this day in disney history

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1/20

1936:
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Eighteen-year-old Adriana Caselotti records her first tracks as the voice of Snow
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White. Her father Guido Caselotti - a vocal coach - has been hired by Walt Disney to help cast parts in
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Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].[/FONT]​

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1947:

Composer for film & television, John Beal is born in Santa Monica, California. Growing up with the kids of top Disney animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, Beal was introduced to Buddy Baker, the main composer of all Disney films, TV shows and theme park music at the time. This led to Beal himself composing and arranging music for Disneyland and Walt Disney World, in particular America Sings and Carousel of Progress.
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(Some of the well-known movie trailers for which Beal wrote original scores include Titanic, We Were Soldiers, The Last Samurai, Finding Neverland, Star Wars, and Aladdin[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].)
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1971:

Disney's live-action family feature The Wild Country, directed by Robert Totten, is generally released. The film (based on a book by Ralph Moody) follows the Tanner family who move from Pennsylvania to the wild country of 1890s Wyoming. Actually filmed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, The Wild Country[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] stars Steve Forrest, Jack Elam, Ron Howard, Frank DeKova, Vera Miles, and Clint Howard.
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2003:

Disney Imagineer, author and historian David Mumford passes away at age 46 in

Burbank, California. Joining The Walt Disney Company in 1974 as a ride operator on the Submarine

Voyage at Disneyland, his 23-year Imagineering career included work on Aladdin's Oasis, Star Tours, and

the Alice in Wonderland attractions as well as the Epcot theme park. An Imagineer since 1979, he rose

through the ranks to the position of WDI Senior Principal Show Set Designer. Mumford also wrote and

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]produced (along with his longtime collaborator, Imagineer Bruce Gordon) several books on Disney history.
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[disneyrcks]

Thanks for doing this, it is always a great read! :wave:

 

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1/21

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1924:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]W[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]alt Disney ships his 2nd [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Alice Comedy[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Alice Hunting in Africa[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif],
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]to M.J. Winkler Productions - a distributor in New York.

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1930[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]W[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]hile Walt is in New York, a[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]nimator Ub Iwerks informs Roy O. Disney that he wishes to leave the Disney Company as soon as possible. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Roy is stunned, but offers Ub $5,000 for his 20% share of the company. Unbeknownst to Roy at this time, is the fact that Iwerks has been lured away by film distributor Pat Powers. Powers wants Iwerks to start an animation studio of his own. Meanwhile Walt is in New York actually confronting Powers over royalty money for Mickey shorts due to the Disney Studios!

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1933[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]D[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]isney's Mickey Mouse cartoon [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Mad Doctor[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], directed by [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]David Hand[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif],[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] is
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]released. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Mickey dreams that Pluto has been captured by an evil scientist who hopes to graft his head onto a
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]hen's body. A spoof of the horror films made by Universal, it will be considered too frightening for children by the
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]British censors![/FONT]​

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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1938:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]D[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]isney animators begin work on "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif](a segment that will be used for the feature [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Fantasia[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]).
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1955:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he formal announcement of the new $10,000 Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim is disclosed to the press nationwide. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The hotel will be developed by Wrather-Alvarez Hotels, Inc., and designed by the architectual firm of Pereira and Luckman. (Although it is hoped the hotel will be ready for an
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]August 15 opening ... due to labor strikes the Disneyland Hotel will open [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]October 5[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], 1955 instead.)[/FONT]​

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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1960[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]D[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]isney's animated short [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Goliath II[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] is released.[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] It is the first Disney film to be fully animated using the new Xerox process for transferring the pencil drawings to cels (a few scenes of [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Sleeping Beauty[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] had also used this technique). Narrated by Sterling Holloway, [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Goliath II[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] tells the story of a miniature elephant who tries everything to impress his father, the biggest elephant of them all. It will earn an Academy Award nomination.
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]lso released in theaters is the live-action [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks With a Circus[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] and the short [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Gala Day at Disneyland[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] (featuring a look back at the summer of 1959 when Disneyland opened its first three "E" Ticket Attractions). Based on a children's book of the same title by James Otis Kaler, [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks With
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]a Circus[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] tells the story of an orphaned boy named Toby (played by [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Kevin Corcoran[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]) who runs away to join
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]the circus.[/FONT]​

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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1973:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he television special "Fifty Happy Years" (to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of The Walt Disney Company) airs[/FONT]
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1977:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]D[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]isney's original [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Freaky Friday[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], starring Barbara Harris, Jodie Foster, and
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]John Astin is generally released. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Based on the novel of the same name by Mary Rodgers, a mother and daughter switch personalities on Friday the 13th and get a taste of what each others lives are like.
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif](The film has been playing in select cities since December 1976.)
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1982:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]C[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]BS-TV airs the hour-long special [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Kraft Salutes Walt Disney World's 10th Anniversary[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Dean Jones and Michele Lee play a husband and wife who are
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]visiting Disney World along with their son and daughter, played by Ricky Schroder and Dana Plato.[/FONT]​

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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1989[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he Walt Disney Company acquires the Wrather [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Corporation, whose assets include
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]the Disneyland Hotel, near Disneyland. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]At this time Wrather's assets also includes the RMS Queen
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Mary and Hughes H-4 Hercules (the "Spruce Goose") in Long Beach, as well as the rights to [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Lone Ranger[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] and
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]the [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Lassie[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] TV series[/FONT]
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1996:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]lthough nominated for Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical at the Golden Globe Awards, [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Toy Story[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] is edged out by [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Babe[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]"Colors of the Wind," written by Alan Menken & Stephen Schwartz from [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Pocahontas[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] wins Best Original Song - Motion Picture (beating out Randy Newman's "You Got a Friend in Me" from [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Toy Story[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]).
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]2002[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]S[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]inging legend, songwriter and actress [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Peggy Lee[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] passes away at the age 81 at her
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Bel Air, California home. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]She wrote the lyrics (along with Sonny Burke's music) and supplied many of the
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]voices (Darling, Si, Am & Peg) for Disney's [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Lady and the Tramp[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]. The film also features her singing voice on "He's a
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Tramp", "La La Lu", "The Siamese Cat Song", and "What Is a Baby?". (With a craeer spanning seven decades, Lee
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]appeared in such features as the 1952 [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Jazz Singer[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] and the 1955 [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Pete Kelly's Blues[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] - for which she received
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. "Fever," a signature song for Lee, was nominated for
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Record of the Year at the 1959 Grammy Awards.)
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]2011:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Celebration in the Air - a year-long celebration marking Hong Kong Disneyland Resort's 5th year milestone - begins[/FONT]
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1/22

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1930:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he day after Ub Iwerks leaves the Disney Studios, Disney's resident music director, Carl Stalling, resigns as well! [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Like Iwerks, he has been lured away by distributor Pat Powers. Stalling will eventually team up with Warner Brothers and Iwerks will later return to Disney
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1934:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]ctor/director Bill Bixby is born Wilfred Bailey Bixby in San Francisco, California. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]He appeared in Disney's 1975 film [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Apple Dumpling Gang[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] and directed the short-lived TV series [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Herbie, the Love Bug[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]. (TV fans know Bixby best for his roles on [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]My Favorite Martian[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Courtship of Eddie's Father[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] and [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Incredible Hulk[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]. He even appeared in a 1963 [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Twilight Zone[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] episode.)[/FONT]​

