this day in disney history

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2/8

1886:
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Actor Charles Ruggles is born in Los Angeles, California. His Disney credits include The Parent
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Trap, Follow Me, Boys!, The Ugly Dachshund, and Son of Flubber. It was Ruggles who voiced Benjamin Franklin
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in Disney's animated short Ben and Me. (With a career spanning six decades, cartoon fans knew him best as the
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narrator of the "Aesop's Fables" segment of the animated The Bullwinkle Show[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].)

1952:
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The Disney 8-minute animated short Lambert, the Sheepish Lion, featuring the narration of Sterling Holloway, is released. Lambert, a lion that is mistakenly left with a flock of sheep by a stork, lives his life thinking he is a sheep - until he is forced to defend the flock from an attack by a wolf!
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif](The short will win an Oscar for Best Animation.)

1965:
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Julie Andrews receives a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Actress - Musical/Comedy for her role in Disney's Mary Poppins. ________ Van is nominated for Best Motion Picture Actor - Musical/Comedy (also for his role in Mary Poppins), but is edged out by Rex Harrison (for his role in My Fair Lady). Best Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy goes to My Fair Lady - beating out Mary Poppins. Although the Sherman Brothers are nominated for Best Original Score (for their contributions to Mary Poppins), the Golden Globe is given to Dimitri Tiomkin (for his work on The Fall of the Roman Empire[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]).

1968:
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Disney's live-action fantasy-comedy Blackbeard's Ghost - starring Peter
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Ustinov (as the ghost of Blackbeard the pirate), Dean Jones, Suzanne Pleshette,
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and Elsa Lanchester -is released. Based upon the novel of the same name written by Ben Stahl, the
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film tells the story of the famous pirate's ghost who returns to modern times. Blackbeard has been cursed by his
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last wife (a notorious witch) so that he will never die and the only way to "break" the curse is to do a good deed
1980:

Midnight Madness, a cult comedy film from Walt Disney Productions & starring David Naughton, is released. About a group of college students who participate in an all night puzzle solving race, it features Michael J. Fox in his very first film role. It is rated "PG" - only the second film from the Disney company to receive anything other than a "G" rating.
2001:

Disney's second Anaheim park (and 8th theme park in
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the world), Disney California Adventure officially opens along
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with its new Grand Californian hotel. DCA is the centerpiece of a $1.4-billion expansion of what will now be called the Disneyland Resort. The new park, which has its own distinct identity separate from the 45-year-old Magic Kingdom's, is divided into 3 main theme areas: Paradise Pier
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(a nostalgic California beachfront amusement section), Hollywood Pictures Backlot (a district inspired by Hollywood Boulevard and the movies), and the Golden State (a more sprawling area devoted to the people, natural beauty and industries of California).
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The Grand Californian, a Craftsman-style hotel, resembling a luxury lodge at a Western national park, has 751 rooms. The hotel sits at the edge of the new park and shares its theme celebrating the Golden State.
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Michael Eisner's dedication on this day includes these words:
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[FONT='Arial Narrow', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"To all who believe in the power of dreams … Welcome! Disney California Adventure opens its golden gates to you. Here we pay tribute to the dreamers of the past … the native people, explorers, immigrants, aviators, entrepreneurs and entertainers who built the Golden State. And we salute a new generation of dreamers who are creating the wonders of tomorrow … from the silver screen to the computer screen … from the fertile farmlands to the far reaches of space. Disney California Adventure celebrates the richness and the diversity of California … its land, its people its spirit and above all, the dreams that it continues to inspire."

2002:
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Disney World's Downtown Pleasure Island begins its Mardi Gras celebration.
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Disneyland officially announces the upcoming additions to Disney's California Adventure in a short ceremony celebrating the park's first birthday. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Two new attractions, "A Bug's Land" and the "Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" will be added to the California park.

2005:
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R[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]oy Disney and Stanley Gold make public their withhold vote for all Directors at this year's shareholders meeting (to be held February 11 in Minneapolis).

2011:

The soundtrack for the movie Gnomeo and Juliet[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] is released by Walt Disney (3 days before the film's intial release).
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2/9

1773:
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William Henry Harrison, the ninth United States President, is
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born at the Berkeley Plantation in Charles City County, Virginia.
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The oldest president elected (until Ronald Reagan in 1980) Harrison is also the last
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President to be born before the United States Declaration of Independence. Sadly, he
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died on his 32nd day in office of complications from a cold – the shortest tenure in
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United States presidential history. Visit him and all the U.S. Chief Executives at Disney World's The Hall of Presidents
1940:

Disney's animated feature film, Pinocchio opens in Los Angeles theaters (2 days after premiering in New York). Actor Dickie Jones supplies the voice of the living puppet. The film will win 2 Academy Awards. (Although it is Disney's first treatment of the classic story it is actually the second filmed version of it. In 1911 a silent black-and-white Pinocchio[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] was produced in Italy.)

1942:
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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominates Disney's Dumbo
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for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture and Best Music, Original Song (for "Baby Mine"). Also nominated are Lend a Paw and Truant Officer Donald, both for Best Short Subjects, Cartoons.
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Oscar night is February 26[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].
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1946:
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Vincent Francis Papale, a former part-time bar tender/substitute teacher who went on to play professional football with the Philadelphia Eagles, is born in Pennsylvania. Despite playing just one year of high school football and having no college football experience, Papale went on to play in the NFL at age 30 - making him the league's oldest rookie! His story is the basis for the 2006 Disney live-action film Invincible starring Mark Wahlberg
1979:

Disney's live-action comedy The North Avenue Irregulars, starring Edward Hermann,
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Barbara Harris, Karen Valentine, Michael Constantine and Cloris Leachman, is
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released in U.S. theaters. When crooks set up operations in a small town, a minister and a group of
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church ladies are willing to do anything, no matter how wacky, to drive them out.
1996:

The Disney Institute opens at Walt Disney World, Florida[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]. The Institute (inspired by the Chautauqua Institution in Jamestown, New York) offers more than 60 programs in 8 interest areas such as animation, culinary arts, rock climbing and wilderness exploration. Guests stay in Villas (previously part of the Disney Village Resort) on a 75 acre, 457 room resort. The Institute is an attempt to allow guests to have a vacation ... with a dose of educational entertainment.

2001:
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"Believe There's Magic in the Stars" returns to Disneyland. This fireworks show (originally staged during Disneyland's 45th anniversary) features some all new pyrotechnics, many low level fireworks and crisscrossing comets.
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It is reported that attendance for the opening of Disney's California Adventure on February 8, fell far below the estimate of 33,000. By 2 p.m. (usually Disney's peak hour) 14,000 tickets had been purchased and roughly 10,000 people were inside the park. When the gates opened at 8 a.m., only 3,000 were waiting to get in. Officials had prepared for more than four times as many.
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Jim Henson's Muppet Vision 3D debuts at Disney's
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]California Adventure.

2005:
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"DisneyWar" by James Stewart hits bookshelves. Stewart details the scandals of CEO Michael Eisner's management​

2006:

The Walt Disney Company re-acquires the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] back from NBC Universal along with sports considerations for ESPN. The rights are obtained as part of a transaction permitting football play-by-play analyst Al Michaels to contract with NBC.​

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2009:

Disney announces an exclusive long-term distribution and marketing deal

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]with Steven Spielberg's production company, DreamWorks Studios.
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2/10

1870:
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The California city of Anaheim is incorporated. Its name is a
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blend of "Ana" (after the Santa Ana River) and "heim"
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(which means home in German). First founded in 1857 by grape
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farmers and wine makers from Franconia in Bavaria, walnuts, lemons and oranges became viable crops
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after the prosperous grape industry was destroyed in the 1880s by an insect pest. Before Disneyland's
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opening in 1955, Anaheim was a massive rural community with agriculture as its principal industry.
1934:

Disney's Silly Symphony The Grasshopper and the Ants is released.
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The grasshopper is voiced by Pinto Colvig (also the voice of Goofy).
1951:

Robert A. Iger is born on Long Island, New York. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]After finishing his undergraduate studies at Ithaca College, Iger began his career in entertainment media at the American Broadcasting Company, where he worked from 1974 to 1999. On February 25, 1999, Disney named Iger president of Walt Disney International. In 2005 he was named President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company (the sixth CEO in Disney history).

