this day in Disney history

trr1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
found here
please join in posting


1513:
Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León discovers Florida while searching for gold and the
mythical Fountain of Youth. He names the land "Pascua Florida" (Spanish for "Flowery Easter") because he and
his crew first spot the land on this day - Palm Sunday. Many historians believe Ponce de León was the very first European
to set foot in Florida. (Pascua Florida Day, April 2, is a legal holiday in the Sunshine State.)
1805:
Writer Hans Christian Andersen, known for his many classic fairy tales including
"The Ugly Duckling," "The Little Mermaid" and "The Little Match Girl," is born in Odensk,
on the Danish island of Funen, Denmark. Those 3 stories will be later adapted into animated works by Disney. Andersen’s fairy tales of fantasy with moral lessons are still popular today with children & adults all over the world.
1899:
Disney Legend (class of 1999), film pioneer & engineering wiz Bill Garity is born in
Brooklyn, New York. He will help put sound into Steamboat Willie, perfect the multiplane camera - a device
(first created by Ub Iwerks) used to give depth to animation, and co-invent Fantasound (along with sound mixer John
Hawkins) - an innovative stereo system installed in theaters for Fantasia - now known as surround sound.
mermaid_animated.gif

1908:
Actor Buddy Ebsen, who portrayed George Russel in Disney's Davy Crockett films and TV
shows, is born in Illinois. He also appeared in such TV specials as the 1973 Walt Disney: A Golden Anniversary
Salute
, the 1978 NBC Salutes the 25th Anniversary of the Wonderful World of Disney, and the 2001 Walt: The Man
Behind the Myth
. Noted for his unusual, surreal dancing and singing style, he was chosen by Walt Disney to be filmed
dancing (on many occassions) as an aid for his animators and Imagineers. Ebsen was inducted a Disney Legend in 1993.
(TV fans will remember Ebsen as Jed Clampett on the Beverly Hillbillies and as a private investigator on Barnaby Jones.)
1920:
Actor & TV producer Jack Webb is born in Santa Monica, California. In 1948 Webb will agree to help
finance the construction of a large stage at his friend Walt Disney's studio lot, in exchange for production space for his new
show. The Disney Studio's Stage 2 will be completed in 1949 and become the first home to Webb's long-running Dragnet.
1928:
Disney's Oswald the Lucky Rabbit black & white silent short
Sagebrush Sadie is released. Oswald plays a cowboy who must rescue
Sadie from a runaway stagecoach and the evil Pegleg Pete!
1930:
Clarabelle Cow first appears in the Mickey Mouse comic strip.

Actor Roddy Maude-Roxby is born in London, England. He is the voice of Edgar Balthazar - Madame Bonfamille's avaricious, but slightly comic butler - in Disney's 1970 The Aristocats.
1934:
Ward Kimball (who will become one of Walt's "Nine
Old Men
") starts work at the Disney Studio as an
apprentice. At first he will work as an inbetweener, eventually
becoming an assistant to veteran Ham Luske. Within 5 years Kimball will
become one of the studio's top animators. Among his most famous
creative achievements will be ... Jiminy Cricket!
1940:
Walt Disney Productions offers shares in the company to the public for the first time.
155,000 shares of preferred stock are offered at $25 per share and 600,000 of common stock for $5 per share.
1943:
Disney's Private Pluto, featuring the first appearance of two characters who will later be named Chip & Dale, is released. Directed by Clyde Geronimi, Pluto is in the infantry guarding
a pillbox from saboteurs.
1945:
Actress Linda Hunt, the voice of Grandmother Willow in Disney's Pocahontas and
Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World, is born in Morristown, New Jersey. She also provided the voice for Lady Proxima in the 2018 Solo: A Star Wars Story. Making her film debut in the Paramount/Disney 1980 musical comedy Popeye, you may know Hunt from such features as The Year of Living Dangerously and She-Devil and the TV series NCIS: Los Angeles.
1954:
Plans for the Disneyland Park and TV show are announced when ABC
and Disney Boards approve ownership and financing.
Walt states that the TV series will begin in October 1954 and the park will open in July 1955.
The TV show will be patterned after the different "lands" of his new California theme park.

Disney and ABC sign an agreement regarding the building of "Disneylandia." ABC advances Disney $500,000 in cash and guarantees all bank loans. In exchange, ABC receives 35% ownership of Disneylandia, 100% of all profits from the park's food concessions for 10 years, and an 8-year commitment from Disney for use of its library of films to be aired as one-hour television programs.
1967:
Walt Disney's final introduction on his Wonderful World of Color TV series airs. (Walt had
died less than 4 months earlier and there will be no regular host for the remainder of the anthology's original run.)
This evening's episode - A Salute to Alaska with Ludwig von Drake.
1974:
"The Way We Were" (written by Marvin Hamlisch and Alan & Marilyn Bergman) from the film The Way We Were beats out "Love" (written by George Bruns and Floyd Huddleston) from Disney's Robin Hood at the 1973 Academy Awards.
1975:
Deedee Magno, a member of Disney Channel's The All New Mickey Mouse Club (and a member of the Broadway cast of "Miss Saigon") is born in Virginia.
1977:
The New Mouseketeers appear at Disneyland for the first day
of a series of live Easter Week shows.
1982:
Disney re-releases Fantasia for the 8th time since its 1940 original release. The soundtrack has been digitally re-recorded making it
the first motion picture with digital stereo sound.
1984:
Tokyo Disneyland welcomes its 10-millionth guest - just 2 weeks short of the park's first anniversary!
1997:
At a ceremony in Manhattan, Disney CEO Michael Eisner, Rudi Giuliani the
mayor of New York City, and George Pataki the governor of New York State, unveil Disney's restored New Amsterdam Theatre (at 214 West 42nd
Street). First built in 1903, the theater will become the home to such productions as The Lion King
and Mary Poppins.
2001:
Spectromagic returns to the Magic Kingdom after a 2-year hiatus at Walt Disney World. The parade features an array of flowing fiber optics; holographic images, liquid-nitrogen smoke; and old-fashioned twinkle lights, precisely choreographed to an exciting original soundtrack which uses dashes
of classic Disney tunes.
2007:
Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor, a Disney World attraction in Tomorrowland, opens.
Replacing the Circle-Vision attraction The Timekeeper, this attraction is based upon the Disney/Pixar animated
film Monsters, Inc. and features the characters Mike Wazowski and Roz. The main theater is equipped with 400 seats
and utilizes digital puppetry technology (similar to Epcot's voice-directed Turtle Talk with Crush). Live actors perform
voices behind a large digital screens, while computer-rendered monsters appear with the actors' voices. Movable
cameras are used by performers backstage to locate guests with whom they would like to interact. A Disney cast
member in the theatre will then take a microphone to the selected guest so that the guest can talk to the performers!
2004:
Disney's animated western comedy feature Home on the Range
is released. Set in the old west, the plot centers on a mismatched trio of dairy
cows; voiced by Roseanne Barr, Judi Dench and Jennifer Tilly, who must capture Alameda Slim, an infamous cattle rustler. Named after the popular country song of the same name, the voice cast also features Cuba Gooding Jr., Randy Quaid, Steve Buscemi, Joe Flaherty, Patrick Warburton, and Estelle Harris. Many believe it will be
the last hand drawn 2D Disney film for quite sometime. The musical score for Home
on the Range
has been composed by Alan Menken, with original music written by Menken and Glenn Slater.

A Tower of Terror Media Preview is held at Disney's
California Adventure. (The attraction will open in May.)
Apr02~~element51.jpg



1513:
Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León discovers Florida while searching for gold and the
mythical Fountain of Youth. He names the land "Pascua Florida" (Spanish for "Flowery Easter") because he and
his crew first spot the land on this day - Palm Sunday. Many historians believe Ponce de León was the very first European
to set foot in Florida. (Pascua Florida Day, April 2, is a legal holiday in the Sunshine State.)
Zorro-Z-for-web.gif

1961:
The TV series Walt Disney Presents airs "Zorro: Auld Acquaintance."
1962:
Actor, director, screenwriter, and voice actor Clark Gregg is born in Boston, Massachusetts. He plays the character of Agent Phil Coulson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning in Iron Man (2008) and continuing through Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), The Avengers (2012), Captain Marvel (2019), and the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. since 2013. (Television viewers will recognize him
as Christine Campbell's ex-husband Richard in the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine.)



1963:
Voice actor, story artist, writer, animator, comedian, and director Tim Hodge is born in Boaz, Alabama. Joining the Walt Disney Feature Animation studio located at the Disney/MGM Studios theme park in Orlando, Florida, he worked as story artist on films like Mulan, John Henry for Disney's American Legends video and Brother Bear. Hodge also worked on the video game versions of The Lion King and Aladdin. He is probably best know for his work on VeggieTales, a Christian computer generated children's animation and media franchise under Big Idea Entertainment.
1967:
Walt Disney's final introduction on his Wonderful World of Color TV series airs. (Walt had
died less than 4 months earlier and there will be no regular host for the remainder of the anthology's original run.)
This evening's episode - A Salute to Alaska with Ludwig von Drake
1973:
Singer/songwriter, model, actress, producer and writer Roselyn Sánchez is born in
San Juan, Puerto Rico. She played the role of Monique Vasquez in Disney's 2007 family comedy
The Game Plan and appeared in a 2012 episode of ABC-TV's Desperate Housewives.
1974:
"The Way We Were" (written by Marvin Hamlisch and Alan & Marilyn Bergman) from the film The Way We Were beats out "Love" (written by George Bruns and Floyd Huddleston) from Disney's Robin Hood at the 1973 Academy Awards.
1975:
Deedee Magno, a member of Disney Channel's The All New Mickey Mouse Club (and a member of the Broadway cast of "Miss Saigon") is born in Virginia.
1977:
The New Mouseketeers appear at Disneyland for the first day
of a series of live Easter Week shows.

1982:
Disney re-releases Fantasia for the 8th time since its 1940 original release. The soundtrack has been digitally re-recorded making it
the first motion picture with digital stereo sound.
1984:
Tokyo Disneyland welcomes its 10-millionth guest - just 2 weeks short of the park's first anniversary!
1986:
Singer Lee DeWyze, the winner of the ninth season of American Idol and the 3rd Idol to shout "I'm Going to Disney World!" in the famous Disney TV commercial, is born in Mount Prospect, Illinois. Following his Idol win on May 26, 2010, he took part in a special parade through Disney’s Hollywood Studios on May 31. In December 2010 he performed on the 27th Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade, broadcast on ABC-TV. DeWyze and his wife Jonna Walsh (a self-proclaimed "Disney freak") got engaged
at Disney World in Florida, in July 2011.