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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1949[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] radio show out of Nashville called [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Wormwood Forest[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] - featuring
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]puppeteer Tom Tichenor - airs. This episode features Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, voiced by Walt Disney and Clarence Nash!
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1964:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he live-action comedy [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Misadventures of Merlin Jones[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] is released in select U.S. cities. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Merlin Jones, a precocious and intelligent college student, played by future Disney Legend [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Tommy Kirk[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], experiments with hypnosis and creates a mind-reading machine! Annette Funicello plays his girlfriend Jennifer (and sings the film's title song written by brothers Robert and Richard Sherman).
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1989:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]t Super Bowl XXIII, quarterback Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers declares, "I'm going to Disney World!" upon his team's 20-16 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.[/FONT]​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]2001[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he Walt Disney Company [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]re-launches[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] its lucrative Winnie the Pooh franchise with a new television series, [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Book of Pooh[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Using a mix of ancient Japanese puppeteering techniques as well as state-of-the-art computer technology, Pooh and friends come to life as never before.
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]t is reported that five World War II Royal Navy bombs were detonated at Penny's Bay, the site of the future Disney theme park in Hong Kong.
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]2006:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] celebrity-attended premiere for Disney's newest attraction Monster's, Inc.: Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! takes place at Disney's California Adventure. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A dark ride that replaced Superstar Limo, it follows the story of the 2001 animated feature. In soft-openings since December 2005, Monster's, Inc. will officially open the following day[/FONT]​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]2010:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]bout 400 Walt Disney World employees volunteer to staff phones during a
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]global telethon aimed at raising money for earthquake-devastated Haiti. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]They field calls
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]and process donations out of the resort’s Orlando reservations center during the two-hour [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Hope for Haiti Now
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]television telethon.
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]D[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]isneyland's Main Street Cinema opens after a brief refurbishment to install new floor.
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]M[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]aria Helen Alvarez, one of the original financiers of the Disneyland Hotel, passes
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]away at age 88 in her Rancho Santa Fe, California home. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A millionaire by age 29, she helped
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]create Tulsa, Oklahoma's very first television station.
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]D[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]ick Van , one of the original stars of the 1964 feature [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Mary Poppins[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], makes a
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]surprise appearance in the touring stage version of [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Mary Poppins[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] at the Ahmanson
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Theatre in Los Angeles, California. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The 84-year-old Disney Legend does not portray Bert, the Cockney
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]chimney sweep he made famous in the film ... instead he reprises his other (and less well known) screen role as Mr. Dawes Sr., the crotchety bank president and boss of Poppins’ boss, Mr. Banks! After seeing the Disney-Cameron
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Mackintosh production when it first opened in November, Van volunteered to join the cast for a cameo (and
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]the role had to be written in - as the character doesn't appear in the stage version). In the audience this evening is
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Disney Legends Richard M. Sherman (one of the film’s songwriters) and historian/archivist Dave Smith.
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1/23

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1913:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]S[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]inger Max Smith is born in Des Moines, Iowa. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]As a founding member of the MelloMen (a singing quartet) his Disney film credits include [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Alice in Wonderland[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] and [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Lady and the Tramp[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]. Along with Bob Stevens, Bill Lee & Thurl Ravenscroft, the MelloMen also performed on countless
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Disney television programs and records.

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1928:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]D[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]isney's [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Oswald the Lucky Rabbit[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] cartoon [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Neck 'n' Neck[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] is released.[/FONT]​

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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1942:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he Disney cartoon [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The New Spirit[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] (distributed by the War Activities
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Committee of the Motion Picture Industry) is released. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Patriot Donald Duck, eager to learn what he can contribute to the war effort, is disappointed when a radio announcer advises him to pay his income tax promptly. The announcer turns him around by explaining the vital need for his money and he guides Donald through the simplified tax form to help him use his "Taxes to beat the Axis." [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The New Spirit [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]will be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary.[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1979:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he feature [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Take Down[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], released through Disney's Buena Vista Distribution company, is released. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The drama, about a coach of a high-school wrestling team who tries to help one of his players, stars Edward Hermann and Lorenzo Lamas. (This is Disney's first PG-rated film, five years before the launch of their Touchstone Pictures.)

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1987:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he new Mark V monorails debut at Disneyland. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Mark V monorails are the second of the
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]"Learjet" styled monorails used for Disney and are based on the design of the Bombardier Mark IVs in service at
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Walt Disney World.[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Built by Ride & Show Engineering, Inc., the 5-train Mark V monorails can carry 145 passengers.
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif](The Mark V monorail will be used until 2008 when they will be completely replaced by the Mark VII monorail.)

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1995:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]P[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]lans for the Walt Disney World Speedway are announced. Construction on the racing facility will begin later in the year.
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1998:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he Wonderful Ice Cream Suit[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], a Touchstone Home Video production based on a Ray Bradbury story, is released direct-to-video. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The film is produced by Stuart Gordon and Roy E. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Disney and stars Edward James Olmos and Joe Mantegna[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1999:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he Disney Channel Original Movie [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], about a thirteen-year-old girl (played by Kirsten Storms) living in the year 2049, airs for the first time.

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]2004:
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]D[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]isney's animated series [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Dave the Barbarian [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]debuts on Disney Channel[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]2006:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]M[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]onsters, Inc.: Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!, a new dark ride, officially opens
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]to the public at Disney's California Adventure.
​

[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]

​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he Walt Disney Co. headquarters building in Burbank, California is renamed as
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]"Team Disney - The Michael D. Eisner Building."[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] (Eisner was chief executive officer of the
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]company for 21 years.)[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]2010:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]ctor [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Paul Castle, Sr.[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], who portrayed Mickey Mouse for 25 years at Disneyland,
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]passes away at age 86 in Edmond, Oklahoma. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The world's smallest professional speed skating
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]barrel jumper in the world (standing at a height of just 4'6"), Castle was selected by Walt Disney himself to be his
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]main Mickey Mouse at Disneyland and to tour with Walt. Retired from Disneyland since 1986, Castle was honored
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]with a Lifetime Achievement award from Walt Disney Productions and inducted into the Disney Hall of Fame.
[/FONT]​

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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1927:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Alice Comedy[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Alice Foils the Pirates[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], starring Margie Gay,[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] is released[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1930:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]W[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]alt Disney signs a contract with King Features to distribute his Mickey Mouse comic strip.

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1964:
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he Restless Sea[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], an episode of the Bell Laboratory Science Series, airs on television. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Produced by the Disney Studios, it features the voices of Sterling Holloway and Lawrence Dobkin.[/FONT]​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1986:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]R[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]icky Ullman, the star of Disney Channel's [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Phil of the Future[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], is born in Eilat, Israel.[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] (Shortly after his first birthday his family will move to Fairfield, Connecticut.) He also appears in Disney's 2004 made-for-TV movie [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Pixel Perfect[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] and is the voice of Eric for the 2005 [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Kim Possible: So the Drama[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].
​

[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]

​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]N[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]BC-TV airs [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Disney's Living Seas[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], a special combining music and humor, with a look at life beneath the seas and the spectacular new Living Seas Pavilion at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center.[/FONT]​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1993:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]M[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]ickey's Toontown [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]opens[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] at Disneyland in California. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Among the new attractions is Gadget's
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Go Coaster, Goofy's Bounce House and Jolly Trolley. Festivities for Toontown will
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]continue over the next 3 days.
​

[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]

​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he 50th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1992 are
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]presented. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Disney's [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Aladdin [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]wins Best Original Score (by Alan Menken) and Best Original Song - "A
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Whole New World" (performed by Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle and written by Menken & Tim Rice). Although
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]nominated for Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical, [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Aladdin[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] is edged out by [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Player[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]. Robin Williams is
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]given a Special Award for his vocal contribution to [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Aladdin[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] as the Genie.
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]2000:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]R[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]obert A. Iger (former chairman of the Disney-owned ABC Group and president of Walt Disney International) is named president and chief operating officer of The Walt Disney Co. as well as a member of its board of directors.
​

[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]