1956:
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A[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] memorial service is held for author A.A. Milne (creator of Winnie-the- Pooh) at All Hallows-by-the-Tower in London. Milne had passed away on January 31. Milne's son Christopher, who has grown to resent his father and has seldom visited his parents, attends the service. It is the last time Christopher will ever see his mother.

1978:

Disney generally releases the live-action Candleshoe, starring

Helen Hayes (in her last big screen appearance), David Niven

and Jodie Foster. Small time crook Harry Bundage (played by Leo McKern)

discovers that the old manor house where Lady St. Edmund (Hayes) resides, with three orphans and her butler Priory (Niven) is the resting place for a hoard of treasure! The film, which first premiered last December 1977, is directed by Norman Tokar.
2000:

Actor Jim Varney, famous for his "Ernest P. Worrell" character, dies of lung cancer in Tennessee. Varney lent his voice to such classic animated Disney films as Atlantis: The Lost Empire (still in production at the time of his passing), Toy Story, and Toy Story 2 (as the voice of Slinky Dog)[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]. At one time Epcot's Cranium Command attraction used his Ernest character in its preshow as an example of a "lovable but not the brightest person on the planet" type of person.

2008:
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The British Academy Film Awards are presented at the Royal Opera House in
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London, England. Ratatouille wins Best Animated Film, beating out Shrek the Third
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and The Simpsons Movie[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].

2010:
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To honor the 10th anniversary of Travel Channel host Samantha Brown, the network
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airs Samantha Brown Fan-a-thon in which she celebrates ten years of travel at the
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Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida - with her fans. (In her 10 years at Travel
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Channel, Brown has visited dozens of countries, hundreds of cities and countless hotels around the world!)
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2/11

1918:

Imagineer, sculptor & Disney Legend Blaine Gibson is born in

Rocky Ford, Colorado. He created hundreds of sculptures from which Audio-Animatronics figures

and bronzes were produced for exhibits in the 1964-65 New York World's Fair and Disney theme parks

around the world. Among his contributions: Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, Pirates of the Caribbean,

the Haunted Mansion, and the Enchanted Tiki Room. He also sculpted nearly all the presidents for the Hall

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]of Presidents at WDW and the Partners statue (found in the "hub" of the Magic Kingdom).

1926:
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Actor Leslie Nielsen is born in Regina, Saskatchewan,
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Canada. His Disney credits include the 1950s TV mini-series Swamp Fox.
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(He is best remembered for his comedic roles as Frank Drebin in The Naked Gun, Dr. Rumack in Airplane!
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and President Harris in the Scary Movie[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] series.)

1952:
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Disney's Alice in Wonderland is nominated for an Academy Award for
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Best Scoring of a Musical Picture. Also nominated - Lambert the Sheepish Lion for Short Subjects,
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Cartoons and Nature's Half Acre for Short Subjects, Two Reels. Winners will be announced March 20

1969:

It is announced in Miami, Florida that a 3-year project agreement has been

signed between Allen Contracting Co., as general contractor, and the presidents of the 17 individual international unions, which will be involved in constructing the first phase of Walt Disney World. The contract assures continuity of contruction by making strikes and other work stoppages unnecessary​

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1970:
Variety reports that Walt Disney secretly took its movie, Song of the South out of circulation back in 1958. The publication claims the movie was pulled because of racist attitudes in the film.
1999:
Disney's live-action feature film My Favorite Martian premieres at the
Famous Players Colossus Center in Toronto, Canada
2000:
Disney's The Tigger Movie - narrated by John Hurt and featuring five new songs by the team of Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman - is released. It is the first time Pooh and his friends appear in an original, theatrically-released feature film (previous Pooh features were either compilations of shorts, or made for video productions).
2002:
Twelve "Outstanding Airmen of the Year" are honored as grand marshals in a parade at Disney's Animal Kingdom. The airmen, men and women representing airbases from all over the world, spend the afternoon high atop the parade floats while hundreds of park guests cheer them on. (Every year the Air Force selects 12 individuals to represent the more than 400,000 enlisted men and women from the active duty, guard, and reserve forces. These people start the competition at their home stations, and finally win the title as "Outstanding Airmen of the Year." They hold the title for one year.)

The Walt Disney Company agrees to let Travelocity.com sell hotel reservations and theme-park tickets online. By allowing the discount-travel giant to do this, Disney hopes to expand its marketing efforts on the Internet.
2004:
Al Weiss (the president of Disney World) speaks to the Institutional Investors at Walt Disney World during a 2-day conference.

Comcast announces its hostile bid for Disney as stock prices jump nearly 15%
2011:
The animated feature Gnomeo and Juliet (based on William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet) is released by Touchstone Pictures. Featuring the voices of James McAvoy and Emily Blunt, it is Touchstone's first animated film since 1993's The Nightmare Before Christmas

 

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2/12

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1809:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]braham Lincoln, the 16th U.S. President, is born in a one-room log
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]He is the first president born outside the original Thirteen Colonies. Lincoln will be the subject of such Disney attractions as Great Moments with Mr Lincoln (originally created for the 1964 [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]World's Fair[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]) and Walt Disney World's The Hall of Presidents - click [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]here[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] to read Lincoln's HOP speech. (Walt Disney was always fascinated with the life of Lincoln. As a young boy, Walt recited Lincoln's Gettysburg Address to his elementary class ... dressed as Abe!)[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1934[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]W[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]alt Disney Productions files an application for a trademark of "Mickey Mouse" for use in books and newspaper comic strips.[/FONT]
1951:

Disney's Cinderella is nominated for 3 Academy Awards - Best Music, Original Song (for "Bibbidy-Bobbidi-Boo"); Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture; and Best Sound, Recording. The Disney short In Beaver Valley is nominated for Best Short Subject: Two Reel. Winners will be announced March 29.​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1955:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]cademy Award nominations are announced with Disney's [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]20,000 Leagues Under
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]the Sea[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] receiving three for Art Direction - Set Decoration, Film Editing, and Special
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Effects. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Also nominated is [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Pigs is Pigs[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] for Short Subjects, Cartoons, [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Siam[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] for Short Subjects, Two Reels,
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]and [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Vanishing Prairie[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] for Documentary, Features. Winners will be announced [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]March 30[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].

1988:
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Siegfried and Roy appear on the TV special Disney's Magic in the Magic Kingdom[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]. The illusionists make Sleeping Beauty Castle disappear!

1999:
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Disney's My Favorite Martian starring Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Daniels, Elizabeth Hurley, Darryl Hannah, and Ray Walston is generally released. Based on the popular 60's TV show (also starring Walston)
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the film is directed by Donald Petrie (of Grumpy Old Men fame). Playing in front of My Favorite Martian is the animated short Pluto Gets the Paper: Spaceship.
2000:

Disney fans dress up in tuxedos and formal gowns to attend the Royal Ball held at the Disneyland Hotel in California for Cinderella's 50th anniversary. The night includes stories from the Disney legends that created Cinderella including the voice talents who brought Anastasia, Drizella and Cinderella to life.



Disney's 1998 animated feature Mulan premieres on the Disney Channel
2001:

Ilene Woods - the original voice of Cinderella - appears at a Cinderella Ball in Disneyland to celebrate the anniversary of the motion picture.
2004:

The SaveDisney website announces a rally in Philadelphia that will take place March 2 ... one day prior to Disney's Annual Shareholder Meeting.
2007:

Academy Award-winning visual effects pioneer/matte artist and Disney Legend
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Peter Ellenshaw passes away at his home in Santa Barbara, California at the
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age of 93. A hand-picked member of Walt Disney's creative team since 1947, Ellenshaw was called upon
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to create a wide variety of visual effects for such films as Mary Poppins, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,
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Darby O'Gill and the Little People, Treasure Island, and The Black Hole. He even painted the iconic
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first map of Disneyland that was featured on all the early postcards and souvenir booklets.
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Disney announces that they’re producing The Sorcerer’s Apprentice as
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a live-action feature starring Nicholas Cage as the Sorcerer. The film will be
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based on Johann Wolfgang Goethe’s original poem, not the Mickey Mouse sequence in Fantasia.
2009:

As part of the massive grand opening of the new American Idol
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Experience attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios, American Idol
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winners David Cook and Carrie Underwood sing a duet for the media inside the new attraction's theater. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Also in attendance are Idol celebrities including all 7 winners, Paula Abdul, and Ryan Seacrest. Although the new attraction will officially open February 14, guest park Mark Ellis (from Pensacola, Florida) is awarded a Dream Ticket during this day's gala premier of the attraction for his performance of "Superstition."