1993:
At Disneyland, the Aladdin's Royal Caravan parade steps off for the first time.

The Walt Disney Pictures live-action feature film The Adventures of Huck Finn opens
in theaters. A retelling of Mark Twain's classic novel of a young boy's adventures after he escapes from his
abusive father, and his relationship with a runaway slave, it stars Elijah Wood as Huck.

Singer Aaron Kelly, a 2010 American Idol contestant, is born in Pennsylvania. Kelly was
a participant in the American Idol Experience at Disney's Hollywood Studios at WDW. At the end of the day he was
the highest vote recipient in the finale show, which entitled him to receive the dream ticket - which got him to the
front of the line for the real American Idol auditions in Orlando in June of 2009! On May 5, 2010, Kelly was
eliminated from American Idol - finishing fifth place in the competition but making him the youngest contestant to
make it through to the Top 12
1997:
At a ceremony in Manhattan, Disney CEO Michael Eisner, Rudi Giuliani the
mayor of New York City, and George Pataki the governor of New York State, unveil Disney's restored New Amsterdam Theatre (at 214 West 42nd
Street). First built in 1903, the theater will become the home to such productions as The Lion King
and Mary Poppins.
2001:
Spectromagic returns to the Magic Kingdom after a 2-year hiatus at Walt Disney World. The parade features an array of flowing fiber optics; holographic images, liquid-nitrogen smoke; and old-fashioned twinkle lights, precisely choreographed to an exciting original soundtrack which uses dashes
of classic Disney tunes.
2002:
In the strongest signs yet that tourism is recovering from pre-September 11
levels, it is reported that Disney World had record-setting attendance over the
2004:
Disney's animated western comedy feature Home on the Range
is released. Set in the old west, the plot centers on a mismatched trio of dairy
cows; voiced by Roseanne Barr, Judi Dench and Jennifer Tilly, who must capture Alameda Slim, an infamous cattle rustler. Named after the popular country song of the same name, the voice cast also features Cuba Gooding Jr., Randy Quaid, Steve Buscemi, Joe Flaherty, Patrick Warburton, and Estelle Harris. Many believe it will be
the last hand drawn 2D Disney film for quite sometime. The musical score for Home
on the Range
has been composed by Alan Menken, with original music written by Menken and Glenn Slater.

A Tower of Terror Media Preview is held at Disney's
California Adventure. (The attraction will open in May.)

2005:
Raven, star of Disney Channel's hit series That's So Raven, wins Favorite TV Actress
at the 18th Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. The Incredibles is awarded Favorite Movie.

Academy Award-winning actress Hayley Mills (star of such Disney classics as Pollyana, The Parent Trap! and In Search of the Castaways) addresses the Arizona Girl Scouts, Cactus Pine Council, at their first annual "Pollyanna Days" celebration.
Easter holiday weekend.

2007:
Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor, a Disney World attraction in Tomorrowland, opens.
Replacing the Circle-Vision attraction The Timekeeper, this attraction is based upon the Disney/Pixar animated
film Monsters, Inc. and features the characters Mike Wazowski and Roz. The main theater is equipped with 400 seats
and utilizes digital puppetry technology (similar to Epcot's voice-directed Turtle Talk with Crush). Live actors perform
voices behind a large digital screens, while computer-rendered monsters appear with the actors' voices. Movable
cameras are used by performers backstage to locate guests with whom they would like to interact. A Disney cast
member in the theatre will then take a microphone to the selected guest so that the guest can talk to the performers!

2008:
St. Ann's Warehouse (in Brooklyn, New York) stages a 20th anniversary gala concert
of Hal Willner's album of Disney covers, "Stay Awake" - originally released in 1988.
The fundraiser, entitled Stay Awake Live, features popular artists reinterpreting
tunes from the Disney songbook.

Disney Channel begins broadcasting in high-definition.

2011:
Disney Imagineer Collin Campbell passes away at age 84 in Florida. Starting out in Disney's animation department, he worked on such features as Lady and the Tramp and One Hundred and One Dalmatians.
But it was Campbell's distinctive paintings (as an Imagineer) of the Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Haunted Mansion that played an important role in the attractions' conceptualization and design. He is credited with
the lush landscape painted inside the lid of the famous harpsichord which sits in the secretive Club 33 in Disneyland. Campbell was also instrumental in the design of Walt Disney World's EPCOT Center, working on popular attractions
such as the Horizons Pavillion. Collin's considerable contributions to Disney had been recently acknowledged with a monument in the new interactive graveyard recently added to The Haunted Mansion at WDW's Magic Kingdom.

The 24th Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards are held in California. Among the winners:
-Favorite Movie Actor: Johnny Depp – Alice in Wonderland as Tarrant Hightopp / The Mad Hatter
-Favorite Movie Actress: Miley Cyrus – The Last Song as Veronica "Ronnie" Miller
-Favorite TV Actor: Dylan Sprouse – The Suite Life on Deck as Zack Martin
-Favorite TV Actress: Selena Gomez – Wizards of Waverly Place as Alex Russo

2012:
Sony Electronics announces it has teamed up with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts to
promote its latest line of Handycam® camcorders in a new integrated marketing campaign
that focuses on capturing and sharing family memories. The "Share Magical Memories" co-branded
campaign kicks off with a unique online contest and dedicated website hosted by Disney Interactive at
www.disney.com/memories.

Zeke and Luther ends it run on Disney XD. A sitcom about two best friends setting their sights on
becoming the world's greatest skateboarders, it first premiered in June 2009.


2016:
Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show has its final performances at Disney's
Hollywood Studios, as nearby locations around the Streets of America close to make
way for that park's expansions of Toy Story Land and Star Wars Land. Parts of the area
will be absorbed into Muppets Courtyard (to be made official the following day). Lights, Motors, Action! debuted in
2005 as part of the Happiest Celebration on Earth festival.
After more than 25 years, The Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: Movie Set Adventure playground too closes at
Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Also closing at Disney World is Dream Along with Mickey, a live stage show
performed daily for the past decade in front of Cinderella Castle (in Magic Kingdom).
2020:
Disney+ is launched in Channel Islands (an archipelago in the English Channel) and Isle of Man (a British Crown dependency situated in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland).​
 

trr1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster

1933:
Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon Ye Olden Days and the Silly Symphony cartoon Father Noah's Ark are both released. In Ye Olden Days (directed by Bert Gillett) Mickey and his friends put on a
musical play in Medieval times. Mickey plays a wandering minstrel who saves Princess Minnie from having to marry
Dippy Dawg (later known as Goofy), the Prince of Poopoopadoo! The Silly Symphony short, directed by Wilfred
Jackson, is a musical retelling of the Biblical story of Noah and the ark.
1939:
The British mouse-mag Mickey Mouse Weekly introduces the Lone Ranger (already popular with American kids through radio) to its readers. A free Lone Ranger mask is included in the issue. A fictional masked ex-Texas Ranger who, with his Native American companion Tonto, fights injustice in the American Old West, the Lone Ranger will be turned into a hit television series on ABC during the early 1950s. (A feature film by
Disney was released in 2013.)
1941:
Original Mouseketeer Darlene Gillespie is born in Montreal, Canada. Auditioning for The Mickey Mouse Club in March 1955, she was hired, and appeared on the program for all three seasons of its original run. She was the leading female singer and starred in the serial "Corky and White Shadow" during the first season. In the third season, she appeared in the serial "The New Adventures of Spin and Marty" with Tim Considine and David Stollery. A naturalized U.S. citizen in September 1956, she also recorded albums of songs from Disney animated films, such as Alice in Wonderland and Sleeping Beauty. She was cast as Dorothy in a musical number from the proposed live-action Disney film Rainbow Road to Oz on an episode of the Disneyland television series in September 1957. The movie was never made, and after The Mickey Mouse Club stopped filming in 1958, her short acting career neared its end.
1946:
Film and television actor Stuart Pankin is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His Disney/Hollywood credits include Arachnophobia (1990) as Sheriff Lloyd Parsons, 3 episodes of the animated series Aladdin (1994), Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves (1997) as Gordon Szalinski, the ABC sitcom Dinosaurs (1991-94)
as the voice of Earl, 3 episodes of Hercules: The Animated Series (1998-99), the Disney Channel movie Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century (1999) as Commander Edward Plank, returning to the role for Zenon: The Zequel (2001), 3 episodes of That's So Raven (2003–04), an episode of Higglytown Heroes (2004), playing the Commander one last time for Zenon: Z3 (2004), an episode of Lilo & Stitch: The Series (2005), an episode of The Suite Life on Deck (2008), and one episode of Girl Meets World (2015). Although Pankin is known for comedy roles and game show appearances, he has also appeared in numerous television commercials.
1949:
Disney's Donald Duck short Sea Salts, directed by Jack Hannah, is released. In this
cartoon, instead of being enemies, Donald and Bootle Beetle are good friends who reminisce about old times at sea.
1962:
The NBC-TV series Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color
airs "Von Drake in Spain."
1963:
Although nominated for 3 Oscars, Disney is shut out at the 35th Academy Awards.
Disney's Bon Voyage is edged out by The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm for Best Costume Design,
Color and Lawrence of Arabia for Best Sound. Disney's A Symposium on Popular Songs loses out to The Hole
for Best Short Subject, Cartoons.
1968:
Actress Patricia Arquette is born in Chicago, Illinois. She voiced Beaver in the 2001 animated Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure and Harmony’s Mom in the 2019 animated Toy Story 4. Arquette portrayed Kathy O'Hara in Touchstone's 1994 Ed Wood, Miss Katherine "Kissin' Kate" Barlow in Disney's 2003 Holes, and Betsy "Havana" Iggins in Hollywood Pictures Holy Matrimony - released on this day in 1994. (Television viewers will recognize Arquette from the supernatural drama series Medium.)
1973:
Disneyland's Main Street Opera House debuts The Walt Disney Story (presented
by Gulf Oil) with special guest Mrs. Lillian Disney Truyens. A biography of Walt Disney's life,
the 23-minute film (which features rare footage) is narrated by Walt himself from interview recordings. Also on
display - photographs from family archives, a collection of memorabilia, and national and international awards
presented to Walt over his lifetime. The Walt Disney Story replaces Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (although the
two shows will later be combined into one single attraction). The Walt Disney Story will be officially dedicated May 6.