​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]S[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]oapNet - a cable station launched by Disney/ABC - hits the air.
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]2006:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]R[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]obert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, announces that Disney has agreed to acquire computer animation leader Pixar in an all-stock transaction (totaled to be worth approximately $7.4 billion), expected to be completed by this summer.
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]2007:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]t is reported that Walt Disney World’s "Strive for Five" energy reduction program has won the second-annual Florida Energy Achievement Award. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The award is presented by the University of Central Florida’s Florida Solar Energy Center to a company, organization or individual that has made a significant achievement in the efficient use of energy, energy conservation, energy education or renewable energy in Florida.
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he official grand openings for [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Finding Nemo - The Musical[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] at Animal Kingdom and [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Seas with Nemo and Friends[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] at Epcot take place. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Finding Nemo - The Musical[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] is a forty-minute show (performed five times daily) at the Theater in the Wild at DAK. The Seas with Nemo & Friends (previously The Living Seas) is a Pavilion and a ride themed as an underwater exploration base, with several exhibits devoted to oceanic study. The pavilion features The Sea Base and Caribbean Coral Reef Aquarium, The Seas with Nemo & Friends ride, The Turtle Talk with Crush show, Coral Reef Restaurant, special programs, and an ocean-themed gift shop. (Both [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Finding Nemo - The Musical[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] and The Seas with Nemo and Friends have been in previews since Autumn 2006.)
[/FONT]​

​

[/FONT]

​

[/FONT][/FONT]

 

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1/25

1905:
​

Author Margery Sharp is born in Wiltshire, England. She will write 26 novels for adults, 14
​

stories for children, 4 plays, 2 mysteries, and numerous short stories. Sharp's most famous work The
​

Rescuers (a series about a mouse) will be adapted into 2 Disney animated films - The Rescuers and The
​

Rescuers Down Under[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].

1931:

Actor Dean Jones, best known for his light-hearted leading roles in several Walt Disney movies between 1965 and 1977, is born in Morgan City, Alabama. It was his role in the 1963 Under the Yum Yum Tree[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] that brought Jones to the attention of Disney. In 1975 and 1987 he narrated the Christmas Candlelight Processional at Walt Disney World.[/FONT]
1961:

Disney's 17th animated feature film 101 Dalmatians - featuring the voice of Rod Taylor - premieres. It is the first Disney feature to solely use the Xerox process for transferring the animators' drawings to cels. Prior to this, each one of the animators' drawings had to be hand-traced in ink onto a cel. The new process has sped up production greatly. It is directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, Hamilton Luske, and Clyde Geronimi. (The film will be generally released the[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]following month.)

1990:
​

Coca-Cola and Disney sign a 15-year marketing agreement in which Coca-Cola products will be used exclusively in all theme parks, and Coca-Cola will use certain Disney characters in its advertising. In 2002 Coca-Cola will expand its multi-year agreement with Disney to feature Dasani bottled water at Disney's U.S. parks, resorts and cruise line. (Although Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola were originally served at Walt Disney World and Disneyland, Coca-Cola's relationship with Disney goes back to 1950 and the first Disney television show, One Hour in Wonderland[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], which Coke sponsored. In 1955, Coke became a participant with the Refreshment Corner on Disneyland's Main Street, USA.)

1999:

M[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]cDonald's opens a themed restaurant in the Disney Village area at Disneyland Paris.[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]
2000:
​

Disney names Robert Iger President and Chief Operating Officer, making him
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]the company's number two executive under Chairman and CEO Michael Eisner.

2002:

The Orlando Sentinel[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] reports that Disney World plans to demolish about one-fourth of its troubled Disney Institute and build 192 new time-share units there.

2007:
​

J[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]im and Lisa Fouch and their children, Brad and Hannah from Michigan make history as the first Walt Disney World guests to win a night's stay inside Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom Park. [/FONT]​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]

2011:

Nominations for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards are announced at the Samuel
​

Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California. Toy Story 3 receives nominations for Best Picture,
​

Best Animated Feature Film, Adapted Screenplay, Original Song, and Sound Editing. Toy Story 3 is now the third
​

animated film in history to be nominated for the top Oscar prize, following Beauty and the Beast in 1991 and Up
​

in 2010. It is also the eighth Pixar film to be nominated for Best Animated Feature since the award was first
​

created in 2001. The Pixar short Day and Night also receives a nomination in the Animated Short Film category.
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The 83rd Annual Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday, February 27 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.
​

[/FONT]

​

[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]

 

[trr1]

1/27

1969:
​

Comedian, actor and writer Patton Oswalt - the voice of Rémy in Disney/Pixar's 2007 Ratatouille - is born in Portsmouth, Virginia.
​

He also supplies the voice of Professor Dementor for Disney Channel's Kim Possible.
​

(TV fans know Oswalt best as Spence Olchin on The King of Queens[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].)

1989:

The Touchstone Pictures comedy feature Three Fugitives is released. Nick Nolte plays Lucas, a recently released state prisoner, who innocently gets mixed up with Ned Perry, played by Martin Short, an incompetent novice bank robber and single father to a little girl.
1991:

Super Bowl XXV is played at Tampa Stadium in Florida. The halftime show is a
​

Disney production called "Walt Disney World Small World Tribute to 25 Years
​

of the Super Bowl." It features New Kids on the Block, Disney characters, former American and Canadian
​

football quarterback Warren Moon, and 2,000 local children. The New York Giants beat the Buffalo Bills, 20-19.
​

(Unlike previous years, the halftime presentation for Super Bowl XXV is not shown live. It is pre-empted by ABC
​

News in favor of coverage of the ongoing Operation Desert Storm. The halftime show is instead presented in an
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]edited format during the post-game show at the conclusion of the game.)[/FONT]​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]

1994:

The very first Marc Davis Lecture takes place in the Samuel Goldwyn Theater at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with Davis himself, one of Disney's "Nine Old Men," as the inaugural participant in this lecture named in his honor. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Marc Davis Lecture has been established to provide a forum for film animators and other experts to share their experiences as well as to explore with colleagues the challenges of creating animation.
[/FONT]
1996:

The Walt Disney World Resort hosts the inaugural Indy 200 race in the new, state-of-the-art Walt Disney World Speedway. The race is put together by the Resort's new sports department and the Indy Racing League. Driver Buzz Calkins wins the event in 1:33:30.748.



Toy Story Funhouse opens in Tomorrowland at Disneyland (next door to Captain EO). Originally part of the successful Totally Toy Story (Toy Story's debut) at the El Capitan theatre in 1995, the Funhouse has been moved to Disneyland for the next few months. Guests can play with giant Lite-Brite and Spirograph walls, learn the Two-Step at Woody's Roundup, take a photo with Woody and Buzz Lightyear, experience an obstacle course of fake lakes, bushes, and bridges in the Green Army Men room, and play Disney’s new Toy Story video game. The Funhouse also includes the live stage presentation Hamm's All-Doll Revue[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].
[/FONT]
2004:
​

The Broadway musical Beauty and the Beast plays performance number 4,000.
​

​

Disney releases the DVD Alice in Wonderland (Masterpiece Edtion).
​

​

Walt Disney Records releases Disneymania 2 a CD of Disney songs performed
​

by such artists as Raven, Jump 5, Jesse McCartney, and Hilary Duff.
​

​

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announce the nominees for
​

the 76th Annual Academy Awards. Disney's Brother Bear, Finding Nemo and Destino all
​

receive nominations as does actor Johnny Depp for his role in Disney's live-action Pirates of the Caribbean.
​

​

Roy Disney and Stanley Gold make public their decision to "vote no" on
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]the re-election of 4 key Disney directors (including CEO Michael Eisner).
​

[/FONT]

​

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[trr1]

1/28

1932:

The Mickey Mouse short The Duck Hunt, directed by Bert Gillett, is released. Mickey and Pluto find that duck hunting is not what it's quacked up to be!
1942:

A press release from the federal government announces that Walt Disney has presented to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Claude R. Wickard an emblem designed for use on labels and markings of containers to identify anywhere in the world the food they hold. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Lend Lease insignia - created by Disney artist Hank Porter in December 1941 - features the United States Eagle (suggested by Roy Disney) protecting a cargo ship from an Axis bomber. Also included are four stars symbolizing the four freedoms pledged in the Atlantic Charter - freedom of speech and expression, freedom of every person to worship God in his own way, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.