2010:
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A Disney Cruise Line exhibit opens in the Visitors Centre of Meyer Werft (one of the largest German shipyards, headquartered in Papenburg). Meyer Werft is currently building the Disney Dream, which will hit the high seas in 2011.
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The Holiday Inn at Walt Disney World Resort reopens after a massive 18-month renovation. Located at 1805 Hotel Plaza Blvd, it sits just down the road from Downtown Disney.​

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2/13

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1957:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Disneyland[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] television series airs "Tricks of Our Trade," written by animator
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]________ Huemer and hosted by Walt Disney. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Viewers are taken on an hour-long discussion
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]and demonstration on how artists study real life in order to recreate and embellish it on the screen.[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1959:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he TV series [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Walt Disney Presents[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] airs "Duck Flies Coop."
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Feeling that Walt Disney is working him too hard, temperamental Donald Duck decides to take
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]a vaction - right in the middle of his shooting schedule! Just before hitting the road, Donald imperiously
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]tells Walt to soldier on alone as best he can. As Donald experiences all manners of misadventures while
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]trying to relax, Walt decides to teach the duck a lesson by pretending to "groom a replacement."[/FONT]
1969:

A recording session takes place at Walt Disney Productions for the much-anticipated Haunted Mansion attraction (to open at Disneyland in August). An improvisation of the Grim Grinning Ghost theme is recorded with soprano Louie Jean Norman and tenor Bill Reeves performing as "hokey opera singers."
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1973:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] Valentine Dance (sponosred by the WDW Recreation Club) is held for Disney World Cast Members at the Contemporary Hotel's Ballroom of the Americas[/FONT]​

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1976:

Animator John Lounsbery, one of Walt's original "Nine Old Men" who is still a studio employee and currently working on The Rescuers, passes away at St. Joseph's Hospital in California (across from the Disney Studio). First hired in 1935, his large body of work included Pinocchio, Dumbo, Song of the South, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Melody Time, The Jungle Book and Robin Hood. Lounsbery will be named a Disney Legend in 1989.
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On The Mike Douglas Show, Anita Bryant concludes her co-hosting duties from Florida's Disney World. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Her guests include actor Dean Jones (best known for his leading roles in many Walt Disney movies), and 5 former Mouseketeers - Annette Funicello, Tommy Cole, Bobby Burgess, Cubby O'Brien and Darlene Gillespie Gammon. Also featured is a visit to the Polynesian Village for a luau and fireworks display.
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1988:

Expo Robotics (located in CommuniCore West) debuts at EPCOT's
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Future World. The show stars a top-spinning industrial robot arm named Pixel.
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(The attraction will run through October 3, 1993 and CommuniCore will close by early 1994.)
1993:
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Lumière’s Kitchen restaurant opens in Fantasyland at Disney World's Magic Kingdom. (In 2006 it will become The Village Fry Shoppe, and in 2009 The Friar’s Nook.)
1996:

Epcot's Test Track Preview Center opens. (The attraction won't be ready for a soft
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opening until December 1998.)
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Toy Story receives 3 Academy Award nominations for Achievement in Music (Original Musical or Comedy Score), Achievement in Writing, and Achievement in Music (Original Song). Pocahontas is also nominated for Achievement in Music (Original Musical or Comedy Score) and Achievement in Music (Original Song). Winners will be announced March 25.
2000:

As part of the 45th anniversary celebration, The Disneyland Resort introduces
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a new Pin Trading Program.
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Also, the "45 Years of Magic Parade" has its first public preview at Disneyland. Two shows, one during the day and one at night, are performed. (The parade will make its official debut on February 18.)
2007:

Danielle Day and her family from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan spend the
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night inside Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom. The first time Disney
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World visitors are the first Canadian family to ever win a night's stay as
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part of the unique Disney Dreams Giveaway.
2008:

Disney releases Discs of Tron on Xbox Live Arcade. The game, based on the 1982 film Tron, allows players to face off against the evil Sark.
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Good Morning America broadcasts live on ABC from Castaway Cay (Disney's private island in the Bahamas) to feature the Acoba family from Port Orchard, Washington. They are the winners of the Castaway Cay for a day Year of a Million Dreams prize!
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(More than 3,500 families wrote to Good Morning America for a chance to win the one-of-a-kind vacation.)
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Disneyland announces that it will soon open a new dwelling in Tomorrowland - this time in partnership with 21st century technology giants Microsoft Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., software maker LifeWare and homebuilder Taylor Morrison. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The 5,000-square-foot 'House of the Future' (scheduled to open in May) will look like a suburban tract home outside. But inside the $15 million Innoventions Dream Home will feature hardware, software and touch-screen systems that could simplify everyday living.[/FONT]​

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2009:
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Disney debuts its new Disney XD with the launch of the Disney XD network and DisneyXD.com. The new brand is aimed at boys ages 6-14 and features content focusing on the themes of adventure, accomplishment, gaming, music and sports. Among the action-adventure series premiering on this day is Aaron Stone starring Kelly Blatz.
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California resident Frances Taylor celebrates her 100th birthday at Disneyland! She is greeted at the main gate by the Disneyland Marching Band, a confetti burst, mouse-
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ear balloons and a cavalcade of well-wishers, including Mickey and Minnie Mouse!
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(As a 3-year-old child from Scotland, Taylor was to ride aboard the Titanic with her mother, brothers and sisters on
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its 1912 maiden voyage to the U.S. ... but the crossing was over-booked and they were bumped!)
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Disney's Touchstone Pictures releases Confessions of a Shopaholic[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] starring Isla Fisher, John Goodman, Joan Cusack, Hugh Dancy, and John Lithgow.
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2010:
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During the 10th Annual Toy of the Year Awards in New York City, John Lasseter
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(chief creative officer, Walt Disney Company and Pixar Animation Studios, and
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principal creative advisor of Walt Disney Imagineering) is inducted into the toy industry Hall of Fame. Lasseter shares this honor with many including Walt Disney (inducted in
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1987) and Jim Henson (in 1992).
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2/14

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1915:
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]G[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]rammy Award-winning songwriter Iriving Gordon is born in Brooklyn, New York.
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]His song "Two Brothers" can be heard in Epcot's The American Adventure (sung by Ali Olmo). The song's lyrics tell the Civil War story of two brothers, fighting on opposite sides of the war.
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Gordon's best known works include Nat King Cole's hit "Unforgettable" (first published in 1951) and
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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]"Prelude to a Kiss (co-written with jazz great Duke Ellington).

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1919:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]lan Alexander Milne (future creator of Winnie-the-Pooh) is discharged from the Brtish Army. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]He has served as a signals officer during the world war.
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]lso discharged, but from the U.S. Navy on this day, is Roy O. Disney, one of Walt's older brothers. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif](He will return to Kansas City and resume his job at the First National Bank.)[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1929
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]T[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he original Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant opens at 1624 Vine Street in California. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Brown Derby restaurants began as the brainchild of Herb Somborn, Wilson Mizner, and Sid Grauman. Somborn will ask Bob Cobb (later the creator of the famous Cobb Salad) to manage the Vine Street establishment. Eventually Cobb will take over all the restaurants after the deaths of the original owners. (The Hollywood Brown Derby will serve as the inspiration for the restaurant in Disney's Hollywood Studios.)