Film producer Dan Lin is born in Taipei, Taiwan. Best known for producing Warner Bros.' The Lego Movie, The Lego Batman Movie, The Lego Ninjago Movie, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Lin also produced Disney's animated Lilo & Stitch, and the live-action Aladdin.
1974:
Walt Disney World's Treasure Island (later to be called Discovery Island) opens to the public. Located on Bay Lake behind the Contemporary Hotel, the 11.5-acre island features wildlife (such as birds, reptiles, and mammals). A beached hull of a sailing ship on the island's southwest shore and a light pirate theme (complete with Cast Members in costume) set the stage for this "tropical island paradise."
1981:
Actor Taylor Kitsch is born in British Columbia. He starred in Disney's 2012 science fiction
live-action film John Carter.
1984:
Actress Kirsten Storms is born in Orlando, Florida. Her Disney credits include the title character in Disney
Channel's 1999 original movie Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century (which had the largest rating for any Disney Channel original movie at the time) and the sequels Zenon: The Zequel and Zenon: Z3. Storms' voice credits include Belle's Tales of
Friendship
, Sing Me a Story with Belle, and Kim Possible (as Bonnie Rockwaller). She also appeared in the 1999 Disney
Channel Original Movie Johnny Tsunami and a 2003 episode of That's So Raven.
(Fans of General Hospital will know Storms from her role of Maxie Jones.)

Taran Noah Smith, a former actor widely known for his role as Mark Taylor on the ABC sitcom Home Improvement, is born in San Francisco, California.
1985:
Monday
The 107th White House Easter Egg Roll, one of the oldest and most
unique traditions in U. S. presidential history, takes place the day after Easter
Sunday. This year's event includes Disney and one of its' most outstanding artists and Imagineers Bill Justice.
Fifty of America's best artists - including Justice - have been asked by U.S. President Ronald Reagan to paint
Easter eggs. Justice has also been asked to design the cover for the event's program and to illustrate four pages of
Disney line art for children to color. He attends the Easter Egg Roll along with a costumed Mickey Mouse!
1994:
Hollywood Pictures releases Holy Matrimony, a comedy directed by Leonard Nimoy
and starring Patricia Arquette and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (in his feature film debut).
The film tells the story of a beautiful thief, hiding in a small, isolated religious community, who marries a young boy
in order to retrieve a hidden fortune. The cast also includes Tate Donovan, Armin Mueller-Stahl, and John Schuck.
It will be the final feature film directed by Nimoy.
1997:
Disney's Mighty Ducks the Movie: The First Face Off, an animated film, is released direct-
to video. A compilation of three episodes from the animated television series Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series, it
features the voices of Jim Belushi, Tim Curry, April Winchell, Tony Jay and Dennis Franz
1998:
At Disney-MGM, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster (which began construction last month) sets the record for the largest "concrete pour" at a Walt Disney attraction! On this day, the gravity building's mat foundation is poured.
1999:
Actress Emma Rose Lima is born. Her voice credits include Enchanted, Bambi and the Great Prince of the Forest, and Brave.
2000:
Two San Francisco Bay Area student robot teams join with a New Jersey team to win the FIRST ("For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology") national robotic games championship held at Walt Disney World's Epcot in Florida. The NASA-sponsored competition involves 268 robots from high schools across the nation.
2001:
The classic 1924 silent film Peter Pan returns to Disney's El Capitan Theatre, with organist Chris Elliott providing live accompaniment to the film. Also on the bill is a celebration of Walt Disney's 100th birthday that includes rare screenings of two 1922 animated shorts, Little Red Riding Hood and Puss in Boots, along with family home movies and previously unseen footage. (Walt Disney is said to have admired the 1924 adaptation of James M. Barrie's Peter Pan and purchased it in 1938 when he began development of his animated feature.) Disney film restoration expert Scott MacQueen hosts the afternoon event.
2002:
Disney Online announces the launch of a new advertising format that expands
upon the traditional banner ad. "The Magic Banner," will engage guests with
animated designs in a single, enlarged ad space at the top of the page.

Orman James Tucker - an employee of Walt Disney and Technicolor
during the late 1930s early 40s - passes away in Valencia, California, at age 88.

Actress Skai Jackson is born in New York City. Disney Channel fans know her as Zuri Ross on both the series Jessie and Bunk'd, and on an episode of Good Luck Charlie
2003:
My Degeneration, the fourth studio album by the punk rock band Flashlight Brown, is released on Disney's Hollywood Records. The band's first major-label release, it is produced by Rob Cavallo
(primarily known for his production work with Green Day).
2004:
A memorial service is held at the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York City for the late actor Jason Raize. Raize, the original adult Simba in the Broadway musical The Lion King, had passed at the age of 28 last February. In summer 2000, Raize and Jessica Simpson starred in a Disney Channel special called Jessica Simpson and Jason Raize in Concert. The concert was filmed in Disneyland and featured Raize singing "You Win Again," "I Can Make It Without You," and "NYC." Raize also provided the voice of Denahi for the 2003 Disney animated feature Brother Bear
2005:
A fifth grade class from Sonoma County's El Verano Elementary School are honored
as environmental heroes at the Disneyland Resort. Teacher David Neubacher and his students are awarded the honor during a special ceremony (which is part of Jiminy Cricket's Environmentality Challenge program).

Disney's Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama debuts on Disney Channel.
Produced by Walt Disney Television Animation, it is the second TV film based on the animated television series Kim Possible. Kim has to find a date for the junior prom, and is horrified at the suggestion that she might miss out on a
proper date with one of the `fanciable' guys because she spends too much time with her friend Ron Stoppable.
The voice cast includes Christy Carlson Romano as Kim, Will Friedle as Ron, Nancy Cartwright as Rufus (Ron's pet
naked mole-rat), John DiMaggio as Dr. Drakken (Kim's nemesis), and Nicole Sullivan as Shego (Drakken's sassy & sarcastic sidekick).

Choreographer & dancer Onna White, who worked on the 1977 Disney animated-live action feature Pete's Dragon, passes away in California. Over her career she collected an amazing 8 Tony Award nominations and worked on classics like The Music Man and Bye Bye Birdie.

Disney's Broadway hit Beauty and the Beast plays its 4,500th performance!


The Phil of the Future episode "Corner Pocket" debuts on Disney Channel.
2006:
Disneyland Paris launches its newest attraction, Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast - located in the park’s Discoveryland. This revolutionary attraction features spinning vehicles and hand-held laser guns allowing guests to shoot at targets and rack up a score which is displayed on the dashboard of each "Space Cruiser." It is the final Buzz Lightyear attraction to open, as every Disney park in the world now has a version of it (starting with WDW's Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin first opening back in 1998).
2008:
Thousands of Disneyland park guests gather around King Arthur's Carrousel to watch
Disney's top brass dedicate a special carousel horse to legendary performer Julie
Andrews. "Jingles," the lead carrousel horse, commemorates Andrews' service as the theme park's ambassador during
its 50th anniversary, as well as her contributions to the company over the past 44 years (Andrews played the lead role in
Disney's feature film Mary Poppins). Jingles features a hand-painted, colorful jewel-tone palette including embellishments
of gold leaf horseshoes. A miniature, one-of-kind replica of Jingles is also presented to Andrews on this day.

Unfold, the debut solo album by singer/songwriter Marié Digby is released through
Disney's Hollywood Records. The album features the singles "Umbrella" (a cover of the Rihanna hit), "Say It
Again" and "Stupid for You"
2009:
The Region 4 DVD of High School Musical 3 is released.
2010:
Toy Story 3 is featured in Apple's iPhone OS 4 Event with Steve Jobs demoing a Toy Story 3 themed iAd written in HTML5 (the next major revision of HyperText Markup Language).
2011:
Major construction work begins on Shanghai Disneyland Park in China.
2013:
Actress, singer and Disney Legend Annette Joanne Funicello passes away from complications from multiple sclerosis at the age of 70. Beginning her professional career as a child performer at the age of twelve, Funicello rose to prominence as one of the most popular Mouseketeers on the original Mickey Mouse Club. Born in 1942, Funicello was discovered by Walt Disney when she performed as the Swan Queen in Swan Lake at a dance recital at the Starlight Bowl in Burbank, California. After the Mickey Mouse Club, she remained under contract with Disney for a time, with television roles in Zorro, Elfego Baca, and The Horsemasters. Her
Disney film credits include such classics as Babes in Toyland, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, The Monkey's Uncle
and The gy Dog. Although uncomfortable being thought of as a singer, Funicello had a number of pop record hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s, mostly written by the Sherman Brothers and including: "Tall Paul", "First Name Initial",
"O Dio Mio", "Train of Love" (written by Paul Anka) and "Pineapple Princess". They were released by Disney's Buena Vista label. Her 1960 pop song "Pineapple Princess" (which appeared on the LP album Hawaiiannette) was later used on the soundtrack of Lilo and Stitch 2.
2014:
Can't Blame a Girl for Trying, the debut extended play by singer Sabrina Carpenter,
is released by Hollywood Records.
2018:
Chuck McCann, a film, television, stage and voice actor, passes away at age 83 in Los Angeles, California. A comedy giant to a generation of kids who grew up watching his children's shows in the
New York metropolitan area during the 1960s, the Brooklyn-born McCann relocated to Los Angeles in the 1970s where he began getting voice work for cartoons. McCann's Disney credits include DuckTales, The New Adventures
of Winnie the Pooh
and TaleSpin. He also appeared in the 1974 feature film Herbie Rides Again, and voiced Santa in the 2004 Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas. Originally hired by WED as the voice of Dreamfinder (for Epcot's Journey into Imagination), McCann left the project before it was completed. (He was replaced with Ron Schneider.)

2020:
ABC's Modern Family (which won the Emmy for Best Comedy five years in a row) wraps up its 11-season run on television with a one-hour finale.
 

trr1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster

1868:
Flora Call is born to Charles and Henrietta Call in Steuben, Ohio
(near the now famous amusement park Cedar Point). Flora will go on
to marry Elias Disney (the son of a neighborhood family) in 1888 and later give birth to
five children ... including a son named Walter.
1899:
Film and television director Byron Haskin is born in Portland, Oregon. He directed the 1950 Treasure Island, one of Walt Disney's earliest live-action features.