1965:

Disney's live-action feature film Those Calloways, starring Norman Tokar, Brian Keith, Vera Miles, and Ed Wynn is generally released. The film tells the story of Cam Calloway

(played by Brian Keith) and his family, who live in a densely wooded area in New England. He dreams of building

a sanctuary for the geese that fly over the area each year, and tries several schemes to buy a nearby lake for

his feathered friends. Also released is the live-action short A Country Coyote Goes Hollywood. Narrated by Rex

Allen, it features a coyote who is chased into the back of a moving van and later accidentally left in the Hollywood

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]hills ... where he learns the ins and outs of being an urban coyote.

1980:

T[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he Industrial Bank of Japan announces it and nearly 30 other Japanese banks have agreed to lend money to the Oriental Land Company to build a $300-million Disney theme park in Tokyo.

1982:
​

Wally Boag (the original Pecos Bill) gives his 39,522 and last performance at the
​

Golden Horseshoe Revue at Disneyland. He has done the show almost continuously since its opening in 1955, thus putting him in the Guiness Book of Records for the most number of performances of a
​

show! A party for Boag with friends, family and celebrities takes place after the show, where he is presented
​

with gifts and honors including his very own window on Main Street.

1988:

Groundbreaking for the Dolphin Hotel and Swan Hotel complex begins in Disney

World. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Michael Graves of Princeton, New Jersey is the master architect behind these unique structures.

1996:

D[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]allas Cowboys quarterback Emmitt Smith declares "I'm going to Disneyland!" following his team's 27-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Super Bowl XXX (played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona).

1999:

C[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]irque du Soleil, the Montreal-based touring circus that combines acrobatics, theatrics, special effects and original music, officially opens its third permanent U.S. facility at Downtown Disney West End in Florida.

2009:
​

At Epcot, the Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure debuts. A treasure hunt with
​

high-tech spy gadgetry, the interactive game is based on the Disney animated TV series
​

Kim Possible. Using a hand-held “Kimmunicator” device, Epcot visitors receive clues and
​

trigger hidden surprises on a series of missions in seven World Showcase pavilions: Mexico,
​

Norway, China, Germany, Japan, France and the United Kingdom.
​

​

An 80-foot-tall hot air balloon, shaped like Epcot’s Spaceship Earth, floats
​

above the Magic Kingdom, carrying the Birkett family, of Scottsdale, Arizona. The
​

special flight was one of the dreams awarded as part of Disney Parks’ 2008 “Disney Dreams Giveaway”
​

(which ended December 31). Last September 17, Christian Birkett was chosen at random as the dream
​

recipient while riding The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh at Disneyland Park in California. In addition to
​

the tethered balloon flight, Birkett’s dream includes this VIP vacation to Walt Disney World!
​

​

At Disneyland the five Disneyland Railroad trains that circle a one-mile perimeter of
​

the park begin running on cleaner burning biodiesel ... made with recycled
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]discarded cooking oil (originating from the resort’s restaurants and hotels).[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]

2010:

Walt Disney World's 220-acre sports complex is rebranded when an ESPN logo is

lowered into place on the complex's entrance sign. Officially relaunching February 25 as "ESPN

Wide World of Sports Complex," the updated venue will also feature more than 40 high-definition and robotic video

cameras, plus 10 handheld cameras, and 40 high-definition video screens, including two Jumbotrons.
​

​

[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]​

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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1843:
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]W[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]illiam McKinley, the twenty-fifth United States President, is born
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]in Niles, Ohio. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The last veteran of the American Civil War to be elected to office, he
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]was also the last President to serve in the 19th century and the first to serve in the 20th.
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Visit McKinley and all the U.S. Chief Executives at Disney World's The Hall of Presidents.[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1915:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]uthor, storyman, illustrator and [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Disney Legend
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Bill Peet is born in Grandview, Indiana. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]First
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]joining Disney in 1937, he worked on such classics as
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]101 Dalmatians, The Sword in the Stone[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Fantasia[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Peter Pan[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif],
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Pinocchio[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Dumbo[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], and [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Jungle Book. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]While still working for Disney Studios, [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Peet[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] drew pictures for
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]stories in his spare time. By the time he left Disney in 1964 he already had five of his own books
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]published, including [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Hubert's Hair-Raising Adventure.[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1920[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]W[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]alt Disney and Ub Iwerks spot an ad in the [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Kansas City Star [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]calling for artists at the Kansas City Slide Company. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]At this time the Iwerks-Disney Art Studio is doing okay, but the notion of getting a foot in the door at a place like the Kansas City Slide Company (later called the Kansas City Film Ad Co.) is intriguing. Walt applies on a whim and, to his surprise, is hired - at $40 a month. Disney will work there for more than 2 years helping to produce slides & one-minute films shown as advertisements in movie theaters, while Iwerks continues to run their art studio. (Eventually the Iwerks-Disney Studio will fail and Iwerks will too get a job at the KC Film Ad. It is their that the two young artists decide their future is in making movies.)

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1941[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]:
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]D[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]isney's 3rd feature film [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Fantasia[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] has its Hollywood premiere. (The film debuted in New York City in November 1940.) The audience at the Carthay Circle are even more enthusiastic than the one in New York![/FONT]​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1959[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] D[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]isney's animated feature film [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Sleeping Beauty[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] premieres at the Fox
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Wilshire Theater in Los Angeles. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Much of the musical score is based on Pyotr Ilyich
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Tchaikovsky's ballet "Sleeping Beauty." (It will be nominated for an Oscar for Best Music/Scoring of a
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Musical Picture.) The voice cast includes Mary Costa (as Princess Aurora), Eleanor Audley
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif](as Maleficent), Barbara Jo Allen (as Fauna), Verna Felton (as Flora) and in his last role - Taylor Holmes
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif](as Stefan). Also released is the live-action short film [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Grand Canyon.[/FONT]​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1961[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]M[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]ailman Herbert A. Disney (eldest brother of Walt Disney) passes away.
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1977:
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]lthough nominated for a Golden Globe, the song "I'd Like to Be You for a Day" (written by Joel Hirschhorn & Al Kasha from Disney's [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Freaky Friday[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]) is beat out for Best Original Song - Motion Picture by "Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)" (written by Barbra Streisand & Paul Williams).[/FONT]​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1987:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]S[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]now White and the Seven Dwarfs parade onto the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, in celebration of Disney's highest-ever first quarter revenues.
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1995:
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]S[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]uper Bowl XXIX is played at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]halftime show is a Disney production called "Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye."
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]It features Indiana Jones & Marion, Patti LaBelle, Tony Bennett, Arturo Sandoval, and Miami Sound
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Machine. Jerry Rice and Steve Young of the San Fancisco 49ers shout "We're going to Disney World!" after their team defeats the San Diego Chargers, 49–26[/FONT]
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]2010:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]t Epcot, the redesigned IBM exhibit "Smarter Planet" opens.
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Located in the Innoventions pavilion, it offers park guests a peek at an energy efficient IBM data center.
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]D[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]isney's Touchstone Pictures releases the romantic comedy [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]When in Rome[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] (in association with Krasnoff Foster Productions), starring Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel[/FONT]
​

[/FONT][/FONT]

 

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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1882:
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]F[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]ranklin D. Roosevelt, the thirty-second United States President, is born in
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Hyde Park, New York. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Elected to four terms in office, he served from 1933 to 1945, becoming the only
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]U.S. president to serve more than two terms of office. During World War II, Roosevelt saw Disney's
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]film [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Victory Through Air Power[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]- based on the book by [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Alexander P. de Seversky[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] which detailed how
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]air power was the Allies' only hope in beating the Axis powers. Roosevelt agreed with Seversky's idea,
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]later influencing the planning of [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]D-Day[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] and impacting the war's end. Visit FDR and all the U.S. Chief
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Executives at Disney World's The Hall of Presidents.[/FONT]​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1884:
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]V[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]audeville comic Eddie Collins - the performance model for Dopey in Disney's 1937 [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] - is born in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1951:
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]S[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]inger-songwriter-drummer & Disney [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Legend[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] Phil Collins is born in
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]London, England. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]He's composed music for such Disney features as [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Brother Bear
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] and [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Tarzan[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] (for both screen & stage). Collins' single "You'll Be in My Heart", from the
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]animated [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Tarzan[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], spent 19 weeks at #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart and won
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]an Oscar. He is also the voice of Lucky in the 2003 [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Jungle Book 2[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]. (Music fans know
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]him best for his successful solo work and as a member of the Grammy Award-winning
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Progressive Rock band [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Genesis[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].)