1957:

Disney re-releases Cinderella in theaters for a second time.
1969:

For the second day in a row, a recording session takes place at Walt Disney
​

Productions for the much-anticipated Haunted Mansion attraction (to open at
​

Disneyland in August). On this day singers Thurl Ravenscroft, Jay Meyer, Bob Ebright, Chuck Schroeder
​

and Verne Rowe perform the Grim Grinning Ghost theme. (Afterwards, session leader Allan Davies will notice how
​

well the five men look together and cast them as the famous "singing bust heads" for the attraction! The five
​

singers will return on February 21 to film the short scene.)
​

[/FONT][/FONT]
1992:
Three Dog Night performs at Disney-MGM Studios as part of a Lost 70s Valentine Day celebration
1998:
The Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop has its grand
opening at the Downtown Disney Marketplace in Florida
1999:
The first Disney Cruise Line wedding occurs on Castaway Cay
2004:
Sleeping Beauty's Royal Ball takes place at Disneyland.

Filmmaker John Lasseter, the director of Toy Story, A Bug's Life and Toy Story 2, and the executive producer of Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo, is given the Art Directors Guild's coveted honorary Contribution to Cinematic Imagery Award.
2009:
Disney’s Hollywood Studios celebrate the grand opening of its
newest attraction, The American Idol Experience. Guest park Vanessa Quillao (a 16-year-old from St. Petersburg, Florida) takes home the first ever 'Dream Ticket' (given on a normal day of operation) - with her rendition of "No One" (by Alicia Keys). The first actual Dream ticket was awarded on February 12 to Mark Ellis
2010:

Disney World's Atlantic Dance Hall at the Boardwalk Resort hosts a Valentine's Day Chocolate Dinner.

As of this day, the Walt Disney Company has operated longer without Walt Disney than it did with him. The company was founded on October 16, 1923 and Walt passed away December 15, 1966.

Starstruck, Disney Channel's 78th original movie, premieres with an audience of 6 million viewers. The movie follows the love-struck adventures of Jessica Olson (played by Danielle Campbell), a down-to-earth girl from the Midwest who literally collides with Hollywood teen pop star Christopher Wilder (portrayed by Sterling Knight).

The famous Pirates of the Caribbean ship docks in Oahu’s Kalaeloa Harbor in Hawaii. The ship has arrived as a prop to be used in filming the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film this year. Traveling at 10 miles per hour, its journey took it from the Bahamas to LA and then to Kalaeloa.

 

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2/15

1899:
​

Lillian Marie Bounds (the wife of Walt Disney for 41 years) is born in
​

Spalding, Idaho. Growing up in Lapwai, Idaho, on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation, her
​

father worked as a blacksmith and federal marshal. Lillian moved to California in 1923 to join her
​

sister Hazel who was already living in Los Angeles. She took a job at the new Disney Studios, where
​

she worked first as a secretary and then an ink artist ... before marrying the
​

boss on July 13, 1925​

1907:

Actor Cesar Romero is born in New York City. His Disney credits include the live-action comedies The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972) and The Strongest Man in the World (1975) - in which he portrays the corrupt but inept villain A.J. Arno. Romero is also Esteban de la Cruz in 4 episodes of Disney's Zorro television series. (Fans of TV's Batman[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] will know Romero as the Joker!)

1948:
​

Academy Award nominations are announced with Disney receiving four.
​

Song of the South - Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture
​

"Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" from the film Song of the South - Best Music, Song
​

Pluto's Blue Note and Chip an' Dale - Best Short Subjects, Cartoons
​

The 20th Academy Awards will take place at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on March 20
1950:

Disney's animated feature film Cinderella is released.
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Ilene Woods supplies the voice for Cinderella and Eleanor Audley (the future voice of Madame Leota for the Haunted Mansion attractions) is the voice of Lady Tremaine. Mike Douglas (future talk show host) is the un-credited singing voice of Prince Charming. (It will be one of the top grossing films of 1950 and be nominated for 3 Academy Awards.)

1956:
​

The Disneyland television series the episode
​

"Our Unsung Villains," narrated by Walt Disney
2001:

S[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]omeone burning debris without authorization starts a fire that races through tinder-dry swampland in central Florida about 15 miles from Walt Disney World. (It will go on to burn over 11,000 acres.)

2002:
​

Return to Neverland, Disney's animated Peter Pan sequel, is released to theaters. (Critic Roger Ebert will give the film a 3 star rating.)
​

​

R[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]ichard W. Cook (a 31-year Disney veteran) is promoted to Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios. He began his career as a ride operator at Disneyland in 1970.

2006:
​

Mount Everest arrives in New York's Times Square as part of a massive Disney publicity stunt to promote Expedition Adventure, a new thrill ride soon to open at Animal Kingdom in Florida. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A pair of giant billboards depict Mount Everest, a runaway train, and the mysterious villain Yeti.
​

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

 

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2/16

1904:
​

Actor James Baskett, Uncle Remus in Disney's Song of the South, is born in
​

Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1945, he auditioned for a bit part dubbing one of the animals for a new
​

Disney feature based on the Uncle Remus stories. Walt was so impressed with Baskett's talent, that he hired him on the spot for the lead role of Uncle Remus. As such, he was be the first live actor hired by Disney to
​

play in a feature film. The crowning achievement of his career, Baskett won an honorary Academy Award in
​

1948 for his role of Uncle Remus. This made Baskett not only the first black male to ever win an Oscar, but
​

also the first actor to win an Academy Award (although an honorary one) for his performance in a
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Walt Disney film.

1945:
​

Frank Welker, Hollywood's "voice god," is born in Denver Colorado. His Disney credits include Mulan II, The Search for Mickey Mouse, The Lion King 1 1/2, Kim Possible: Revenge of Monkey Fist, and Return to Neverland[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]. (Cartoon fans may recognize his voice as Fred Jones in various Scooby Doo cartoons and animated features.)

1972:
​

Comedian Phyllis Diller hosts this day's episode of The Mickey Mouse Factory.
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]"Spooks and Magic" finds Mickey, Donald and Goofy trying to rid Diller's house of unwanted ghosts!

1993:
​

Sharon M. Disney Lund, the second daughter of the late Walt Disney, passes away of complications from cancer at age 56. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]She had been a director of The Walt Disney Company since 1984 and an officer of Retlaw Enterprises Inc., a successor to the corporation her father organized in 1952 for certain personal business ventures.

2000:
​

Under a drizzly afternoon sky, Mickey Mouse, President of the Disneyland Resort Cynthia Harriss, the Disneyland Resort Millennium Ambassador Team of Dorell Mitter and Jennifer Simis, over 600 school children and Disneyland cast members all gather in front of the Disneyland Main Street Train Station to begin Disneyland's 45th Anniversary celebration. As part of the festivities inaugurating a yearlong celebration of "45 Years of Magic" at Disneyland,singer-songwriter Kenny Loginsmakes a special appearance performing his new song "Your Heart Will Lead You Home" from The Tigger Movie[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].[/FONT]​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]

2007:

Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media's live-action feature Bridge to Terabithia, based on the Katherine Paterson novel, is released.
2010:

Upon California Adventure closing for the day, nearly 300 Cast Members representing
​

the two parks and the resort hotels participate in the 12th annual Flashback, a
​

Broadway-style musical at Hyperion Theatre. In honor of the resort’s 55th anniversary, the theme of
​

this year’s production is "Class of 55." The show (performed over 2 nights) is composed of four mini musicals
​

themed to Fantasyland, Adventureland, Frontierland and Tomorrowland. (The annual Cast event will raise about
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]$10,000 for charities that support children.)
​

[/FONT]

​

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

 

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2/17

1933:
​

Artist Eric Larson marries Gertrude Jannes in Utah. With marriage, he will seek a new job with greater potential. (He will start work at the Disney Studio the following June & become one of Walt's "9 Old Men[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].")

1960:
​

Disneyland's Satellite View of America, originally called Space Station X-1 when the park first opened in 1955, closes.
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif](It will be replaced by The Art of Animation the following May.)

1993:
​

Disney's Aladdin is nominated for 5 Academy Awards: Best Sound, Best Effects - Sound Effects Editing, twice for Best Music - Original Song, and Best Music - Original Score. The 65th Academy Awards will be presented March 29
1998:

Construction begins on Rock 'n Roller Coaster at Disney-MGM
2002:

The Studio Chapter of the NFFC, The Club for Disney Enthusiasts hosts Disney singer-songwriter Bob Moline at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Griffith Park California. Moline's work includes such Epcot songs as "Listen to the Land," "Canada," and "Golden Dream."
​

​

V[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]oice-over actress Margaret Kerry (Tinker Bell's alter ego) and David Pacheco (Creative Director of Disney's Art Classics) appear as special guests of the Carolwood Pacific Historical Society at Walt Disney's Barn in Griffith Park, California.

