this day in disney history

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3/11 and fact for the day

Brooklyn-born architect Robert A.M. Stern designed Disney's Boardwalk, the Yacht and Beach Club Resorts, and the Casting Center building. Along with Jaquelin Robertson, he was also the master planner for the Florida community, Celebration.

2011:

Mars Needs Moms, a 3D computer-animated sci-fi film based on the book by

Berkeley Breathed, is released by Walt Disney Pictures. A young boy named Milo (Seth

Green) gains a deeper appreciation for his mom (Joan Cusack) after Martians come to Earth to take her away.



Strong earthquakes hit the Tohoku Region of Japan on this afternoon, triggering several meter high tsunami waves that cause massive destruction and loss of human lives in areas along the Pacific coast, especially in Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima Prefectures. The 9.0-magnitude earthquake itself causes major damage in areas close to the epicenter, as well as scattered fires and damage across the Tohoku and eastern Kanto area. Disney’s Disneyland Resort in Tokyo and Tokyo DisneySea will later temporarily close. Although damage and injuries are minimal at both parks, operator Oriental Land Co. will choose to close the parks in the wake of rolling blackouts and other safety concerns.

2012:

Jordin Sparks appears as the keynote speaker at the Disney Dreamer's Academy

commencement ceremony at the Walt Disney World Resort. The Dream Academy program

is an annual career inspiration program for one hundred high school students from across the country.

 

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3/12 and fact for the day

Tokyo Disney Resort's shopping, dining, and entertainment complex
is called Ikspiari. Owned and operated by The Oriental Land
Company, it is the Japanese equivalent of the Downtown
Disney complexes in the U.S. Disney parks. Featuring more than
100 shops, restaurants, cafes and bars, as well as a 16-screen movie
theater, Ikspiari is located between Maihama Station and
the Disney Ambassador Hotel.

2011:

Kim Irvine, Disneyland's art director, is honored with a lifetime achievement award from the Themed Entertainment Association. The daughter of Disney animators Harvey and Leota Toombs, Kim first took a summer job at WED in 1970 at the age of 18. Since then she's played a key role in such Disneyland projects as producing the Haunted Mansion's holiday overlay, enhancing "it's a small world" and creating trash cans to fit in with the different lands.

 

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3/13 and fact for the day

President Harry S Truman refused to ride Dumbo the Flying Elephant
at Disneyland because elephants are a Republican Party symbol ... and Truman was a Democrat.

 

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3/14 and fact for the day

A working title used early in the development of the
movie Monsters, Inc. was The Hidden City.

 

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3/15 and fact for the day

Audio-animatronics was originally a creation of Lee Adams, who
started his career with Disney as an electrician at the Burbank,
California studio and was one of Disney's original Imagineers. The
first Disney Audio-Animatronic was the giant squid in the movie
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which was created by Adams!

 

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3/16 and fact for the day

The capacity per elevator on Walt Disney World's
"The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" is 22
2011:

Due to the ongoing problems and concerns in Japan (since the March 11

earthquake), Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea remain closed indefinitely.



In recognition of his outstanding achievements in data security and

protection, Glen Taylor, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts’ vice president of

Global Business Technology Strategy, receives the People’s Choice Award

at the Tech Exec Networks’ Information Security Executive (ISE) Southeast

Awards gala at the Westin Buckhead Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia. Executives nominated for the ISE® Southeast Award in the Executive category are defined as leaders who improve their

organization’s risk management, data asset protection, privacy and network security efforts while proactively

implementing security technology and processes.

 

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3/17 and fact for the day

Perey Turnstiles, a leader in turnstile design and manufacturing, supplies Walt Disney World (as well as other amusement parks all over the world) with its products

2011:

Disney releases a statement saying that it has "temporarily suspended all its

administrative and store operations in Tokyo" after 28 of its 47 Disney stores in

Japan have been closed due to damage from the devastating March 11 earthquake.

 

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3/18 and fact for the day

A popular misconception is that Walt Disney World exists in Orlando. In fact, the entire Disney property is outside Orlando city limits. Most of Disney World's Central Florida land, and all of the public areas, are located in the cities of Bay Lake & Lake Buena Vista - located southwest of Orlando and a few miles northwest of Kissimmee.

 

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3/19 and fact for the day

Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa is an elegant Victorian-style resort
(with an amazing five-story grand lobby) situated on the
shores of WDW's South Seas Lagoon.

 

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3/20 and fact for the day

All the lakes at Walt Disney World are controlled by computers which are able to keep the water levels constant.

2012:

On the same day the 2011 feature The Muppets is released on DVD and Blu-ray, the

Muppets are honored with their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. At 11:30 AM,

the Muppets receive the 2,466th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the category of Motion Pictures. The star

and ceremony is located at 6834 Hollywood Boulevard, in front of the El Capitan Theatre.