1906:
Actor Eddie Albert is born in Rock Island, Illinois. His Disney credits include the 1995 The Barefoot
Executive
, the 1982 Beyond Witch Mountain, the 1975 Escape to Witch Mountain, and the 1963 Miracle of the White
Stallions
. (Known as Oliver Wendell Douglas on the sitcom Green Acres, Albert also appeared in such films as Roman
Holiday
, Oklahoma!, and The Longest Day.)
1938:
The article "Homemakers to Hear Voice of Snow White" appears in this day's issue
of Chicago Herald-Examiner.
1946:
"(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66," a song composed by actor/jazz pianist Bobby Troup, is first released by Capitol Records. Recorded by singer/pianist Nat King Cole, it will become a hit. Troup got the idea for the song on a cross-country 10-day drive from Pennsylvania to California. The lyrics read as a mini-travelogue about the major stops along the route, listing several cities and towns through which Route 66 passes. Also simply known as "Route 66," the song will be recorded several times by different artists over the years. The 2006 Pixar animated movie Cars includes renditions by Chuck Berry and John Mayer. Mayer's version was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance

1948:
Singer, songwriter, musician and radio host Larry Groce is born in Dallas, Texas. Specializing in country, folk and children's music, Walt Disney's Vista label Activity Records issued his "Winnie the Pooh For President" as a single. He also recorded the "Disney Children's Favorites" albums on Disneyland Records, featuring many well-loved children's songs, as well as several other Disney recordings during the late 1970s and early 1980s, including the two "Disney Christmas Favorites" LPs. Early in the 1970s, Groce went to work for the National Endowment for the Arts program which funded appearances by artists in public schools. Groce was sent to West Virginia where working with kids inspired him to write the humorous "Junk Food Junkie", which was later recorded in 1975 in front of a live audience at McCabe's in Santa Monica, California. The song, released as a single in early 1976, quickly became a hit in the United States. Groce performed the song on a 1977 episode of The New Mickey Mouse Club.
1962:
On this Easter Sunday, the colorful hot air balloon from the 1956 feature film Around the World in 80 Days leaves the Plaza Hub of Disneyland following a traditional old-fashioned Easter Parade down Main Street, U.S.A.
1964:
The World's Fair in Flushing, New York, is opened by U.S.
President Johnson for the 1964 season. The fair features over
100 pavilions on approximately 646 acres. The fair also includes 4 Disney attractions for Ford, General Electric, Pepsi-Cola, and the State of Illinois. Despite it being a rainy day, some 92,000 people visit. An opening day ceremony takes place with a special parade that includes various Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse, Pinocchio, and Alice in Wonderland. On a VIP observation deck above "It's A Small World" (located in the Pepsi Pavilion), Disney personnel - including designer/artist Mary Blair - celebrate the team who has put together the exhibit from scratch in just 9 months! (The fair will run through October 18, 1964 and then reopen again on April 21 for the 1965 season.)
1968:
Animation designer and layout artist Ernie Nordli passes away at age 55 in California.
Starting at Disney in 1936, he served as an art director/layout artist on Dumbo and Fantasia, and worked on many of the studio's shorts through the mid-1940s, including such Donald Duck shorts as The Plastics Inventor and Donald's Double Trouble. Temporarily leaving Disney, he became a layout artist for animator Chuck Jones but later returned to Disney where he worked on Sleeping Beauty and One Hundred and One Dalmatians
1970:
The very first Earth Day takes place - with over 20 million people participating.
At this time Americans are slurping leaded gas through massive V8 sedans and industry is belching out
smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press. Air pollution is commonly accepted as the smell
of prosperity and "environment" is merely a word that appears more often in spelling bees than on the evening news.

1971:
Award-winning singer-songwriter Kellie Coffey is born in Moore, Oklahoma.
It is her voice you hear singing "We Go On" and "The Promise" during Epcot's Illuminations fireworks show. You
can also hear Coffey at Christmas time at Disneyland singing "White Christmas" as snow falls on Main Street!
Coffey was also the centerpiece of Disney’s extensive, worldwide marketing campaign, as the singer of “Sharing A
Dream Come True.” (A country music artist, she made her debut in 2002 with the release of her single
"When You Lie Next to Me" - a Top 10 hit.)

Actor Eric Mabius is born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He gained widespread recognition for his role as Daniel Meade on the ABC comedy-drama series Ugly Betty (2006-2010).
1975:
Actress, comedian, and writer Dannah Phirman is born in New York. Best known for voicing the title character in the PBS Kids animated series WordGirl, she voiced Teenage Milly in Phineas and Ferb.
1990:
The Magical World of Disney airs part 1 of "Spooner".

Mickey's Birthdayland closes at WDW's Magic Kingdom. (It will later reopen as Mickey's Starland before becoming known as Mickey's Toontown Fair.)
1991:
A 55-foot-tall oak tree weighing in at nearly 85 tons is moved 12 miles across
Walt Disney World property. It will serve as a centerpiece for the Ol’ Man Island recreation area at
Disney’s Port Orleans Resort-Riverside.
1994:
Touchstone Pictures releases the romantic comedy/drama The Inkwell. Drew Tate, played by Larenz Tate, is a quiet 16-year-old still recovering from the trauma of accidentally burning his own house down. Drew's parents, Kenny (Joe Morton) and Brenda (Suzzanne Douglas), take the family to
Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, to vacation with their wealthy relatives for the summer. On the island,
Drew discovers an upper-class black community that centers on parties held at a beach called the Inkwell. There, bumbling Drew falls for two different women (Jada Pinkett & Adrienne-Joi Johnson).
1995:
The Empress Lily, an authentic re-creation of an 1800s paddle wheel boat - offering the first character breakfast dining options at Walt Disney World, closes in Pleasure Island, Florida. Named after Walt Disney's wife Lillian, it will reopen as Fulton's Crab House in 1996.
1996:
Earth Day at Walt Disney World, hosted by Dana Delany and
Ed Begley, Jr., premieres on The Disney Channel. The one-hour
special takes a look at the many ways we can help our environment. Musical guests
include The Rembrandts and All-4-One.
1997:
Monsoon, the fifth studio album and first major label album by alternative rock band Caroline's Spine, is released on Disney's Hollywood Records.
1998:
Disney World's $800 million Animal Kingdom opens in,
Florida with 5 attractions, 9 exhibits, 12 live entertainment shows, 11 merchandise locations, and 8 food locations. Spanning 500 acres, Animal Kingdom is billed as "a new species of theme park." Two of the three major "lands" - Africa & DinoLand U.S.A. -
open on this date, Asia will open in early 1999
There are so many people in line on this opening day that officials open
the gates at 6 a.m., instead of the posted 7 a.m. The first guests through the gate are Brenda Herr of St. Petersburg, Florida, her husband, Damon Chepren and their son, Devon, who slept in their car the night before! (The family receives a lifetime pass to Walt Disney theme parks worldwide.) Seventy-five minutes after opening, the park reached its capacity and the gates are closed again until early afternoon. Unofficial estimates place peak crowds at over 35,000 guests.
Honored guests at the park on this day include Dr. Jane Goodall, considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, and comedian Drew Carey, dressed in a leopard suit!
Disney's Animal Kingdom opens
"This park in fantastic. My uncle would have been proud.'' -Roy Disney, nephew of the late Walt Disney

THE OASIS: The first area guests experience after entering the park, it is a tropical garden filled with exotic plants and wildlife.

SAFARI VILLAGE: A colorful island celebrating animals and the departure point to all the lands of adventure. Safari Village includes The Tree of Life, The Tree of Life Garden, It's Tough to be a Bug!, and Discovery River Boats at Safari Village.

CAMP MINNIE-MICKEY: An old-fashioned summer camp featuring Character Greeting Area, "Festival of the Lion King" at Lion King Theater and "Colors of the Wind, Friends from the Animal Forest" at Grandmother Willow's Grove.

DINOLAND, U.S.A.: A "fossil park" featuring Countdown to Extinction, The Boneyard, Cretaceous Trail, 1998 Dinosaur Jubilee, "Journey into Jungle Book" at Theater In The Wild, and Fossil Preparation Lab.

AFRICA: A contemporary port of East Africa including Kilimanjaro Safaris, Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail, and Wildlife Express to Conservation Station.

ASIA: Not totally completed by opening day, this area features Discovery River Boats at Upcountry Landing and
"Flights of Wonder" at Caravan Stage.

1999:
Sounds Dangerous with Drew Carey, an audio attraction
starring comedian Drew Carey, debuts at the ABC
Soundstudio in Disney-MGM Studios. When camera-wearing
security guard Foster (Carey) attempts to track down some missing art, he accidentally damages his camera, leading the audience on an audio adventure relayed through high-tech headphones.
2000:
The Disney Channel Original Movie Rip Girls debuts. About a teen-age girl and her father
who come to an island on Hawaii, the films stars Camilla Belle and Dwier Brown.



2005:
At Disneyland Jiminy Cricket Environmentality buttons are handed
out to guests to celebrate Earth Day.

ASIFA-Hollywood hosts the Aladdin Crew Reunion at the Glendale
Central Library in California. Hosted by Margaret Kerry (the live-action reference
model for Peter Pan’s Tinkerbell), the event re-caps the film’s production history.

The romantic comedy/drama A Lot like Love is released by Touchstone
Pictures. When Oliver Martin, played by Ashton Kutcher, and Emily Friehly, played by Amanda Peet, meet on an airplane, they feel an instant connection, but agree that they're wrong for each other. As the years pass and they live their separate lives, fate brings them together several times, and they become close friends. Any time one of them wants more out of the relationship, the other seems content with just being friends. If they wait too long, Oliver and Emily may miss any chance of spending their lives together.