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1988:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]W[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]alt D[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]isney World's EPCOT debuts IllumiNations. The nightly show includes special-effects projectors, theme music, and fireworks.
[/FONT]
[FONT='Trebuchet MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"Good evening and welcome to World Showcase. Tonight we are pleased to present a visual journey, an international fantasy of music and light. We're about to embark on a sparkling, abstract expedition around World Showcase. With the music as your passport, we'll discover sights and sounds from colorful ports of call. And to celebrate our journey, the countries will be united by the festive elements of water, fire, and light. And now, let your imagination be your guide as EPCOT Center proudly presents IllumiNations!"[/FONT][FONT='Trebuchet MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Using most of the arrangements from the previous "A New World Fantasy" and "Laserphonic Fantasy" shows, IllumiNations is a precursor to IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth.

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]2000:
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he halftime show at Super Bowl XXXIV in Atlanta, features Disney's "Tapestry
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]of Nations." [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The 20-minute performance at the Georgia Dome includes Christina Aguilera and Enrique
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Iglesias singing "Celebrate the Future Hand in Hand." Phil Collins entertains the Atlanta crowds with his
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]"Two Worlds" from Disney's [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Tarzan[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]. Later, St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner exclaims "I'm going to
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Disney World" after his team defeats the Tennessee Titans, 23-16.

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]2007:
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]D[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]isney's Racquet Club, located on the Contemporary Resort's North
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Wing, is demolished to make room for a new Disney World project. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif](The
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]project will be unveiled in September 2008 as Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort.)
​

[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]​

[/FONT]

 

[prberk]

Thanks for these updates. They are fascinating. How do you keep up with them? Do you keep a file by date, and just keep adding to it as you find them?

Paul

 

[trr1]

1/31

Actress Suzanne Pleshette, the voice of Zira in Disney's 1998

The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, is born in New York City. She

also appeared in the live-action Disney comedies The gy D.A., The Ugly Dachshund, Blackbeard's

Ghost, and The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin. (Pleshette is known to fans of the 1970s sitcom The Bob

Newhart Show [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]as Emily Hartley.)

1956:
​

A.A. Milne, English author and creator of Winnie-the-Pooh, passes
​

away at age 74 in Hartfield, Sussex, England after a long illness. In
​

1952 Milne had underwent an operation of the brain, which unfortunately left him an invalid.
1971:

Actress Minnie Driver, the voice of Jane Porter in Disney's Tarzan[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], is born in London, England.

1986:
​

The comedy feature film Down and Out in Beverly Hills is released. The 5th movie by
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Disney's Touchstone Pictures, it stars Nick Nolte, Bette Midler and Richard Dreyfuss.

1987:
​

I[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]t is reported that Delta Air Lines will spend about $18 million over the next 10 years for a promotional tie-in with Disney World, replacing its rival, Eastern Airlines, as the official airline of the Florida resort.

1994:
​

E[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]pcot's CommuniCore East and West close.

1998:
​

Walt D[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]isney World's Cinderella Castle (decorated like a cake for the park's 25th anniversary celebration) is returned to its traditional look.

2004:

A[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]n auction called "75 Years of Fun with Mickey Mouse" takes place at the Grand Californian Hotel in the Disneyland Resort.

2005:
​

Dream on, Silly Dreamer, a documentary on the demise of traditional animation
​

at Disney, premieres at the Animex International Festival of Animation (in
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Middlesbrough, England).

2007:

Demolition continues on the actual North Wing of Disney World's Contemporary

Resort. A new project is planned for the area. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif](The project will be unveiled in September 2008 as Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort.)

2008:
​

Beginning this day - and continuing nearly every night throughout 2008 - a Year of a Million Dreams winner will be chosen randomly to spend a night inside Disneyland Park! Guests awarded will stay inside an in-park 2,600-square-foot lavish apartment known as Dream Suite, originally an apartment conceived by Walt Disney himself (and the former location of the Disney Gallery).
​

​

On what would have been her 71st birthday, actress Suzanne Pleshette
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]receives the 2,355th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
​

[/FONT][/FONT]​

[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]

 

[trr1]

2/1

1925:

Disney's Alice Comedy Alice Gets Stung is released. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The last time actress Virginia Davis will portray Alice, Julius goes rabbit hunting while Alice goes bear hunting.
​

1942:

Writer, actor, and director Terry Jones is born in Colwyn Bay, Wales, UK. A member of Monty Python's Flying Circus, Jones portrayed Mr. Toad in the 1996 live-action The Wind in the Willows (later titled Mr. Toad's Wild Ride[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]).
​

[/FONT]

1954:
​

Actor/musician Bill Mumy is born Charles William Mumy, Jr. in San Gabriel, California. He appeared in episodes of the Disneyland TV series and in Disney's 1969 movie Rascal, wrote music for Disney's Adventures in Wonderland, and even did voice-over work for the animated Buzz Lightyear: Star Command. Between 1961-1963 Mummy appeared on 3 different episodes of The Twilight Zone. (TV fans know him best for his role as young Will Robinson on the classic 1960s series Lost in Space[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].)

1956:

The Disneyland television series

"A Day in the Life of Donald Duck," featuring Walt Disney, the Mouseketeers and Clarence Nash (the voice of Donald).



Better Homes & Gardens runs an article about the new Disneyland park titled "Land That Does Away With Time."



A[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]t Disneyland the Mule Pack Ride in Frontierland (an opening day attraction) closes the same day the Stage Coach attraction ceases operation.

1966:
​

Hollywood fixture & gossip columnist Hedda Hopper passes away. In 1938 Hopper began writing a newspaper column, "Hedda Hopper's Hollywood," for the Los Angeles Times. A year later she spun the column off into a 15-minute radio program. A Disney fan, she had a framed vintage Mickey Mouse print that was signed "To Hedda From Walt," hanging in her office. In 1952 Walt actually wrote Hedda a humorous letter inviting her to stop by for a ride on his Carolwood Pacific Railroad! Walt even appeared on her January 1960 TV special, Hedda Hopper's Hollywood[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]. (One of the many Hollywood characters who stroll about the Disney-MGM Studios/Disney's Hollywood Studios interacting with guests, is very reminiscent of Miss Hopper!)

1973:
​

Disney's live-action comedy film The World's Greatest Athlete, starring Tim
​

Conway, Jan-Michael Vincent, and John Amos, is released in theaters. A down on his
​

luck coach travels to Africa where he spots the world's greatest athlete and brings him back to the U.S. to
​

compete. Much of the film was shot on the campus of the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California.
​

It will be the 10th-top grossing film released in 1973, just ahead of American Graffiti!
1989:

Hollywood Pictures (part of the Disney family) is created in order to help cope with the heavy load of movies that Touchstone Pictures is dealing with.

(Arachnophobia[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] will be Hollywood Pictures' first release - in 1990.)

1991:
​

Drummer, sound effects genius, and the second voice of Mickey Mouse, James
​

Macdonald passes away at age 84 in Glendale, California. The original head of Disney's
​

sound effects department, he first voiced Mickey back in 1947. For over 50 years Macdonald created sound
​

effects that have become an integral part of Disney films and theme parks. Recently, Macdonald had been
​

scheduled to contribute sounds to the Splash Mountain attraction at Disney parks in Tokyo and Florida.
​

​

Disney's Hollywood Pictures releases the thriller Run[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] starring Patrick Dempsey and Kelly Preston. It is Hollywood Pictures' third feature.

1998:

T[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he "25" is removed from Epcot's IllumiNations 25 (as Disney World's 25th anniversary celebration has ended) the same day IllUminations 98 debuts.