 

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3/21 and fact for the day

Disney's It's a Small World attraction was originally
supposed to feature a medley of national anthems from countries
represented. But the result would've been a cacophony of
noise. So it was decided that the Sherman Brother's catchy tune
would be used throughout the attraction instead.

 

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3/22 and fact for the day

It was a romance from the start.The minute you know you can
make a drawing move, the static drawing loses its appeal:
movement is life. Animation represents the greatest
breakthrough in 20th Century art." -Disney Legend Wolfgang 'Woolie'
Reitherman (one of Walt's "Nine Old Men")

 

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3/23 and fact for the day

Don Iwerks (the son of legendary Disney animator Ub Iwerks) is the co-founder of Iwerks Entertainment. He has been associated with many accomplishments, including the 360-degree CircleVision
camera and projection systems that he worked on with his father. Don's
department designed and manufactured hundreds of unique film
projection systems for Disney theme parks such as
Disney's Star Tours simulator.


2011:

Shareholders re-elect Walt Disney Co.'s board slate, including Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs and 12 other nominees. Shareholders at the annual meeting held in Salt Lake City also approve a motion to give themselves an annual advisory vote on the Burbank entertainment giant’s executive compensation.



A Day in the Life - John Lasseter, a documentary by Leslie Iwerks, is filmed.

Shot during the end of production on Cars 2, the promotional video will be released in July.

(Leslie is the daughter of Disney Legend Don Iwerks and granddaughter to the animator and co-designer of

Mickey Mouse, Ub Iwerks.)

 

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3/24 and fact for the day

Among the Annie Awards presented (by the Los Angeles branch of the
International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood) each year, is the
Ub Iwerks Award - given to individuals or companies for technical advancements that make a significant impact on the art or industry of animation. Past recipients of this award include Dr. Ed Catmull for
his breakthrough technologies at Pixar and Eric Daniels for the development
of the 'Deep Canvas' process for Walt Disney's Tarzan. In 1978, Iwerks
was posthumously awarded ASIFA-Hollywood's highest honor,
the Winsor McCay Award.

 

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3/25 and fact for the day

The bowling pin icons at Walt Disney World's Pop Century
Resort tower more than 65 feet high! (A regulation bowling pin
is a mere 15 inches tall.)

 

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3/26 and fact for the day

Leigh Harline worked for various radio stations before joining the
Walt Disney studios in 1932 as an arranger and scorer. He won
an Academy Award for the song "When You Wish Upon a Star" from
Disney's Pinocchio (1940) which later became the signature theme for
Disney's TV series

 

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3/27 and fact for the day

Disney's Fantasia began production as a short called
The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Because of the effort & costs,
the Disney brothers realized that they could never make
their costs back if they released it as a short. It was
decided that a "Concert Feature" should be made.

 

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3/28 and fact for the day

Jimmie Dodd is often remembered for the "Doddisms" (short, simple sayings)
that he used on The Mickey Mouse Club. "I expect to pass through life but
once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I
can do, to any fellow being, let me do it now and not defer or neglect it, as I
shall not pass this way again."

-Jimmie Dodd

2012:

Disney Store celebrates its 25th anniversary at stores nationwide. In recognition of this important milestone, Disney Store gives the first 250 guests at each location silver commemorative Mickey Mouse ears.

 

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3/29 and fact for the day

Journey Into Imagination, the attraction located within The Imagination! Pavilion at the Epcot, has been through three incarnations since
its 1983 opening. All three of them featured a purple dragon
named Figment.

2011:

ABC-TV debuts a new drama series Body of Proof, about a
neurosurgeon-turned-medical examiner played by Dana Delany.

2012:

A 12-inch Buzz Lightyear toy that spent 15 months orbiting the Earth on the

International Space Station is donated to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space

Museum in Washington, D.C. John Lasseter, the animator who created Buzz Lightyear (who is now the

chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios) hands the toy-turned-artifact to curators before

an audience of museum visitors. The figure, which launched into space in May 2008 and returned to Earth 467 days

later in August 2009, will go on display later this summer in the National Air and Space Museum's "Moving Beyond

Earth" gallery.

 

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3/30 and fact for the day

Animator Marc Davis was employed at Walt Disney Productions from
December 2, 1935 until his retirement in 1978!

2011:

The Walt Disney Pavilion at Florida Hospital for Children has its grand opening ceremony. Hundreds are on hand to celebrate the occasion (including Bob Iger, president and CEO of The

Walt Disney Company, and Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts), which includes a moving dedication ceremony featuring inspirational stories from former pediatric patients.