German translator Erika Fuchs passes away in Munich, Germany. Largely known in Germany due to her translations of American Disney comics, especially Carl Barks' stories about Duckburg and its inhabitants, she became chief editor of Disney's newly founded German Micky Maus magazine in 1951 (and worked there until her retirement in 1988). Germany's first comic museum, "Erica Fuchs House, Museum of Comic Strips and the Art of Language," will open 4 months later.
earth_rotating.gif

mickey_icon_03.gif

1868:
Flora Call is born to Charles and Henrietta Call in Steuben, Ohio
(near the now famous amusement park Cedar Point). Flora will go on
to marry Elias Disney (the son of a neighborhood family) in 1888 and later give birth to
five children ... including a son named Walter.
1964:
The World's Fair in Flushing, New York, is opened by U.S.
President Johnson for the 1964 season. The fair features over
100 pavilions on approximately 646 acres. The fair also includes 4 Disney attractions for Ford, General Electric, Pepsi-Cola, and the State of Illinois. Despite it being a rainy day, some 92,000 people visit. An opening day ceremony takes place with a special parade that includes various Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse, Pinocchio, and Alice in Wonderland. On a VIP observation deck above "It's A Small World" (located in the Pepsi Pavilion), Disney personnel - including designer/artist Mary Blair - celebrate the team who has put together the exhibit from scratch in just 9 months! (The fair will run through October 18, 1964 and then reopen again on April 21 for the 1965 season.)


1990:
The Magical World of Disney airs part 1 of "Spooner".

Mickey's Birthdayland closes at WDW's Magic Kingdom. (It will later reopen as Mickey's Starland before becoming known as Mickey's Toontown Fair.)
1998:
Disney World's $800 million Animal Kingdom opens in,
Florida with 5 attractions, 9 exhibits, 12 live entertainment shows, 11 merchandise locations, and 8 food locations. Spanning 500 acres, Animal Kingdom is billed as "a new species of theme park." Two of the three major "lands" - Africa & DinoLand U.S.A. -
open on this date, Asia will open in early 1999.





1998:
Disney World's $800 million Animal Kingdom opens in,
Florida with 5 attractions, 9 exhibits, 12 live entertainment shows, 11 merchandise locations, and 8 food locations. Spanning 500 acres, Animal Kingdom is billed as "a new species of theme park." Two of the three major "lands" - Africa & DinoLand U.S.A. -
open on this date, Asia will open in early 1999.
2001:
Disney World's Animal Kingdom hosts the second Disney's Pin Celebration
Countdown for pin-collecting fans. New limited edition and special pins debut and Disney
Design Group artists and pin designers Mark Seppala and Michelle Morrow greet guests and sign items at the
Upcountry Landing in Asia. (This event is the second of five celebrations, that will lead toward a
four-day event at Epcot August 9-12.)
2002:
At Epcot, 80's rockers Survivor performs 3 shows as part of the Flower
Power concert series at America Gardens Theatre.
(They will appear throught the 24th.)
2003:
Walt Disney Records releases the soundtrack to The Lizzie McGuire Movie.
The soundtrack features the new single "Why Not" performed by "Lizzie" herself - Hilary Duff.

Lifetime magazine, a publication of Lifetime Entertainment Services, jointly owned
by The Hearst Corporation and The Walt Disney Company, debuts as a bi-monthly.

At Animal Kingdom's 5th birthday celebration, Walt Disney World announces an
opening date of December 14 for their new Pop Century Resort.
2004:
Disney's California Adventure hosts a 2-day Tower of Terror event, which
includes dinner in the not-yet-opened attraction.

Disney's 45-minute film Sacred Planet, narrated by actor Robert Redford,
is released. Some of the wildest, most beautifully stunning landscapes on Earth are captured
in this IMAX documentary, spanning the globe from the Grand Canyon and the parched desert of
Namibia to the ancient forests of British Columbia and the rain forests of Borneo.

2005:
At Disneyland Jiminy Cricket Environmentality buttons are handed
out to guests to celebrate Earth Day.

ASIFA-Hollywood hosts the Aladdin Crew Reunion at the Glendale
Central Library in California. Hosted by Margaret Kerry (the live-action reference
model for Peter Pan’s Tinkerbell), the event re-caps the film’s production history.

The romantic comedy/drama A Lot like Love is released by Touchstone
Pictures. When Oliver Martin, played by Ashton Kutcher, and Emily Friehly, played by Amanda Peet, meet on an airplane, they feel an instant connection, but agree that they're wrong for each other. As the years pass and they live their separate lives, fate brings them together several times, and they become close friends. Any time one of them wants more out of the relationship, the other seems content with just being friends. If they wait too long, Oliver and Emily may miss any chance of spending their lives together.

German translator Erika Fuchs passes away in Munich, Germany. Largely known in Germany due to her translations of American Disney comics, especially Carl Barks' stories about Duckburg and its inhabitants, she became chief editor of Disney's newly founded German Micky Maus magazine in 1951 (and worked there until her retirement in 1988). Germany's first comic museum, "Erica Fuchs House, Museum of Comic Strips and the Art of Language," will open 4 months later.

2008:
Disney's Animal Kingdom turns 10 years young!
During the park's 10-year anniversary ceremony, a new name and a new logo is introduced for Disney’s
conservation outreach efforts, changing the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund to the Disney Worldwide
Conservation Fund. The new name helps build on Disney’s commitment to conservation, and communicates the
broader vision for the future of the DWCF which is not only wildlife focused but also supports ecosystems and
community conservation.

Disney Parks and CareerBuilder.com announce that Justin Muchoney from Seven
Fields, Pennsylvania, has been named the first-ever Disney Parks Chief Magic Official!
Muchoney, a Director of Music & Fine Arts, emerged victorious from a field of 1,300
candidates nationwide. He is inducted as CMO in a special ceremony with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck
at Walt Disney World.



2009:
Disneynature (a new film label) unveils Earth in theaters.
Narrated by James Earl Jones, the film tells the story of 3 animal families - polar
bears, elephants, and whales - as they make their jounrey across our planet.
The Disney Store chain invites customers to bring in empty plastic bottles to
recycle. Guests can exchange three empty bottles for a free commemorative Earth Day reusable water
bottle. Disney Store also introduces a selection of environmentally friendly T-shirts and tote bags made
from material created from recycled water bottles.

British-born film director & Disney Legend Ken Annakin passes away at age 94 in Beverly Hills, California. Known for the Walt Disney live-action adventures The Story of Robin Hood (1952), The Sword and the Rose (1953) and Swiss Family Robinson (1960), he also directed the madcap comedy Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines and the World War II epic The Longest Day. Annakin,
a friend of George Lucas, was used by Lucas as the source of the name for Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars!

2005:
At Disneyland Jiminy Cricket Environmentality buttons are handed
out to guests to celebrate Earth Day.

ASIFA-Hollywood hosts the Aladdin Crew Reunion at the Glendale
Central Library in California. Hosted by Margaret Kerry (the live-action reference
model for Peter Pan’s Tinkerbell), the event re-caps the film’s production history.

The romantic comedy/drama A Lot like Love is released by Touchstone
Pictures. When Oliver Martin, played by Ashton Kutcher, and Emily Friehly, played by Amanda Peet, meet on an airplane, they feel an instant connection, but agree that they're wrong for each other. As the years pass and they live their separate lives, fate brings them together several times, and they become close friends. Any time one of them wants more out of the relationship, the other seems content with just being friends. If they wait too long, Oliver and Emily may miss any chance of spending their lives together.

German translator Erika Fuchs passes away in Munich, Germany. Largely known in Germany due to her translations of American Disney comics, especially Carl Barks' stories about Duckburg and its inhabitants, she became chief editor of Disney's newly founded German Micky Maus magazine in 1951 (and worked there until her retirement in 1988). Germany's first comic museum, "Erica Fuchs House, Museum of Comic Strips and the Art of Language," will open 4 months later.
earth_rotating.gif

mickey_icon_03.gif

1868:
Flora Call is born to Charles and Henrietta Call in Steuben, Ohio
(near the now famous amusement park Cedar Point). Flora will go on
to marry Elias Disney (the son of a neighborhood family) in 1888 and later give birth to
five children ... including a son named Walter.
1964:
The World's Fair in Flushing, New York, is opened by U.S.
President Johnson for the 1964 season. The fair features over
100 pavilions on approximately 646 acres. The fair also includes 4 Disney attractions for Ford, General Electric, Pepsi-Cola, and the State of Illinois. Despite it being a rainy day, some 92,000 people visit. An opening day ceremony takes place with a special parade that includes various Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse, Pinocchio, and Alice in Wonderland. On a VIP observation deck above "It's A Small World" (located in the Pepsi Pavilion), Disney personnel - including designer/artist Mary Blair - celebrate the team who has put together the exhibit from scratch in just 9 months! (The fair will run through October 18, 1964 and then reopen again on April 21 for the 1965 season.)
Apr22~~element24.jpg

1990:
The Magical World of Disney airs part 1 of "Spooner".

Mickey's Birthdayland closes at WDW's Magic Kingdom. (It will later reopen as Mickey's Starland before becoming known as Mickey's Toontown Fair.)
1998:
Disney World's $800 million Animal Kingdom opens in,
Florida with 5 attractions, 9 exhibits, 12 live entertainment shows, 11 merchandise locations, and 8 food locations. Spanning 500 acres, Animal Kingdom is billed as "a new species of theme park." Two of the three major "lands" - Africa & DinoLand U.S.A. -
open on this date, Asia will open in early 1999.
2001:
Disney World's Animal Kingdom hosts the second Disney's Pin Celebration
Countdown for pin-collecting fans. New limited edition and special pins debut and Disney
Design Group artists and pin designers Mark Seppala and Michelle Morrow greet guests and sign items at the
Upcountry Landing in Asia. (This event is the second of five celebrations, that will lead toward a
four-day event at Epcot August 9-12.)
2002:
At Epcot, 80's rockers Survivor performs 3 shows as part of the Flower
Power concert series at America Gardens Theatre.
(They will appear throught the 24th.)
2003:
Walt Disney Records releases the soundtrack to The Lizzie McGuire Movie.
The soundtrack features the new single "Why Not" performed by "Lizzie" herself - Hilary Duff.

Lifetime magazine, a publication of Lifetime Entertainment Services, jointly owned
by The Hearst Corporation and The Walt Disney Company, debuts as a bi-monthly.

At Animal Kingdom's 5th birthday celebration, Walt Disney World announces an
opening date of December 14 for their new Pop Century Resort.
2004:
Disney's California Adventure hosts a 2-day Tower of Terror event, which
includes dinner in the not-yet-opened attraction.