2001:

It is reported that Disney executives are giving serious thought to letting LEGO (the Danish toy manufacturer) build its next stateside park on Disney World soil.[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] (LEGOLAND California, the first park created in the U.S. by LEGO, includes rides, hands-on building challenges, interactive attractions, wild coasters, and shopping opportunities.)

2008:

Directors at the Walt Disney Company sign the chief executive, Robert A. Iger, to a new five-year contract. The agreement, which extends through Jan. 31, 2013, shows their confidence in Iger's ability to navigate a turbulent economy and sweeping changes in the media business.



Disney Channel premieres the 3rd Phineas and Ferb [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]episode "Flop Starz."

2011:

Walt Disney’s 1951 classic Alice in Wonderland[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] is released to hi-def Blu-ray as a new 2-disc 60th Anniversary Edition.
[/FONT]​

[/FONT]​

[/FONT]​

[/FONT]​

​

[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]​

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1922:

Twenty-year-old Walt Disney begins work at his own cartoon company called Laugh-O-Gram Films in Kansas City, Missouri. He will produce one-reel animated versions of 6 fairy tales, each lasting just one minute. Walt had felt that Kansas City theaters - which featured cartoons made by studios on the east coast - might be willing to buy some from a local company. He created a few and brought them to the Newman Theater. In order to clinch the deal, Walt calls them ... "Newman's Laugh-O-Grams." He will incorporate Laugh-O-gram Films in May of 1922[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] with $15,000 from backers. (These cartoons will be regarded as Walt's first professional effort in the field of animation.)

1928:
​

Distributor Charles Mintz signs a new three-year agreement with Universal Pictures to provide Oswald[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] cartoons (which are being created by the Disney Studios).

1967:
​

Roy Disney outlines his late brother's plan to build a theme park and the
​

world's first futuristic metropolis, or EPCOT, when Disney Productions announces it will build the world's first glass-domed city in central Florida.
​

The movie presentation, narrated by Walt Disney, who past December 15, 1966, is termed by officials as "Walt's last film." Project Florida A Whole New Disney World[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] premieres at the Park East Theater in Winter Park, Florida at 2:00 PM, where it is screened for business and government figures. The 25-minute film shows a 50-acre, air conditioned "city of tomorrow" centered in a 1,000-acre industrial park between Orlando and Kissimmee.

1986:

Disney returns to Sunday night TV, with Michael Eisner hosting the first Disney Sunday Movie, "Help Wanted: Kids," starring Cindy Williams and Bill Hudson. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif](The comedy will rank 41 out of the week's 68 network programs.)

1989:

Shooting begins on Touchstone Pictures' ________ Tracy. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Based on the comic strip character created by Chester Gould, this live-action feature stars Warren Beatty (who is also directing) and Madonna. (Touchstone Pictures is a film division of The Walt Disney Company.)[/FONT]​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]

1994:

Disney announces it will operate and restore the

New Amsterdam Theater on 42nd Street in New York City
2006:

Disney announces that the Disneyland and Disney World Pirates of the Caribbean attractions will be undergoing a 3-4 month makeover to work in character and plot elements from the movie series

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]that took its inspiration from the original attraction.

2008:
​

Disney Channel airs the 4th Phineas and Ferb episode -
​

"The Fast and the Phineas."
​

​

Rock 'n' Roll Beach Club, a rock-themed dance club located in Disney World's Pleasure Island closes. Opened since April 1990, the popular club featured live bands. Rock 'n' Roll Beach Club and all of the other Pleasure Island nightclubs will eventually be replaced with restaurants.
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif](The beach club originally opened in 1989 as the XZFR Rockin’ Rollerdrome which included a roller rink inside the club. The rink was deemed too dangerous and was removed in favor of a beach theme.)

2010:
​

The 82nd Annual Academy Award nominations are announced.
​

Disney/Pixar's Up is nominated for Best Motion Picture, Sound Editing, Original Screenplay, Best Animated
​

Film, and Original Score. Disney's The Princess and the Frog is also nominated for Best Animated Film plus
​

twice in the Original Song category with "Almost There" and "Down in New Orleans" both written by
​

Randy Newman. Winners will be announced March 7.
​

​

A Baby White-Cheeked Gibbon is born at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The fourth
​

gibbon born at DAK (as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan); the yet-to-be
​

named male won't be presented to the public until later in the month​

[/FONT][/FONT]​

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1918:
​

Animator Don Griffith is born in Butte, Montana (though his family moved to Hollywood after the passing of his father). His career began at the age of 19 as an inker at Disney Studios on Hyperion Street in Los Angeles. Griffith's 52 years at Disney includes teaching at Cal Arts and working as a layout, background and art director on on such features as Peter Pan, Mary Poppins,
​

The Jungle Book and The Black Cauldron[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].[/FONT]​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]

1930:

Roy Disney signs a deal with M. George Borgfeldt Co. of New York to sell figurines of Mickey and Minnie Mouse. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif](Many consider this the beginning of Disney merchandising.)
[/FONT]
1945:
​

Disney's 7th (animated and live-action) feature film The Three Caballeros
​

is released in the U.S. Produced as part of the studio's good will message for South
​

America, the film stars Donald Duck, who in the course of the film is joined by old friend José Carioca, the cigar-smoking parrot from Saludos Amigos[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] (1943) representing Brazil, and later pistol-packing rooster Panchito Pistoles, representing Mexico. It will earn 2 Academy Award nominations. (Though after a brief initial run, Walt will pull the film from general release, due to bad press reviews.)
​

[/FONT]

1956:
​

Tony Award-winning actor of stage and screen Nathan Lane is born

Joseph Lane in Jersey City, New Jersey. He is the voice of Timon in Disney's

1994 The Lion King (and countless spin-offs) and the voices of both Spot & Scott in Disney's

2004 feature Teacher's Pet. He received three nominations and won two Daytime Emmy Awards for Timon and Pumbaa and TV's Teacher's Pet. Lane is also the voice of Tom Morrow, the Audio-Animatronic host of Epcot's Innoventions. (You may know him as Albert in The Birdcage, Max Bialystock in the musical The Producers, and Ernie Smuntz in MouseHunt[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].)[/FONT]​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]

1967:
The article "Disneyworld Amusement Center with Domed City Set for Florida"
appears in the New York Times the day after Walt Disney Productions announces
plans to build the world's first glass-domed city​

[/FONT]

1986:

Pixar ceases being part of the Lucasfilm empire and becomes an independent company. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]At this time, the new enterprise, owned mostly by Steve Jobs, is in the advanced computer hardware business. Pixar was founded as the Graphics Group, one third of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm that was launched in 1979 with the hiring of Dr. Ed Catmull. (It will be nearly a decade until Pixar Inc. becomes Pixar Animation Studios, known for producing some of the greatest animated films ever.)
[/FONT]
1989:
​

Disney issues new $1 and $5 Disney Dollars at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
​

The $1 bill depicts Mickey Mouse on one side, and Sleeping Beauty Castle on the
​

other. The $5 bill features Goofy on one side, and EPCOT Center's Spaceship
​

Earth & the Empress Lilly Riverboat on the other

2001:
​

The animated series Disney's House of Mouse airs the 3rd episode
​

"The Three Caballeros." When no one remembers Donald Duck is the third member of the Three Caballeros, he sets out to redefine himself as the big star of the group... much to the chagrin of Mickey and everyone else!
​

​

A smoking electrical panel triggers a fire alarm at Disneyland, prompting an evacuation of the new California Adventures attraction. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Employees evacuate a movie theater and simulation ride when smoke coming from a ventilation system clouds an IMAX giant screen. Moviegoers experiencing the "Soarin' over California" hang-gliding film are ushered out. Firefighters are called but thankfully no one is hurt.

2005:

It is announced that Rotten Tomatoes, the online source for gauging the critical reaction for movies, has given The Incredibles its Golden Tomato Award for 2004 in the Wide Release category. (The Golden Tomato Award is handed out annually by Rotten Tomatoes in recognition of the year's best-reviewed films.)