2004:
​

Christy Carlson Romano (of Disney Channel's series
​

Even Stevens and the voice of the animated Kim Possible)joins the cast of the Broadway musical Beauty and the Beast. The 19-year-old Romano is the 13th actress to portray Belle since the musical opened in New York City in 1994.
​

Meanwhile over at the Palace Theatre, pop singer Deborah replaces Michelle Williams in the title role of Aida.
​

​

Disney announces its deal to buy the Muppets
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]and Bear in the Blue House from Jim Henson.

2009:
​

Walt Disney World Resort welcomes a black and white colobus monkey -
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]the first of its species born at Disney’s Animal Kingdom!

2011:
​

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) hosts its Investor Conference in Anaheim,
​

California. Presentations by Disney's management team are also available via a live audio Webcast​

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

 

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2/18

1907:
​

Actor-comic Billy De Wolfe, who appeared in the 1973 live-action Disney feature The World's Greatest Athlete, is born in Wollaston, Massachusetts. (He was also the voice of Professor Hinckle in the classic animated holiday TV special Frosty the Snowman[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].)

1939:
​

Disney's animated Mickey's Surprise Party is released to Nabisco. The commercial short is made for the National Biscuit Company and will be shown at the 1939 New York World's Fair
1949:

Actor Pat Fraley, whose voice can be heard in such animated features as Chicken
​

Little, Monsters, Inc. and Toy Story 2, is born in Seattle, Washington. Fraley is best
​

known for voicing 7 of the characters in the animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].

1950:
​

Film director, producer, and writer John Hughes is born in Lansing, Michigan.
​

He produced and wrote for Disney's 1997 Flubber and 1996 101 Dalmatians. But Hughes is best be known for
​

his classic comedy features Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Home Alone, and
​

Planes, Trains & Automobiles.
1960:

Under storm-threatening skies, the greatest winter athletes in the world gather in Squaw Valley, California, to begin the VIII Olympic Winter Games. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The opening (and closing) ceremonies are orchestrated by Walt Disney (the Head of Pageantry for the Games), and involve 5,000 participants, 1,285 instruments and 2,645 voices from 52 California and Nevada high school bands. Disney artist John Hench has designed the massive Tower of Nations, located at the entrance of the valley, and the Olympic torch. The huge ceremonial Tower of Nations measures 79 feet high and 20 feet wide. Hench's unique Olympic torch design will be the basis for all future torches! The valley also features 30 flagpoles for the flags of the participating nations. Each flagpole has a plaque signed by Walt Disney. After the Games the flagpoles will find homes in such places as the Walt Disney Elementary School in Marceline, Missouri, and the Disney Studio Commissary in Burbank, California. (The Olympics will run through February 28.)

1964:
​

Canadian inventor Joseph-Armand Bombardier (designer of the modern snowmobile) passes away at the age of 56. His company Bombardier, a manufacturer of innovative transportation solutions, will go on to build Walt Disney World's Mark VI Monorails.
​

​

Actor Matt Dillon - Trip Murphy in the 2005
​

Herbie: Fully Loaded -[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] is born in New Rochelle, New York.

1989:
​

The TV series The Golden Girls airs "Two Rode Together."
​

In this episode the girls take a trip to Disney World
2004:

T[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]he Walt Disney Company and The Jim Henson Company announces that they have entered into an agreement under which Disney will acquire the Muppets and Bear in the Big Blue House properties from Henson.

2008:
​

Disney's Vero Beach Resort honors baseball Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda by officially naming the resort's recreation lawn "Lasorda Field" during a special ceremony. During the more than six decades in which the Dodgers have called Vero Beach, Florida
​

their spring home, Lasorda has become one of the most recognized figures in baseball as a player, coach,
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]manager and executive.
​

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

 

[trr1]

2/19

[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 Technicolor feature [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Fantasia[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] opens in Chicago, Illinois. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The film, featuring eight animated segments synchronized to pieces of classical music, first premiered last November 1940 in New York City[/FONT]
1952:

The Disney short Hello Aloha is released by RKO. Directed by Jack Kinney, this cartoon finds Goofy living out the working-man's dream of walking away from his job and moving to a tropical island paradise.
1955:

Actor, musician & playwright Jeff Daniels is born in Athens, Georgia. He's appeared in
​

such live-action Disney films as the 1999 My Favorite Martian as Tim O'Hara, the 1996 101
​

Dalmatians as Roger, and the 1990 Arachnophobia as Doctor Ross Jennings. (Film fans also know him from
​

the features Dumb and Dumber, The Purple Rose of Cairo, and Terms of Endearment.)
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1967:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]n article titled "Florida's Disney World Aims at '70 Opening"
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]by C. E. Wright appears in the Sunday[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] New York Times[/FONT]

1968:

Academy Award nominations are announced with Disney receiving 2:
​

"The Bare Necessities" (from The Jungle Book) - Best Music, Song
​

The Happiest Millionaire - Best Costume Design
​

The 40th Academy Awards will take place April 10[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].
​

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

1985:

Mickey Mouse is welcomed to China as part of the 30th anniversary of Disneyland. (The touring mouse will visit 30 cities in 30 days.)
2007:

Engineers Week, an event to raise public awareness of engineers’ positive contributions to our quality of life and the importance of math, science and technical literacy, begins at Epcot's Innoventions West on this Presidents' Day.
2009:

Disney announces it has bought the Colorado-based Kerpoof Studios, a creator of
​

online tools which allows kids to use computers to make artwork, create short films,
​

and write stories.
2010:

Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Records join forces with Hot Topic, KIIS-FM, MySpace and musical artists from the upcoming album "Almost Alice" for an ultimate fan event celebrating this Spring’s most anticipated 3D feature Alice in Wonderland. The star-studded concert event takes place at the Hollywood & Highland Center’s Central Courtyard; featuring five musical acts, a visit from director Tim Burton, and an appearance by the film's star Johnny Depp.
​

​

Disneyland announces that Michael Jackson's 3D film Captain EO will return to the park on Tuesday, February 23. The first showing of the 18-minute movie is set for 10 a.m.
​

​

Disney’s Animal Kingdom welcomes its newest family member when a baby gorilla is born to first-time mother, Kashata. The new baby (unnamed at this time) is the third gorilla born at DAK as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan.​

[/FONT]

 

[trr1]

2/20

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1928:
​

[/FONT]

[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] silent cartoon [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Africa Before Dark[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] - in which Oswald is a big game hunter - is released.
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]It is directed by Walt Disney and animated by Ub Iwerks.

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

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]D[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]isney holds an action analysis class for his animators. It is taught by Don Graham and includes a lecture on timing by ________ Huemer[/FONT]
1946:

Actress-dancer-singer Sandy Duncan, the voice of Vixey in Disney's The Fox and
​

the Hound, is born in Henderson, Texas. Her Disney credits include the 1971 comedy feature The
​

Million Dollar Duck, the 1974 television special Sandy in Disneyland, the 1976 holiday program
​

Christmas in Disneyland, and the 1978 feature The Cat From Outer Space. (Known for her pixie cut blonde
​

hairdo and her perky demeanor, Duncan's most prominent roles include the title role in the Broadway production
​

of Peter Pan and Sandy Hogan on the hit sitcom The Hogan Family.)