Disney's 45-minute film Sacred Planet, narrated by actor Robert Redford,
is released. Some of the wildest, most beautifully stunning landscapes on Earth are captured
in this IMAX documentary, spanning the globe from the Grand Canyon and the parched desert of
Namibia to the ancient forests of British Columbia and the rain forests of Borneo.
animal_kingdom_icon.gif

Animal_Kingdom_giraffes.jpg


The Disney Channel Original Movie Rip Girls debuts. About a teen-age girl and her father
who come to an island on Hawaii, the films stars Camilla Belle and Dwier Brown.
"You've probably heard people
talk about conservation.
Well, conservation isn't just
the business of a few people.
It's a matter that
concerns all of us."
-Walt Disney 1956
Public Service Announcement

2008:
Disney's Animal Kingdom turns 10 years young!
During the park's 10-year anniversary ceremony, a new name and a new logo is introduced for Disney’s
conservation outreach efforts, changing the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund to the Disney Worldwide
Conservation Fund. The new name helps build on Disney’s commitment to conservation, and communicates the
broader vision for the future of the DWCF which is not only wildlife focused but also supports ecosystems and
community conservation.

Disney Parks and CareerBuilder.com announce that Justin Muchoney from Seven
Fields, Pennsylvania, has been named the first-ever Disney Parks Chief Magic Official!
Muchoney, a Director of Music & Fine Arts, emerged victorious from a field of 1,300
candidates nationwide. He is inducted as CMO in a special ceremony with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck
at Walt Disney World.

2009:
Disneynature (a new film label) unveils Earth in theaters.
Narrated by James Earl Jones, the film tells the story of 3 animal families - polar
bears, elephants, and whales - as they make their jounrey across our planet.
Apr22~~element152.jpg

Earth_animated.gif

The Disney Store chain invites customers to bring in empty plastic bottles to
recycle. Guests can exchange three empty bottles for a free commemorative Earth Day reusable water
bottle. Disney Store also introduces a selection of environmentally friendly T-shirts and tote bags made
from material created from recycled water bottles.
recycle_animated.gif


A 55-foot-tall oak tree weighing in at nearly 85 tons is moved 12 miles across
Walt Disney World property. It will serve as a centerpiece for the Ol’ Man Island recreation area at
Disney’s Port Orleans Resort-Riverside.


Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, proposed the first nationwide environmental day in 1970. The first Earth Day achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders. It led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species acts.



2010:
Disneynature releases its second film Oceans, narrated by Pierce Brosnan, to U.S.
theaters. Taking seven years to make, filmmakers Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud shot nearly 470 hours of
footage of some 80 underwater species.

As part of its Earth Day Celebrations, guests and local school children help the
Disneyland Resort’s horticulture team release 140,000 ladybugs!
2011:
Disneynature releases African Cats, narrated by Samuel L. Jackson. Telling the story of two different animal families in the wild by using real-life footage, the film focuses on a young lion cub being raised by his mother, the leader of a pride defending his family from a banished lion, and a mother cheetah who is raising five newborns. The movie's theme song, "The World I Knew" (written and produced by Ryan Tedder), is sung by Jordin Sparks (the winner of the sixth season of American Idol).

Zokkomon, an Indian superhero film, is released by Disney World Cinema. Starring Darsheel Safary in the leading role, Zokkomon is Disney's fourth involvement in a production for the Indian market. Abandoned
by his heartless uncle and aided by a street artist, an orphan discovers his inner hero.

2013:
Disney World celebrates the 15th anniversary of the Animal Kingdom theme park.
DAK kicks off a week-long celebration on this Earth Day with an opening ceremony at the Tree of Life at 8:40 a.m.
2014:
The remix album Dconstructed is released by Walt Disney Records. The album features
remixes of select songs from various Disney films, animated shorts, television series, and theme park attractions
by various contemporary electronic musicians. The collection includes Avicii's remix of Daft Punk's "Derezzed"
(which previously appeared in Tron: Legacy Reconfigured) and Mat Zo's version of "Circle of Life".

Hollywood Records releases Young Blood, the first extended play by singer Bea Miller.
It is her first release after finishing eighth on the second season of The X Factor US.
2018:
Disney's Animal Kingdom turns 20! To commemorate the occasion, DAK will launch a new version of
its bird show that will incorporate characters from the Pixar movie, Up. There will be other additions, including a
two-week Party for the Planet and a new bash in DinoLand U.S.A. featuring Donald Duck.

2019:
Avengers: Endgame has its world premiere at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Disney has converted the convention center's Hall K for the film's premiere, working with Dolby and QSC Audio
to install a 70 foot screen, Dolby Vision projectors, and a Dolby Atmos sound system. The convention center
also holds the premiere's red carpet arrival and after party. The superhero film based on the Marvel Comics
superhero team the Avengers, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion
Pictures, will be generally released April 26.​
 

trr1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
1883:
Sketch artist Albert Hurter is born in Zurich, Switzerland. He was the first ever inspirational sketch artist to work at the Walt Disney Studio (between 1931-1942). Walt Disney saw potential in his talent as Hurter (already a veteran in the animation business) could draw quickly, understood movement and had a great imagination. At the age of 48, he was the "old man" of the studio. His job was to design characters that the animators would then refine and bring to life. Hurter made significant contributions to the visual styles of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Dumbo, and Fantasia. Sadly he passed away in 1942
1898:
Academy Award nominated sound engineer Sam Slyfield is born in Frankfort, Michigan. His Disney credits include such shorts and features as Donald's Lucky Day, Fantasia,
Bambi, Victory Through Air Power, Donald Duck and the Gorilla, The Three Caballeros, Make Mine Music, Song of the South, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan.​
1904:
Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí is born in the town of Figueres, in Catalonia, Spain.
Best known for his striking bizarre, dreamlike images, Dalí is considered one of the most important painters of
the 20th century. In 1945 Walt Disney collaborated with him on the short Destino (which is the Spanish word for
"destiny"). Storyboarded by studio artist John Hench and Dalí for eight months in late 1945 and 1946, financial
concerns later caused Disney to cease production. Destino was abandoned for decades (until its release in 2003),
but Dalí and Walt remained lifelong friends.​
1911:
Tony Award-winning comedic actor Phil Silvers is born in Brooklyn, New York.
His Disney credits include The Strongest Man in the World (1975) as Krinkle and The Boatniks (1970) as
Harry Simmons. (Silvers is best remembered as television's Sergeant Bilko and for his roles in such features
as It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World and 40 Pounds of Trouble - which was shot at Disneyland!)
1912:
Animator Don Towsley is born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His Disney credits include
such features as Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, and Bambi and the shorts Donald's Golf Game, Sky
Trooper
, and Mickey Mouse Disco. (Towsley also worked on such TV cartoons as Fat Albert and the
Cosby Kids
and the holiday classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
913:
Composer, arranger, trumpeter & Disney Legend Salvador "Tutti" Camarata is born in
Glen Ridge, New Jersey. In 1956 Walt Disney hired him to help form Disney Records and to be music
director & producer for the label. Two years later, Camarata purchased a building (an old auto repair shop on Sunset
Blvd., Hollywood, CA) that became Sunset Sound Recorders. Sunset is one of the best independent studios in
Hollywood. During his 16 year association with Disney, Camarata produced over 300 albums!
(Camarata was an amazing innovator - he invented the idea of the isolation booth for recording studios!​
1920:
Actor Denver Pyle is born in Bethune, Colorado. Pyle's Disney credits include the features Escape to Witch Mountain & Return from Witch Mountain, and the Disneyland TV episodes Hog Wild & The Boy Who Talked to Badgers. (He is best known to fans of The Dukes of Hazzard as Uncle Jesse.)
1927:
Actor Bernard Fox is born in Wales. His Disney credits include The Million Dollar Duck, The Rescuers, Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, and The Rescuers Down Under.​
1929:
Margaret Kerry, the "Original Tinker Bell," is born Peggy Lynch in Los Angeles, California. A voiceover artist, motivational speaker and radio host, Kerry originally answered an audition call
during the planning stages of the animated feature film Peter Pan. The audition, supervised by Disney animator
Marc Davis, required her to pantomime the motions that would eventually be animated as Tinker Bell. Kerry won
the audition and spent the next six months at the Disney Studios!​
1935:
Disney's Silly Symphony cartoon Water Babies is released. Directed by Wilfred Jackson, it​
1942:
Actor, television broadcaster, radio personality, & voice-over specialist
Terry McGovern is born Berkeley, California. He is the voice of Launchpad McQuack in such
Disney movies and television shows as Darkwing Duck, DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp,
and Ducktales: Treasure of the Golden Suns.​

1944:
Columbia Pictures' Once Upon a Time is released. Starring Cary Grant, the film tells
the story of a boy, his dancing caterpillar, and the man who wants to make them famous. Walt Disney's name is mentioned throughout the film and there's even a scene of Walt (played by actor Walte
Fenner), over long-distance phone from Hollywood, offering $100,000 for the caterpillar!

1982:
Actor/musician Jonathan Jackson is born Jonathan Stevens Jackson in Orlando, Florida. He made his feature film debut in the 1994 adventure comedy Camp Nowhere. Jackson's first well known character was Lucky Spencer on the ABC Daytime soap opera General Hospital, a role that earned him five Emmy Awards. In 2002, he played Jesse Tuck in Disney's romantic fantasy film Tuck Everlasting. From 2012–2018, he portrayed Avery Barkley in the ABC/CMT musical drama series, Nashville.​
1989:
Disney Channel airs the 14th episode of MMC. Today is Party Day!​
1993:
The hit TV sitcom Full House goes to Disney World in part 1 of "The House
Meets the Mouse." When Uncle Jesse's band, the Rippers, gets a gig at Walt Disney World over
his wedding anniversary, he and his wife, Becky decide to take the whole gang with them. The cast
stayed at the Grand Floridian while shooting - as many scenes were actually shot at the deluxe resort.
1997:
Karolyn Kirby and Nancy Reno capture the $60,000 Cybergenics Open in the
inaugural professional beach volleyball event at Disney's Wide World of
Sports Complex in Florida.​
1999:
The Backstreet Boys tape a live concert in front of 1,800 fans at the New Amsterdam Theater in New York City (home to Disney's Lion King). The concert will have its world premiere
on Disney Channel two months later.

The Disney-owned Lyric Street Records releases The Whole SHeBANG, the debut
album by the American country music group SHeDAISY.