Playboy founder Hugh Hefner and his entourage visit Walt Disney World.



It is reported that DisneyHand, worldwide outreach for The Walt Disney Company, WLS-Channel 7, WLS-AM (890), WZZN-FM (94.7), WMVP-AM (1000) and WRDZ-AM (1300), have committed $500,000 in cash and public service air time to the Museum of Broadcast Communications. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The donation will support the development of the new Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago.

2010:
​

Volume II issue I of D23's magazine Disney twenty-three
​

premieres. The Spring 2010 issue features a celebration of the Disney
​

Studio Lot on its 70th anniversary​

[/FONT]​

[/FONT][/FONT]

 

[trr1]

2/4

1918:

Voice actress Janet Waldo - one of the voices of the grandmother in Disney's Carousel of Progress - is born in Grandview, Washington.

(Cartoon fans know her as the voice of Judy Jetson and Josie from Josie and the Pussycats[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].)

1938:
​

Disney's Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs is generally released to U.S. theaters. The film had its premiere last
​

December 21, 1937[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] in California.
​

1947:
​

Disney consultant Tim Onosko is born in Kenosha, Wisconsin. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Known as the go-to guy for the future, Onosko accurately forecasted how technology altered the entertainment landscape. He helped define Epcot by steering the theme park's designers toward cutting-edge gadgets. Before joining Walt Disney Imagineering as a consultant in 1987, Onosko was a journalist who covered technology and pop culture. Later in life he became a filmmaker.

1958:
​

The article "DISNEY'S LAND: dream, diversify - and never miss an angle" runs in this day's edition of The Wall Street Journal. The article describes in great detail how the various divisions of Walt Disney Productions work
1966:

Disney's animated short Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree
​

is released along with the live-action feature The Ugly Dachshund. Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree is Disney's first animated treatment of the famous children's books written by A.A. Milne. Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, it features the voices of Sterling Holloway (as Pooh), Wolfgang's son Bruce Reitherman (as Christopher Robin), and Sebastian Cabot (as the narrator).
​

The Ugly Dachshund, a comedy starring Dean Jones and Suzanne Pleshette, tells the story of a
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Great Dane who believes he's a dachshund.

1990:
​

The Disney television series airs the episode Disneyland's 35th Anniversary
​

Celebration. The special - presented in a series of sketches - features Tony Danza, Michael Eisner,
​

Charles Fleischer, Kelsey Grammar, Woody Harrelson, and Frank Oz.
1999:

Pixar Animation Studios announces that it has developed
​

a proprietary laser recording system called PIXARVISION for converting digital computer data into images on motion picture film stock with unprecedented quality. The new system was successfully tested on the 1998 animated hit, A Bug's Life, and will be used to produce Pixar's future animated features including Toy Story 2.
2005:

A racecar sponsored by Disney & Pixar and driven by film legend Paul Newman takes part in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, a motorsport event. Newman is the voice of a 1951 Hudson Hornet in Cars, a Disney/Pixar animated film to be released in 2006.
​

​

It is announced that the Walt Disney Company will open a third Disney hotel within Tokyo Disney Resort in 2008. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The nine-story high hotel will have about 700 guestrooms and will be larger than either of the park's other two hotels.
​

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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1907:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]N[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]ovelist, scriptwriter and historian Samuel W. Taylor is born in Provo, Utah. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]His short story [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A Situation of Gravity [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]will be the inspiration for Disney's 1961 live-action [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Absent-Minded Professor[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] and later [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Son of Flubber[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1919:
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]C[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]omedian-actor Red Buttons, who appeared in Disney's 1977
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Pete's Dragon[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] as Hoagy, is born Aaron Chwatt in New York City.

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1934:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he U.S. Patent Office grants a patent to the [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Ingersoll-Waterbury Clock Company[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], of Connecticut, for the first Mickey Mouse watch.

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1936:
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he United Artists film [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Modern Times[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] starring Charlie Chaplin is
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]released. In a short sequence actress Paulette Goddard picks up a Mickey
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Mouse doll in a department store and holds it up in front of Chaplin!

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1937:
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] memo to Disney cartoonist Al Taliaferro from the animation story department reads, "Inasmuch as we have decided to actually put a story crew to work on "Donald's Nephews," we would like to recognize the source from which the original idea of these new characters sprang ... Thanks."
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Taliaferro has recently created Donald's nephews, Huey, Dewey & Louie for his comic strip. [/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1953:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] D[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]isney's 14th animated film, [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Peter Pan[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] (based on James M. Barrie's 1904
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]story) [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]opens[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] at the Roxy Theatre in New York City. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The film features the voices
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]of Bobby Driscoll (as the boy who won't grow up) and Kathryn Beaumont (as Wendy Darling). This will be the
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]final Disney animated feature released through RKO, as Walt Disney will establish his own distribution
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]company, Buena Vista Distribution, by the end of 1953.
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Released along with [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Peter Pan[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] is [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A True-Life Adventure: Bear Country[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], directed by James Algar and
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]narrated by Winston Hibler. The live-action short follows the life of black bears from one winter to another[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1964:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he live-action Disney feature [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Misadventures of Merlin Jones[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] - starring Tommy Kirk, Annette Funicello, and Leon Ames - premieres in St. Louis, Missouri.[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1976:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he Disney live-action comedy [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]No Deposit, No Return [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif](starring David Niven, Darren McGavin and Don Knotts) is released. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Two would-be safe-crackers help fake the kidnapping of two bored grandchildren of a millionaire (played by Kim Richards and Brad Savage).[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1982:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he Disney live-action film [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Night Crossing[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] starring John Hurt and Beau
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Bridges is released.[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] It is based on the true story of the Strelzyk and Wetzel families, who on
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]September 16, 1979 escaped from East Germany to West Germany in a homemade hot air balloon.

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1992:
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]D[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]isney's [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Beauty and the Beast[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] is nominated for six
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Academy Awards. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Among the nominations is one for Best
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Picture. It is the first time in the history of the Motion Picture Academy
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]that an animated feature is nominated in this category.
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Winners will be announced [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]March 30, 1992[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]2000:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]M[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]ickey Mouse Works[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] airs on ABC-TV with the shorts "Donald's Dynamite: Magic Act," "Survival of the Woodchucks," "Mickey's Rival Returns," and "Mickey and the Seagull."
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he Disney Channel Original Movie [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Color of Friendship[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], based on a true story about the friendship between two girls from different worlds who learn to overcome their differences, debuts. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif](It will earn an Emmy Award.)
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]J[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]ordan Nagai - the voice of Russell in the 2009 Pixar film [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Up -[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] is born in Los Angeles, California. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Director Peter Docter auditioned 400 boys in a nationwide casting call for the part. Nagai actually showed up to an audition with his brother, who was really the one auditioning. However, Docter, who had passed on other potential voices that sounded too artificial, realized that 7-year-old Nagai behaved and spoke non-stop like Russell ... and chose him for the part!

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]2004:
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]magineer, artist and [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Disney Legend[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] John Hench passes away at the age of 95 in
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Burbank, California. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]An employee of the Walt Disney Company for more than 60 years, Hench began as a story artist in 1939. He made his way through the animation department doing everything including backgrounds,
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]layout and art direction, and even effects animation and special effects. Walt Disney respected Hench as one of the
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]studio's most gifted artists and teamed him with Salvador Dalí on the animated short [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Destino[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] (a project begun in
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1945 but completed and released in 2003). Hench won a special effects Oscar for his work in the 1955 film [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]20,000
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Leagues Under the Sea[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] before moving to WED Enterprises to spend the rest of his career helping to design Disney
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]theme parks all over the world. He was also the official corporate portrait artist for Mickey Mouse.