1961:

Disney's animated short Aquamania, featuring Goofy, is released.
​

(It will be nominated for an Academy Award.)
1982:

"Beyond Witch Mountain" (a TV pilot for a proposed series) airs. It is
​

based on the 1975 Disney live-action film Escape to Witch Mountain
1985:

Clarence Nash, the voice of Donald Duck for over 50 years, passes at age
​

80 of leukemia in California. Supplying the voice for some 120 shorts and features, the last film to feature Nash's famous voice was Mickey's Christmas Carol[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], released in 1983. For the last two years of his life, Nash continued to provide Donald's voice for commercials, promos and other miscellaneous projects, while training Disney animator Tony Anselmo to take up the voice of the famous duck. (The tombstone of the grave he will share with his wife Margaret - who will pass in 1993 - will depict a carving of Donald and Daisy Duck holding hands.)
​

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

1986:

WED Enterprises, first created in December 1952 to oversee the design of Disneyland, is renamed Walt Disney Imagineering. The term "Imagineering" is a portmanteau word that combines "imagination" and "engineering." The term was coined by Richard F. Sailer in an article titled "BRAINSTORMING IS IMAGINation enginEERING" which was written for the National Carbon Company Management Magazine in 1957. The term gravitated to Disney by unknown means.
1995:

AT&T and The Walt Disney Company announces the latest project in
​

their 35-year association: the launch of the Indiana Jones Adventure,
​

Disneyland's exciting new thrill ride

1996:
​

The ABC-TV sitcom Roseanne debuts part 1 of the Disney-themed
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]"We're Going to Disney World."
​

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

1998:

The streets of Downtown Disney Pleasure Island are transformed into
​

the French Quarter for a special five-night Mardi Gras celebration
2002:

It is reported that a brand new tombstone has been placed in the graveyard at
​

the entrance to Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion. The tombstone, the last one you will see when entering the attraction, is dedicated to Leota​

​

[/FONT]​

[/FONT][/FONT]

 

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2/21

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1904:
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]H[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]azel Gilman, the Disney Studio nurse, is born in Bisbee, Cochise County, Arizona. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]She was hired by Walt during the infamous studio strike of 1941. But under the pseudonym "Gil George," she co-write over 90 songs for Disney! Her work includes songs for films like [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The Light in the Forest[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Perri[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Tonka[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Westward Ho the Wagons[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], and [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Old Yeller[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]. She also contributed to television shows including the original [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Disneyland[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] show, [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Zorro[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], and the original [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Mickey Mouse Club[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]. Hazel's songwriting career ended when studio composer/partner Paul Smith retired in 1962 although as a nurse, she continued treating Walt right up until he entered St. Joseph's Hospital in 1966. (Incredibly, her contributions to the musical
heritage of Disney are often overlooked.)[/FONT]
1955:

Emmy-award-winning actor Kelsey Grammer, the voice of Stinky Pete the Prospector in Toy Story 2 and the narrator of Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story and Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, is born in St. Thomas,
​

Virgin Islands. (TV fans will recognize him from both hit sitcoms Cheers and Frasier.)
1965:

The episode "An Otter in the Family Airs" on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. Produced by Roy E. Disney, the hour-long program tells the tale of a young boy who finds an orphaned baby otter and decides to adopt him into the family.
1978:

Academy Award nominations are announced with Disney receiving 3 for:
​

Pete's Dragon - Music, Original Song Score
​

"Candle on the Water" (from Pete's Dragon) - Music, Original Song
​

"Somebody's Waiting for You" (from The Rescuers) - Music, Original Song
​

The 50th Academy Awards will be presented April 3
1980:

4017 Disneya, a Main-belt Asteroid is discovered by Soviet and Ukrainian astronomer
​

Lyudmila Georgievna Karachkina at Nauchnyj. It is named for Walt Disney
1997:

Club Disney, an interactive children's developmental play center and Disney's first
​

regional entertainment concept, opens its first unit in Thousand Oaks, California.
​

​

The very first Star Wars Weekend debuts at Disney-MGM Studios in Florida.
​

They will be held for 5 consecutive weekends
2002:

A sneak preview is held at the Disney Gallery (located in Disneyland) for an exhibit featuring 100 images of Mickey Mouse by artist and former Disney Imagineer Eric Robison. The special evening is hosted by Mouseketeers Sherry Alberoni and Bobby Burgess. The exhibit will officially open to the public 2 days later.
​

​

A Disneyland monorail stalls on a 25-foot high track, briefly stranding 65 passengers. The guests are led down to the ground by firefighters using ladders!
​

​

Adam Vinatieri, who kick-started the New England Patriots' AFC playoff push with two clutch field goals and then booted his team into the Super Bowl winner's circle, appears at the Disney-MGM Studios. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Surrounded by hundreds of cheering fans and autograph seekers, Vinatieri presses both his famous feet into a 2-by-3-foot mold filled with wet cement before signing his name for posterity.
​

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

2010:

Walt Disney's Broadway production of The Lion King celebrates another milestone
​

when it plays its 5,125th performance to become the eighth longest-running
​

show in Broadway history! With today's performance, the show moves up the top ten list of long runs,
​

surpassing the musical Rent (with 5,124 performances). In its 13th year, The Lion King first officially opened
​

on November 13, 1997​

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2/22

1908:
​

Actor & Disney Legend John Mills is born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills in Felixstowe, Suffolk, England. He will go on to portray Father Robinson in Disney's 1960 live-action film Swiss Family Robinson. (His daughter Hayley will star in many Disney films including the 1961 The Parent Trap[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].)
​

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

1930:

Soprano Marni Nixon, renowned for being a playback singer for featured actresses in well known movie musicals, is born in Altadena, California. An accomplished opera and musical comedy star, she is best known as the singing voice for Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, Natalie
​

Wood in West Side Story, and Deborah Kerr in The King and I. Nixon performed on such Disneyland Records
​

as Songs From Walt Disney's Mary Poppins and The Story and Songs of Walt Disney's Mary Poppins.
​

(She's been told she sings more like Julie Andrews than Julie Andrews!) In the 1998 Disney film Mulan, Nixon [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]sang the role of Grandmother Fa.[/FONT]​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]

1964:

The Below Decks Museum attraction opens in the sailing ship Columbia - located in Disneyland's Frontierland
1972:

Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks receives 5 Academy Award nominations for
​

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Music-Scoring: Adaptation & Original Song
​

Score, Best Music-Song (for "The Age of Not Believing"), Best Costume Design,
​

and Best Special Visual Effects. Winners will be announced at the 44th Academy Awards April 10
1987:

TV's The Wonderful World of Disney airs "Parent Trap II" starring Hayley Mills

1996:
​

D[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]isney Online launches Disney.com, a Web site designed to promote a wide range of Disney products on the Internet.
​

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2001:

At Disney World, a bird's nest catches fire on top of the Tommorowland Transit Authority attraction, forcing the ride to close for a short time. People onboard the ride are evacuated as a precaution and no one is injured
2004:

USA Today runs an interview with dissident former Disney board member
​

Stanley Gold. Reporter Michael McCarthy asks about the recent hostile
​

takeover bid by Comcast & the upcoming Disney Company annual meeting.
​

​

At the 10th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, Johnny Depp wins for his performance in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
2009:

Wall-E wins the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film at the 81st Annual Academy Awards.
2010:

Fans begin to gather at the main gate of Disneyland around 9 p.m. for the next day's return engagement of Captain EO! [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]First in line is Daniel Lew, 36, from Oceanside.
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2/23

1927:
​

A young artist - fresh out of high school - named Leslie James Clark reports to work at the Disney Studios at 2719 Hyperion Avenue in Hollywood, California. (Les had met Walt while serving him ice cream at a Hollywood confectionary on Vermont Avenue.) Walt warns him "it might be just a temporary job." (Les Clark will go on to become the first of Walt's "Nine Old Men[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]" and stay with the Disney Studio for nearly half a century until his retirement in 1975!)
​

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

1935:

Disney's Mickey Mouse short The Band Concert
​

is released at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City
​

(the first Mickey cartoon to be shown at the Music Hall).
​

Also the first official Mickey cartoon in Technicolor, it is directed by
​

Wilfred Jackson (who will go on to direct such Disney classics as Peter Pan),
​

and features the animation of such famous names in Disney history as Les
​

Clark, Jack Kinney, Wolfgang Reitherman and ________ Humer. (Huemer will
​

later regard The Band Concert as the most perfect animated short ever made.) In The Band Concert, Mickey
​

leads his ensemble through a rendition of "The William Tell Overture" while Donald Duck and a passing
​

tornado interrupt! (The Band Concert will later be the major theme for the attraction, Silly Symphony Swings at Disney's California Adventure.)
​

​

Also released on the same day is the Mickey Mouse short Mickey's Service
​

Station. Directed by Ben Sharpsteen, trouble comes for Mickey and his gang when Pete (in his typical
​

bully role) drives up to Mickey's service station in his souped up roadster, demanding that they get rid of the
​

squeak in his car ... or else!
1939:

Walt Disney receives a special Oscar for his classic 83-minute animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, at the 11th Academy Awards. Child star Shirley Temple presents Walt with one statuette and seven miniature statuettes for "a significant screen innovation which has charmed millions and pioneered a great new entertainment field for the motion picture cartoon." Also awarded is the Disney/RKO short Ferdinand the Bull for Best Short Subject, Cartoon, beating out 4 other animated shorts including Disney's own Brave Little Tailor[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]! (It is the first Academy Awards show without any official host.)
​

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

1940:

Disney's second animated feature Pinocchio (which premiered in early February) is generally released in the U.S. Unlike Snow White, it will initially not be a financial success and its release in Europe and Asia will be delayed because of World War II.
1990:

Where the Heart Is, a romantic comedy featuring Dabney Coleman and
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Uma Thurman, is released by Touchstone Pictures.