Actress/singer Sabrina Carpenter is born in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. She lent her voice to
two episodes of Phineas and Ferb, and thirteen episodes of Sofia the First. Between 2014-2017 she starred as Maya Hart in the Disney Channel series Girl Meets World. In 2016, she starred as Jenny Parker in Disney Channel Original Movie Adventures in Babysitting. Her music albums have been released through Disney's Hollywood Records.​
Filmstrip_bar_animated.gif



Filmstrip_bar_animated.gif

May11~~element174.gif

Logo_Template_-_Logo_26_w_fact_for_day.gif

Silvers_-Phil-01.jpg

May11~~element76.gif

Since February 1997, Walt Disney
World has sponsored a series of
special Star Wars Weekends at
Disney's Hollywood Studios theme
park (originally called Disney-MGM).
The festival first began in 1997 but
wasn't held again until 2000, 2001,
and then annually since 2003.

1904:
Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí is born in the town of Figueres, in Catalonia, Spain.
Best known for his striking bizarre, dreamlike images, Dalí is considered one of the most important painters of
the 20th century. In 1945 Walt Disney collaborated with him on the short Destino (which is the Spanish word for
"destiny"). Storyboarded by studio artist John Hench and Dalí for eight months in late 1945 and 1946, financial
concerns later caused Disney to cease production. Destino was abandoned for decades (until its release in 2003),
but Dalí and Walt remained lifelong friends.​
1911:
Tony Award-winning comedic actor Phil Silvers is born in Brooklyn, New York.
His Disney credits include The Strongest Man in the World (1975) as Krinkle and The Boatniks (1970) as
Harry Simmons. (Silvers is best remembered as television's Sergeant Bilko and for his roles in such features
as It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World and 40 Pounds of Trouble - which was shot at Disneyland!)​
1935:
Disney's Silly Symphony cartoon Water Babies is released. Directed by Wilfred Jackson, it
features babies playing games in and out of the water.​
1989:
Disney Channel airs the 14th episode of MMC. Today is Party Day!​
1993:
The hit TV sitcom Full House goes to Disney World in part 1 of "The House
Meets the Mouse." When Uncle Jesse's band, the Rippers, gets a gig at Walt Disney World over
his wedding anniversary, he and his wife, Becky decide to take the whole gang with them. The cast
stayed at the Grand Floridian while shooting - as many scenes were actually shot at the deluxe resort.​
1997:
Karolyn Kirby and Nancy Reno capture the $60,000 Cybergenics Open in the
inaugural professional beach volleyball event at Disney's Wide World of
Sports Complex in Florida.​
1999:
The Backstreet Boys tape a live concert in front of 1,800 fans at the New Amsterdam Theater in New York City (home to Disney's Lion King). The concert will have its world premiere
on Disney Channel two months later.

The Disney-owned Lyric Street Records releases The Whole SHeBANG, the debut
album by the American country music group SHeDAISY.

Actress/singer Sabrina Carpenter is born in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. She lent her voice to
two episodes of Phineas and Ferb, and thirteen episodes of Sofia the First. Between 2014-2017 she starred as Maya Hart in the Disney Channel series Girl Meets World. In 2016, she starred as Jenny Parker in Disney Channel Original Movie Adventures in Babysitting. Her music albums have been released through Disney's Hollywood Records.​
2001:
Disney Channel airs the Lizzie McGuire episode "Between a Rock and a Bra Place" for the first time.

Star Wars Weekends is held at Disney-MGM for the second time this season.
Celebrity guests include Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) and Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca).​
2002:
Starting on this day, the Disney Magic cruise ship will alternate
each week between its new western Caribbean itinerary calling
on Key West, Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Castaway Cay and
its present eastern Caribbean route to St. Maarten, St. Thomas
and Castaway Cay. (The Disney Magic departs on its 7-night
itineraries each Saturday from its year-round home port at Port Canaveral, Florida.)

Legendary Disney storyman and children's book author Bill Peet passes at
age 87 at his home in Studio City, California. Credited with co-writing such
animated classics as 101 Dalmatians and The Sword in the Stone, Peet first
joined the Disney Studio in 1937 at age 22 drawing Donald Duck.​
2004:
Walt Disney Records Presents Mega Movie Mix is released. The CD features songs from Walt Disney Pictures and Disney Channel Original Movies such as The Lizzie McGuire Movie and The Princess Diaries.
2005:
The ABC-TV show Live with Regis and Kelly originates from
Walt Disney World to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of Disneyland.​
2006:
Starting this day, graduates nation-wide gather to celebrate the road ahead at Disneyland Resort’s Grad Nite presented by Honda. From the stroke of midnight until the sun comes up at 6 a.m., Disneyland is the graduates’ park-after-dark!​
2010:
On this evening's episode of ABC's Dancing with the Stars, the Gipsy Kings perform a Spanish-language version of the song "You've Got a Friend in Me" (which will appear
on the Toy Story 3 Soundtrack).​
2013:
Walt Disney World officially crowns Merida from Disney/Pixar’s "Brave" as the 11th
Disney Princess. Her coronation ceremony fittingly takes place in front of Cinderella Castle, just steps away
from her own Magic Kingdom meet-and-greet spot. Just after the theme park opening, Princess Merida is joined
for the first time by all ten of her fellow royals, Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Jasmine, Belle, Mulan,
Pocahontas, Tiana, and Rapunzel, welcoming her to the group.​
2015:
The second season of Girl Meets World debuts on Disney Channel with the episode "Girl Meets Gravity.​
2017:
Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales has its world premiere at
the Shanghai Disney Resort. The fifth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, Johnny Depp,
Kevin McNally and Geoffrey Rush reprise their roles as Jack Sparrow, Joshamee Gibbs and Hector Barbossa. Captain
Jack Sparrow is pursued by an old nemesis, Armando Salazar (played by Javier Bardem), who along with his Spanish
Navy ghost crew has escaped from the Devil's Triangle and is determined to kill every pirate at sea. The film will be released to U.S. theaters on May 26.

Wishes: A Magical Gathering of Disney Dreams, a fireworks show at the Magic
Kingdom theme park of Walt Disney World, closes. Sponsored by Pandora Jewelry, it had been entertaining guests since October 2003.​
2019:
Actress, model, and singer Peggy Lipton, well known through her role as flower
child Julie Barnes in the counterculture television series The Mod Squad
(1968–1973), passes away at age 72 in Los Angeles, California. Mother of actress
Rashida Leah Jones, Lipton played the role of mother Priscilla Martin in Touchstone's 2010 romantic
comedy When in Rome, and had a recurring role on the ABC television series Alias.​
2020:
Shanghai Disneyland theme park officially reopens to the public. During this initial reopening phase, the park institutes new measures and procedures, including opening with limited attendance and required advanced ticketing and reservations, accommodating social distancing in queues, restaurants, ride vehicles and
other facilities throughout the park, and implementing increased frequency of sanitization and disinfection. The park
is the first of the Disney resorts to resume operations after an almost four-month coronavirus shutdown.

Actor and comedian Jerry Stiller passes away at age 92 of natural causes. His Disney voice credits include The Lion King 1 1/2 as Uncle Max, Teacher's Pet as Pretty Boy, Disney Channel's Fish Hooks as Principal Stickler, and Planes: Fire & Rescue as Harvey. (Stiller was best known as half the comedy team of Stiiler & Meara and for his television roles on Seinfeld and The King of Queens.​
2021:
Disney on Broadway announces that The Lion King - Musical will return to Broadway on September 14, 2021, while Aladdin - The Musical will resume performances on September 28, 2021. After a year of Broadway theatres being closed, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, theaters across New York City are beginning to come out of hibernation. Broadway theaters first closed on March 12, 2020, initially as a precautionary measure to stop the spread of Coronavirus in New York City.​
 

trr1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster

1910:
Animator Edward H. Love is born in Tremont, Pennsylvania. Working at various studios
during the golden age of animation, his early career included a near 10-year run at Disney starting in 1931.
Love's credits include the shorts Flowers and Trees, Mickey's Mellerdrammer, Mickey's Trailer and
Wynken, Blynken & Nod. (He later worked for MGM, Walter Lantz Productions and Hanna-Barbera. Love was
given the Golden Award at the 1984 Motion Pictures Screen Cartoonists Awards.)​
1918:
Award-winning matte designer, special effects creator, artist and
Disney Legend Peter Ellenshaw is born in London, England.
Best known for his incredible matte paintings, he worked as a special effetcs
technician/matte artist on such Disney films as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Treasure
Island
, The Story of Robin Hood, and most famously Mary Poppins - for which he won an
Academy Award. He was also awarded an Oscar for the 1971 Bedknobs and Broomsticks
for art direction. His talent and experience in special visual effects was so respected that Disney
called him out of retirement after 10 years to work on the 1979 nThe Black Hole. After he retired
from the film business, he dedicated his life to fine art painting.

Oil millionaire, entrepreneur and Disney Legend Jack Wrather - the
original owner and financer of the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim,
California - is born in Amarillo, Texas. Making his first fortune in the oil industry,
Wrather moved to California in 1946, convinced that the entertainment industry would experience
huge growth in the post-war era and would be a profitable investment. There he met and married
actress (and future Disney Legend) Bonita Granville in 1947, famous motion picture child star in
the 1930s and 1940s. By the time Disney tapped him to build the Disneyland Hotel, Wrather was
a movie producer, television producer, broadcast station owner and the operator of two small
resorts. For almost 30 years, until his death in 1984, Wrather (along with his wife Bonita) enlarged
and improved the Disneyland Hotel.
1934:
Hollywood Party - a musical film starring Jimmy Durante, directed by Roy Rowland and
distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, premieres. It features 31 stars like Laurel and Hardy, The Three
Stooges, George Givot, and Mickey Mouse - who introduces the Technicolor 7-minute cartoon sequence "The Hot
Choc-Late Soldiers," created by the Disney Studio. (The film will be generally released June 1.)​
1938:
Actor, comedian, writer and director Tommy Chong is born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
First known for his Cheech & Chong comedy albums and movies with Cheech Marin, Chong voiced the character Yax in Zootopia (2016).
1949:
Actor Jim Broadbent is born in England. He portrayed the villain Lord Kelvin in the 2004 adventure comedy Around the World in 80 Days, voiced Sergeant in Valiant, and played Professor Digory Kirke in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.​
1953:
Actor and voice artist Alfred Molina is born in Paddington, London, England. His Disney voice credits include Rango (2011) as Roadkill, Monsters University (2013) as Professor Knight, Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) as Double Dan, and Frozen II (2019) as King Agnarr. Molina's live-action Disney credits include White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf (1994), Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010), and The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010).​
1965:
Actor, comedian & singer John C. Reilly, the voice of the 2012 Wreck-It Ralph and
the 2018 sequel Ralph Breaks the Internet, is born in Chicago, Illinois. He also
portrayed Corpsmen Rhomann Dey in the 2014 live-action Guardians of the Galaxy and narrated Disneynature's
2014 Bears.
1968:
In recognition of his distinguished public service and outstanding contributions to the
United States and to the world, U.S. President Johnson presents a Congressional
Gold Medal to the widow of the late Walt Disney. The Congressional Gold Medal is an award
bestowed by the U.S. Congress and is, along with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in
the United States. Disney had also been awarded the Medal of Freedom back in September 1964
1987:
The Wonderful World of Disney airs "Down the Long Hills."
1988:
Songwriter, composer, and screenwriter Tom Adair passes at age 74 in Hawaii.
Married to Frances Jeffords in 1949, they worked together on songs and teleplays for Disney. His credits include
the television series The Mickey Mouse Club
1989:
Raymond A. Disney (one of Walt's brothers & the second child born to Flora & Elias Disney) passes at the age of 98. He had been in the insurance business.