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]2007:
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]D[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]isney announces that they have started a new company called ImageMovers
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Digital with the producers of [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Polar Express[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] to make animated films based in part on the movements of actors. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Producer-director Robert Zemeckis, along with Jack Rapke and Steve Starkey, will make films that Disney will market and distribute.
​

[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]​

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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1859[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]:
[/FONT]​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]E[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]lias Disney (the future father of Walt Disney) is born to Kepple Disney II and Mary Richardson in Bluevale, Ontario, Canada. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]While still in his teens, Elias will move with his family to the United States and eventually settle in Ellis, Kansas. As an adult, he will find employment as a construction worker for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago - a likely source of inspiration for his son Walt many years later! As a a general contractor, he will open his first contracting office in 1895. Elias will be later honored with a Main Street window on Disney World's Magic Kingdom that reads:[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Elias Disney
[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Contractor
[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Est. 1895
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1911:
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he 40th U[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].S. President, Ronald Reagan is born in Tampico,
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Illinois.[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] Besides being immortalized in Walt Disney World's Hall of Presidents attraction, Reagan (at the
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]time an actor) took part in Disneyland's [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]opening day[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] television broadcast in July 1955. When Ronald
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Reagan became governor of California in 1966, one of the things he did was to promote, through
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]correspondence with the Postmaster General of the United States, the creation of a commemorative Walt
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Disney stamp. As president, Reagan visited the American Adventure at Epcot in March 1983 and again in
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]May 1985 for his second inauguration.

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1914[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]V[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]oice actor, singer and Disney Legend Thurl Ravenscroft is born in
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Norfolk, Nebraska. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]He is the voice behind many of Disney's animated characters such as
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Shere Kahn in [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Jungle Book[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], the Knight in [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Sword in the Stone[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], the Captain in [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]One
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Hundred and One Dalmatians[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] and Billy Bass in [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Aristocats[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]. As a member of the vocal group
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Mellomen, Ravenscroft's singing voice can be heard on countless Disney television shows,
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]films, records and theme park attractions (such as the Haunted Mansion and Country Bear Jamboree). He also
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]took part in Disneyland's [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]opening day[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] in 1955 as an announcer for many of the events. (You may recognize
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Ravenscroft's deep booming vocals on "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" from the TV special [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]How The
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Grinch Stole Christmas![/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] and as the voice of Kellogg's Tony the Tiger in more than 500 television commercials.)

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1943[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]:
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]D[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]isney's [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Saludos Amigos[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], a 42-minute film about [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Latin America is generally released in the U.S. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Made up of four animated segments tied together by live-action footage of the activities of Walt Disney and his artists on their trip to South America, the film features Donald Duck, Goofy, and José Carioca. Released through RKO, it will earn 3 Academy Award nominations.

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1956:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]ctor-musician Jon Walmsley is born in Lancashire, England. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]At age 12 he will supply the voice to Christopher Robin in Disney's [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]. (TV fans will recognize him from his role of Jason on the 1970s series [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Waltons[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].)

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1957:
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]ctress [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Kathy Najimy[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], who portrayed Dr. Feemis in Walt Disney World's (now retired) Alien Encounter attraction, is born in San Diego, California. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]She is the voice of Mary in Disney/Pixar's 2008 [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]WALL-E,[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] Thespis on a 1998 episode of TV's [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Hercules,[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] Aunt Taqqiq in the 2006 [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Brother Bear 2[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], and Minister of Summer in the 2008 [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Tinker Bell[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]. She's even appeared on episodes of Disney Channel's [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]That's So Raven[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] and [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Suite Life of Zack and Cody[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]. (TV fans will recognize Najimy from the series [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]NUMB3RS[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] and as the voice of Peggy Hill on the animated series[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] King of the Hill[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] - for which she received an Annie Award.)

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1962:
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]ctor, comedian and composer Roy Atwell, the voice of Doc in Disney's 1937
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]animated feature [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], passes away in New York City[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1975:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]D[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]isney's live-action comedy [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Strongest Man in the World[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] starring Kurt Russell is released. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]It is the third Disney film to feature Russell as Dexter Reilly, a brainy but charismatic and popular college science major who gets himself into crazy adventures. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Strongest Man in the World[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] features an all-star comedic cast including Joe Flynn (as Dean Higgins), Eve Arden (as Harriet), Cesar Romero (as AJ Arno), Phil Silvers (as Krinkle), and ________ Van Patten (as Harry).

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1985:
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]D[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]isney and Lucasfilm reach an agreement for Lucasfilm to develop new attractions for Disney's theme parks.[/FONT]​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1986[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]W[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]alt Disney Productions officially changes its name to The Walt Disney Company[/FONT]
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1936:
​

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces its nominations for
​

the best of 1935. Disney's Who Killed ________ Robin? and Three Orphan Kittens are both nominated for
​

an Oscar Award in the category Short Subjects, Cartoons. Winners will be announced March 5

1940:

Disney's animated feature film, Pinocchio (based on the 19th century book

by Carlo Collodi) premieres at the Central Theatre in New York City. A living puppet (voiced by Dickie Jones), with the help of a cricket named Jiminy (Cliff Edwards) as his conscience, must prove himself worthy to become a real boy. The film has been adapted by Aurelius Battaglia, William Cottrell, Otto Englander, Erdman Penner, Joseph Sabo, Ted Sears, and Webb Smith from Collodi's original story. Disney's second animated feature, it has cost a staggering $2.6 million to make. (Pinocchio[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] is felt by many film historians to be the most technically perfect of all the Disney animated features.)

1943:
​

Historian Eric Foner, considered the leading contemporary expert on the
​

post-Civil War Reconstruction period, is born in New York City. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]He revised the presentation of American history at the Hall of Presidents at Disney World's Magic Kingdom, and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln at Disneyland. Foner completely rewrote and changed the script of the Hall of Presidents in order to focus more on slavery and other ethical and civil related issues. He also rewrote Lincoln's speech, which was originally nearly identical to that which Lincoln gave in the original version of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.

1947:
​

Disney Legend Wayne Anthony Allwine, the third official voice of Mickey Mouse, is
​

born in Los Angeles, California. Active on stage and screen most of his life, he made his first television
​

appearance at age seven as one of the children interviewed by Art Linkletter on his House Party program! In 1966,
​

Allwine's career with the "House of Mouse" began when he took a job in the mail room at The Walt Disney Studios.
​

From there, he worked briefly in Wardrobe, then moved to Audio Post Production and began a 7-1/2 year stint
​

under resident sound effects expert Jimmy Macdonald. Allwine later assumed the role of Mickey from Macdonald
​

(who helped coach him). Beside Macdonald, the only other person to voice the famous mouse was Walt Disney
​

himself! Allwine's first appearance as Mickey was voicing the animated lead-ins for The New Mickey Mouse Club in
​

1977. But his first appearance as Mickey for a theatrical release was in the 1983 Mickey's Christmas Carol. (The
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]voice of Mickey until his passing in 2009, Allwine was married to Russi Taylor, the voice of Minnie Mouse.)

2001:
​

Die-hard Disney fans begin to line up at 5 p.m.
​

Wednesday, 15 hours before the 8 a.m.
​

Thursday opening of Disney's California Adventure. Disneyland officials discourage people from camping out, although bathrooms are available, and a limited amount of food and beverages are offered for sale.
​

Meanwhile, Disney officially dedicates their "Golden Dreams" attraction at Disney's California Adventure with a ceremony emceed by Disney President Robert A. Iger. Also in attendance are Whoopi Goldberg, the star of "Golden Dreams" and singer Rene Goldsberry who performs "Just One Dream" live with gospel groups from throughout Southern California.
​

D[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]isney officially also dedicates the ABC Soap Opera Bistro in a ceremony attended by the stars of ABC daytime. During the ceremony a representative of each Soap donates an item from their show to live permanently at the Bistro.

2008:
​

Walt Disney Parks & Resorts announces the creation of an "American Idol" attraction that will bring the television and pop culture phenomenon to life at Disney World's Hollywood Studios theme park. Currently slated to debut in late 2008, the attraction will allow Disney guest to experience the challenge of auditioning, the rush of performing on stage in competition, or the thrill of judging the performances in a live interactive "American Idol" setting.
​

[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]​