features beautiful topiaries, fun concerts, educational demonstrations, and

celebrity appearances. For the first time ever, the Festival is being sponsored by HGTV, who will showcase

their television personalities on the HGTV stage.

 

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3/3 and fact for the day

Phil Simms was the first NFL player to say, "I'm going to Disneyland!" in the popular TV advertising campaign.

2011:

Disney and HP executives are joined by sports celebrities and ESPN personalities at

ESPN Wide World of Sports for the dedication ceremony for the newly named "HP

Field House." The HP Field House is a 165,000-square-foot, multi-sport venue, which debuted in 1997 when

the Disney sports complex opened. With the new HP partnership, the facility is now outfitted with HP technology.
Discount Disney World Tickets

 

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3/4 and fact for the day

Mulan was the 1st feature length production that was
created by Walt Disney Feature Animation, Florida ... at one
time located at Disney World's Disney-MGM Studios.

 

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3/5 and fact for the day

Sterling Holloway, the veteran vocalist on dozens of Disney
animated projects, was not Walt Disney's first choice to voice the
character of Winnie the Pooh ...TV comic George Gobel was
(but he turned it down).

2012:

Disney Legend Robert B. Sherman, one half of the prolific, award-winning pair of

brothers who penned memorable Disney songs for Mary Poppins and The Jungle Book

-- as well as the most-played tune on Earth, "It's a Small World (After All)" -- passes at

the age of 86 in London. Robert and his brother Richard wrote over 150 songs for Disney, including the

soundtracks for such films as The Sword and the Stone, The Parent Trap, Bedknobs and Broomsticks,

The Aristocrats and The Tigger Movie.
(1925-2012)

 

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3/6 and fact for the day

In the middle of Disney World's Tower of Terror (between the
two lift shafts) their is a service room which staff can have their
brakes in. When the lifts drop, the walls of the service room
appear to 'breathe' as the compressed air beneath the
falling lift is blasted out of the shaft!

2012:

Disney's newest cruise ship, the Fantasy, sails into its home port of Port Canaveral,

Florida, on this day in preparation for its maiden voyage to the Eastern Caribbean on

March 31. The sister ship to the Disney Dream, which launched last year, it features Dumbo the flying elephant

on its stern.

 

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3/7 and fact for the day

There is a "hidden floor" in the main building of Walt Disney
World's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. It is used by
celebrities, newly married couples and others who want total privacy.

 

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3/8 and fact for the day

In 1994 Disney World dropped the word "Center"
from the "EPCOT" name and changed the letters to
lowercase "Epcot".

 

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3/9 and fact for the day

Castaway Cay, a private island in the Bahamas purchased by Disney
to use as a stopover for its cruise line ships, was originally
known as Gorda Cay. Gorda Cay was used for filming
- the beach scene where Tom Hanks first
encounters Daryl Hannah in Splash was shot on the island.

2012:

Disney's science fiction action film John Carter is released to U.S. theaters. Largely based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' A Princess of Mars, the film is the live-action debut of director/writer Andrew Stanton (known for the Pixar animated films Finding Nemo and WALL-E). Transplanted to Mars, a Civil War vet named John Carter (played by Taylor Kitsch) discovers a lush planet inhabited by 12-foot tall barbarians.

 

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3/10 and fact for the day

Paul Winchell (the first voice of Tigger) got his start in show biz
at the age of 14. He was part of a ventriloquist act on the
Major Bowes Amateur Hour radio show.