2000:
​

British rocker Phil Collins wins a Grammy for his work on Disney's Tarzan soundtrack. Instrumental Composition for a Motion Picture or for Television is awarded to A Bug's Life, composed by Randy Newman
2002:

As part of Walt Disney's 100th birthday celebration,
​

The Disney Gallery (located in New Orleans Square in Disneyland) opens its doors to reveal a special art exhibit featuring 100 images of Mickey Mouse created by former Disney Imagineer Eric Robison.
​

The exhibit will remain on display through September 8th.
​

​

At Walt Disney World, one of the park's longest running shows, Legend of the Lion King, has its final curtain call after more than 75,000 performances.
​

(A new 20-minute 3-D film called Mickey's PhilharMagic will replace it.)
​

​

The premiere screening of Disney's Cinderella II: Dreams Come True is held at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif](It will premiere exclusively on DVD and video on February 26.) Voice-over actresses Jennifer Hale and Russi Taylor and recording artist Brooke Allison are all on hand for the event.

2008:
​

Comedy legend Don Rickles (the voice of Toy Story's Mr. Potato Head) visits Walt Disney Imagineering in Los Angeles. Disney Imagineers have created a sophisticated Audio-Animatronics figure featuring the voice of Rickles for 'Toy Story Mania!'; an interactive ride-through attraction that combines 3-D technology and interaction with Disney-Pixar characters. The new attraction is scheduled to open late in 2008 at Disney World and Disneyland Resort
2010:

The line for the Michael Jackson film, Captain EO, swells to about 70 people as the sun comes up on the movie’s first day back at Disneyland. About 35 fans are already in line by 6 a.m. on this day, about 4 hours before the first showing of the return of the 3-D movie at the Tomorrowland theater (where it originally played from 1986 to 1997). Although the park opens at 9:30 a.m., Disney officials allow Jackson fans to line up early on the west side of Disneyland’s main entrance. Disney forms a second line before 7 a.m
2011:

B[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]ill Nye The Science Guy is on hand at Epcot to give presentations in the midst of Engineers Week (which shines the spotlight on math, science and engineering, from February 21 to 25).
​

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2/24

1939:
​

Disney's Silly Symphony cartoon The Practical Pig, featuring the
​

Three Little Pigs and directed by ________ Rickard, is released. After
​

teasing Practical Pig for working on yet another wolf machine (a lie detector device)
​

and being warned not to go swimming because the wolf is near, Fiddler and Fifer Pig
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]are captured by the Big Bad Wolf, in the disguise of a mermaid!
​

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

1940:

Florida-born Frances Langford records the song "When You Wish Upon a Star" for
​

Decca Records. The release of Disney's Pinocchio prompts the successful singer-actress to record her own
​

version of the tune on this day at a session in Los Angeles, California. Eight years later Langford's singing voice
​

will be used in the Disney animated feature Melody Time. ("The Sweetheart of the Fighting Fronts," Langford was
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]a World War II heartthrob beloved by troops for her performances as part of Bob Hope's USO tours.)
​

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

1943:

Master Disney animator Vladimir "Bill" Tytla resigns from the Disney Studios.
​

His perception that he is unwelcomed at the Studio, has been given less challenging work, his wife's three-year long illness with tuberculosis, and a desire to live on his Connecticut farm has led him to this decision. Considered by
​

many to be the best character animator working during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation, Tytla's credits
​

include Grumpy in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Stromboli in Pinocchio, and Chernabog in the "Night on
​

Bald Mountain" sequence from Fantasia
1955:

Steve Jobs, one of the leading figures in the computer industry, is born to an
​

American mother and Syrian father in San Francisco, California. A co-founder & CEO of
​

Apple Computer, Jobs bought Lucasfilm's computer graphics division in the mid-1980s and helped turn it into
​

Pixar Animation Studios. As of 2009 Jobs is currently the Walt Disney Company's largest individual shareholder
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]and a member of its Board of Directors.
​

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

1969:

Disney's Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day is nominated for an Academy Award.
​

The 41st Academy Awards will be presented April 14[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].

1997:
​

D[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]isney CEO Michael Eisner and Steve Jobs (CEO of Pixar Animation Studios) announce that the Walt Disney Studios and Pixar have agreed to jointly produce 5 movies over the next ten years.
​

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

2002:

The Travel Channel airs Great Hotels - Disney's Yacht & Beach Club Resorts for the first time. The 30th (and final) episode of the show's first season, Great Hotels[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] is hosted by Samantha Brown.
​

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

2003:

It is reported that baggage searches at Walt Disney World parks (which began
​

after September 11, 2001) may continue for a long time. Disney has begun building a permanent bag check area at the Magic Kingdom to take the place of the folding tables now being used
2005:

Singabration (a song & dance event that includes 750 students performing on the Forecourt of Cinderella's Castle) kicks off at Walt Disney World.
​

​

Star Wars filmmaker Geroge Lucas visits the Disney-MGM Studios in Florida.
​

​

It is reported that the Florida Board of Governors has appointed Walt Disney World Resort President Al Weiss to the University of Central Florida board of trustees
2006:

Comedic actor Don Knotts passes away at age 81 in Beverly Hills, California. Best known to fans of TV's The Andy Griffith Show as the loveable but nerdy Deputy Barney Fife, Knotts was a five-time Emmy winner. His Disney voice credits include Chicken Little (as Mayor Turkey Lurkey) and 101 Dalmations: The Series (as the dog catcher). Knotts also appeared in the Disney live-action features The Apple Dumpling Gang, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again, No Deposit, No Return and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo.
​

​

Sadly actor Dennis Weaver passes too in Colorado at age 81. Best known for his TV roles in Gunsmoke and McCloud, Weaver was the voice of Abner in Disney's 2004 animated feature Home on the Range. He also appeared in the Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color "Gallegher Goes West" serial
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif](which aired on TV in 1966).
​

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

2009:

Disney's Animal Programs team releases a manatee, named Bock, into the warm waters of the St. John’s River. The manatee, rescued as an orphan from the St. John’s River in 2001, arrived at Epcot in 2003 weighing only about 500 pounds. At Epcot, marine mammal experts weaned him from a bottle and began feeding him a diet of romaine lettuce, fruits and other vegetables. Bock now weighs more than 1,000 pounds and is approximately eight years old​

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2/25

1913:
​

Actor Jim Backus, who appears in Disney's 1977 Pete's Dragon as the Mayor, is born in Cleveland, Ohio. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif](Television fans may remember him as the voice of Mr. Magoo and for his role as Thurston Howell III on the sitcom "Gilligan's Island.")
​

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

1938:

Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon Boat Builders, featuring the voices of Walt Disney (as Mickey), Pinto Colvig (as Goofy), Marcellite Garner (as Minnie Mouse), and Clarence Nash (as Donald Duck) is released. The seven-minute short is directed by Ben Sharpsteen (who will go on to direct Dumbo[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]).
​

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

1965:

Disney's Mary Poppins is nominated for an amazing 13 Academy Awards!
​

Best Picture (a first for a Disney film)
​

Best Actress in a Leading Role (Julie Andrews)
​

Best Director (Robert Stevenson)
​

Best Adapted Screenplay (Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi)
​

Best Cinematography, Color
​

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color
​

Best Sound
​

Best Film Editing (Cotton Warburton)
​

Best Music, Music Score - Substantially Original (Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman)
​

Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment (Irwin Kostal)
​

Best Music, Original Song ("Chim Chim Cher-ee" by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman)
​

Best Costume Design, Color
​

Best Effects, Special Visual Effects (Peter Ellenshaw, Hamilton Luske & Eustace Lycett)
​

The 37th Academy Awards will be held April 5[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].
​

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

1980:

The 1979 Disney sci-fi feature The Black Hole is nominated for 2 Academy Awards - Best Cinematography and Best Effects, Visual Effects. Winners will be announced April 14
1999:

Disney replaces Robert Iger at the helm of ABC with Steve Bornstein and names Iger the President of Walt Disney International, the business unit that oversees Disney's international operations, as well as Chairman of the ABC Group
2005:

Walt Disney World hosts the second annual "ESPN The Weekend Presented
​

by Speed Stick 24/7" at Disney-MGM Studios. The 3-day event offers fans the
​

opportunity to see and hear ESPN personalities and several legendary athletes.
​

​

Singer Cyndi Lauper guest stars (as Ms. Patuto) on the That's So Raven
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]episode "Art Breaker."
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]2006:

Actor Darren McGavin passes away in California at age 83. His Disney credits include the 1976 feature No Deposit, No Return, the 1978 comedy western Hot Lead and Cold Feet, and the 1979 made-for-TV-movie Donovan's Kid. (McGavin also starred in the 1950s series Mike Hammer and the 1970s series Kolchak: The Night Stalker. He may be best remembered for his role of the grumpy father in the holiday comedy film A Christmas Story[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].)
​

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

2011:

Live! with Regis & Kelly[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] broadcast live from Disneyland for the kickoff of "Regis & Kelly’s Run Across America with Dean Karnazes."
​

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2/26

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1920[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]:
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]ctor Tony Randall is born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg in Tulsa, Oklahoma. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]He appeared in the 1989 TV special "The Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park Grand Opening," and hosted the 1987 TV special "Walt Disney World Celebrity Circus." (TV fans know him best as Felix Unger on the classic
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]sitcom "The Odd Couple" and for his 70 appearances on David Letterman's "Late Show.")
​

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

1941:

Walt Disney sends an inter-office communication stating that "Under present
​

conditions, the laying out of cash for equipment is out of line. Our situation is plenty tough
​

and after returning from a session with the bankers we have to stretch things out as far as we can and we still
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]have to cut further." Disney is being forced to focus on cutbacks.
​

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

1953:

Walt Disney is given the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 10th Annual Golden Globe
​

Awards held at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Given for lifetime
​

achievement in motion pictures by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the award is named in honor of
​

Cecil B. DeMille, one of the industry's most successful filmmakers. Walt Disney's award is only the second
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]ever given (Cecil B. DeMille himself was awarded the very first one in 1952).
​

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

1995:

Grand opening ceremonies begin for Disneyland's newest attraction, Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye. The dark ride attraction will open to the public March 3[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].
​

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

1998:

The All Star Café (a 240-seat restaurant) opens at Disney's Wide World of Sports
​

Complex in Florida. A chain of sports themed restaurants developed by Planet Hollywood, it features
​

"stadium cuisine" and sales of professional sports merchandise and souvenirs. (The franchise will ultimately be
​

unsuccessful and the last Official All Star Café, the one at Disney's Wide World of Sports, will close on
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]September 23, 2007.)
​

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

2002:

Disney's Cinderella II: Dreams Come True is released on DVD & video. The movie features the voice of Jennifer Hale as Cinderella (whose voice-over work includes the 2002 movie The Powerpuff Girls and the Disney TV series House of Mouse).
​

​

An unclaimed Mickey Mouse snow globe clears out a section of the Sacramento International Airport after being mistaken for a bomb. The unlabeled cardboard box causes 150 people to be evacuated from the B-1 terminal and 5 outbound flights to be delayed.
​

​

Kmart and Disney debut a colorful and fun new line of Disney-branded apparel at Kmart's Astor Place store in New York City
2006:

The Timekeeper - located in Disney World's Magic Kingdom - permanently closes (although it hasn't operated since late 2005). A poorly attended Tomorrowland attraction, it first opened in 1994
​

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2/27

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1895[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]:
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]E[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]dward Brophy, the voice of Timothy Q. Mouse in Disney's 1941 classic [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Dumbo[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], is born in New York City[/FONT]
1938:

The Spanish-language edition of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs -
​

Blanca Nieves y los Siete Enanos, is unveiled at the Carthay Circle Theater
​

in Hollywood, California. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif](This is the same theater that premiered the film in December 1937.)[/FONT]​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]941[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]:[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]"[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]W[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]hen You Wish Upon a Star" - written by Leigh Harline and
​

[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Ned Washington - from Disney's [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Pinocchio[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], is awarded an Oscar for Best Song at the 13th Academy Awards. [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Leigh Harline, Paul J. Smith and Ned Washington also take home Oscar for Best Music (Original Score) for their work on [/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Pinocchio[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]. This is the first year that sealed envelopes are used to keep secret the names of the winners - which leads to the now famous phrase: "May I have the Envelope, please."
​

[/FONT]

1968:

Louis Armstrong and his 7-piece band record 3 songs in a New York City studio for his upcoming LP Disney Songs the Satchmo Way.[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] This day's session includes "Bout Time," "The Bare Necessities," and "Ten Feet Off The Ground." Produced by Tutti Camarata for Disneyland Records, the album's remaining tunes will be cut in March.
​

[/FONT]

​

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

1985:
​

Singer and character actor James Patrick O'Malley passes
​

away in San Juan Capistrano, California at the age of 80.
​

Using the stage name J. Pat O'Malley, he appeared in dozens of films and
​

television shows (and even on the Broadway stage) during the 1940s–1970s.
​

His vast Disney credits include both animated films and live-action television
​

programs. O'Malley also contributed to the Pirates of the Caribbean park
​

attraction in several roles - including the original voice of the Pirate Captain
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]dunking the magistrate into the well!
​

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

1992:

Movie star Elizabeth Taylor takes over Disneyland for a
​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]private after-hours 60th birthday bash.
​

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

1995:

Michael Eisner and filmmaker George Lucas are on hand at Disneyland for the official dedication of the park's newest attraction, Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye. (Although the attraction had its grand opening ceremonies the day before, Indiana Jones won't open to the public untl March 3[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].)
​

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

1996:

The ABC-TV sitcom Roseanne [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]debuts part 2 of a Disney-theme episode titled "Disney World War II."
​

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

2006:

H[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]ong Kong Disneyland announces plans to add 3 new attractions. The Tomorrowland expansion will include Autopia, Stitch Encounter, and the UFO Zone.
​

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

2007:

Muppet Mobile Lab, featuring interactive Audio-Animatronic Muppet characters, is tested at Disney's California Adventure
2009:

Shawn Johnson, a 2008 Olympic Gold Medal-winning gymnast, visits Disney’s Hollywood Studios. (At 17, she is the youngest celebrity to ever compete on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars.") Johnson is at Disney World for the "ESPN The Weekend," a special event through March 1.
​

​

"The Magical Music of Walt Disney - Omaha Symphony Pops Concert" kicks off 3-days of performances at the Holland Performing Arts Center. Sponsored by the Nebraska Medical Center, the concert features beloved songs from Walt Disney movies and Broadway shows.
​

​

Dorothea Holt Redmond, an illustrator and production designer who worked with Walt Disney to design a private apartment in Disneyland's New Orleans Square, passes away at age 98. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Redmond, who broke ground in 1938 as the first woman to invade the "heretofore exclusively male field" of motion-picture production design, at David O. Selznick's studio, also worked closely with Alfred Hitchcock. In 1964, she joined what is now known as Walt Disney Imagineering and helped envision elements of Disneyland and later Disney World.
​

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[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]​

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