Disney Channel airs the 23rd episode of MMC.
Today is Anything Can Happen Day!​
1991:
Walt Disney Pictures Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken, starring Gabrielle Anwar
and Cliff Roberston, is released. This true-life adventure tells the story of Sonora Webster, a teenage runaway during the depression, who wants to be a rider of diving horses​
1996:
Spy Hard, a comedy distributed by Disney's Hollywood Pictures, opens in theaters. Leslie
Nielsen plays Secret agent WD-40 Dick Steele, in this parody of James Bond films. The cast includes Andy Griffith, Nicollette Sheridan, Charles Durning, John Ales, and Barry Bostwick.​

1997:
Disney's Nightmare Ned airs on ABC-TV with two new epsiodes -
"Tooth or Consequences" and "Show Me the Infidel."
2003:
Actor Cole Sand, Nelson in the Disney Channel show Austin & Ally, is born in Hollywood, California. He's also contributed to episodes of Modern Family and Star vs. the Forces of Evil
2004:
Disney Interactive launches Toontown Online, a 3D multiplayer game.

It is announced that Disney has launched an 18-month publicity
campaign for its theme park in Hong Kong (which will open in 2005).​
2005:
Pooh's Heffalump Movie is released to DVD. Originally released in February
2005, it features the voices of Jim Cummings (as Pooh), John Fiedler (as
Piglet), and newcomer Kyle Stanger (as Lumpy). The animated film is the first
in which Pooh narrates.
Walt Disney Records releases the CD Mousercise.​
2007:
Thousands of colorful fireworks fill the nighttime sky over Barcelona, Spain as, for
the first time, the Disney Magic cruise ship enters the Spanish port city.
It is Disney's first-ever foray into the European cruise market.​
2009:
Disney's stage musical Tarzan completes its Holland engagement at the
Circus Theatre in Scheveningen, just outside Amsterdam after 900
performances. The production, which opened in April 2007 has been seen by 1.6 million audience
members during its run, making it one of the most successful musicals in Holland.

2011:
Steelers' wide receiver Hines Ward (pictured left)
and his partner Kym Johnson win season 12 of the
ABC-TV dance competition Dancing with the Stars.
Hosted by Tom Bergeron, as of the 2011 season, 28 athletes have
competed on the show, representing 20% of the contestants. (Back
in 2006, Hines proclaimed "I'm going to Disney World!" when his
team won Super Bowl XL.)​
2013:
The Monstrous Summer "All-Nighter" begins at the Disneyland Resort.
Thousands of people count down along with Mike and Sulley as fireworks light up the entrances to both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure parks.

Down in Florida, guests meet outside of Magic Kingdom Park as early as
4:30 a.m. this morning to be among the first to enter and kick off Walt Disney
World's "All-Nighter."
2017:
Six years in the making, Pandora – The World of Avatar, is dedicated in Disney's Animal
Kingdom at Walt Disney World. The new land, featuring rides, a restaurant and immersive entertainment,
is based on John Cameron's 2009 movie "Avatar." Attractions include Na’vi River Journey (where riders can see the bio-luminescence quality of the planet’s fictional plant life) and Avatar Flight of Passage (which places riders on devices
to make them feel as if they are flying on the back of a “Banshee,” the flying creatures on the fictional planet).
Disney's Pandora will officially open Saturday May 27.​
2019:
The original Disney princess castle, Sleeping Beauty’s pink and blue palace at
Disneyland in Anaheim, California, unveils a new look on this day. The castle has been
blocked off from visitors since January, as groups of maintenance crews have been giving it a spruce. The castle
now features brighter, more vibrant pink walls and blue rooftops, plus some sparkling gold shingles that look like
"pixie dust." The crews also added some artistic tricks to make the castle seem bigger. A painting technique was
used that involves painting the lower parts of the 70-foot tall castle walls in darker and warmer hues of pink paint,
gradually getting lighter and cooler as it goes up to the top in order to blend in with the atmosphere. This tricks the
eye into thinking the object in front of them is larger or taller than it is.

Aladdin is released in 3D, Dolby Cinema and IMAX
by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. A live-action
adaptation of Disney's 1992 animated film of the same name, it is
directed by Guy Ritchie, and stars Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi
Scott, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, Nasim Pedrad, and Billy
Magnussen. Alan Tudyk supplies the voice of Iago (Jafar's sardonic
and intelligent scarlet macaw companion), and Frank Welker reprises
his voice roles from the original animated version as Abu, Rajah and
Cave of Wonders. The film follows Aladdin, a street urchin, who finds
a magic lamp and must use it to win over Princess Jasmine and
defeat the conspiring vizier Jafar.
 

trr1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
found here

1821:
John Henry "Professor" Pepper, a British scientist and inventor who toured the
English-speaking world with his scientific demonstrations, is born in London,
England. He is primarily remembered for co-developing the projection technique known as Pepper's ghost,
building a large-scale version of the concept by Henry Dircks (an English engineer). Pepper's ghost is an
illusionary technique used in theaters, haunted houses, and dark rides .... such as Disney's Haunted Mansion.
Using plate glass and special lighting techniques, it can make objects seem to appear or disappear, to
become transparent, or to make one object morph into another. In the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland/Disney
World,the glass is vertical rather than angled, reflecting animated props below and above the viewer that
create the appearance of three-dimensional, translucent "ghosts" which appear to be dancing through the
ballroom and interacting with props in the physical ballroom. The scene in the Haunted Mansion where
hitchhiking ghosts join you for a ride in your car uses a slight twist on the illusion. In this case a half-silvered
sheet of glass (two-way mirror) is between you and the ghost, which is in front a black background. The
ghost is illuminatedby a spotlight and is mounted on a track synchronized to move at the same speed as
your ride car. In this case you are seeing the actual image of the "ghost" but your image is the reflection.
The effect is a ghost riding along with you in your Doombuggy!
1916:
Singer-songwriter Terry Gilkyson (a name not well remembered today
but very influential in the world of pop and folk music) is born Hamilton
Henry Gilkyson in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. Known for his group Terry Gilkyson
and the Easy Riders, their version of "Marianne" was a million seller. In the 60's Gilkyson left the
group and began working on movies for Walt Disney Studios. He wrote music for Swiss Family
Robinson
, The Aristocats, and The Moon-Spinners, along with the television program The
Wonderful World Of Disney
. In 1968 he received an Academy Award nomination for writing "The
Bear Necessities" for The Jungle Book (the film's only song not written by the Sherman Brothers).​
1960:
Actor, director and writer Thomas Haden Church is born Thomas Richard McMillen in Woodland, California. His Disney film credits include Tombstone (1993), George of the Jungle (1997),
George of the Jungle 2 (2003), and John Carter (2012). (First known for his role in the 1990s sitcom Wings, Church went on to appear in such films as Sideways, Spider-Man 3, and Heaven Is for Real.)
2016:
Finding Dory, a 3D computer-animated comedy
adventure film produced by Pixar Animation
Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures,
hits U.S. theaters. A sequel to the 2003 Finding Nemo,
Andrew Stanton, who directed the first film, returns as writer
and director. Finding Dory focuses on the amnesiac fish
Dory, voiced by Ellen DeGeneres, and explores her journey to
be reunited with her parents. The voice cast includes Albert
Brooks (Marlin), Ed O’Neill (Hank), Kaitlin Olson (Destiny),
Ty Burrell (Bailey), Eugene Levy (Charlie),
Diane Keaton (Jenny), and Hayden Rolence (Nemo).

Playing in front of Finding Dory is the animated short Piper. Produced by Pixar, it tells the story of a hungry baby sandpiper learning to overcome her fear of water.

The revamped Soarin’ flight simulator rides at Disney California Adventure and Epcot
open to guests. Now called Soarin' Around the World, new scenes include a flight over Switzerland’s Matterhorn,
the Arctic Ocean with a leaping whale, the Sydney Opera House in Australia, Germany’s Neuschwanstein castle, a
herd of African elephants, the Great Wall of China, Egyptian pyramids, India’s Taj Mahal, hot air balloons in Monument
Valley on the Arizona-Utah border, outrigger boats off Fiji, the Iguazu waterfalls on the Argentina-Brazil border and
France’s Eiffel Tower. A new soundtrack performed by the London Studio Orchestra is based on Jerry Goldsmith's
original Soarin’ score. Patrick Warburton (best known as Elaine’s on-again, off-again boyfriend Puddy on "Seinfeld")
returns as chief flight attendant and host.

The animated short Inner Workings, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studio,
debuts at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival. Utilizing the hand drawn and CG
amalgamated "Meander" animation style previously used in the Oscar-winning short Paperman, Inner Workings
focuses on the internal struggle between a man’s Brain and his Heart. It will later be released theatrically alongside
the animated feature Moana.​
2017:
Season 4 of the animated series Avengers Assemble kicks off with the 2-part episode "Avengers No More."​
2019:
Amphibia, an animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation for Disney Channel, debuts. The series chronicles the adventures of a self-centered 13-year-old Thai-American girl named Anne Boonchuy, voiced by Brenda Song. After stealing a mysterious music box on her birthday, she is magically transported to Amphibia, a wild marshland-themed lilypad-shaped island full of talking frog-people and giant versions of smaller animals. The voice cast includes Bill Farmer, Amanda Leighton, Stephen Root, Kevin McDonald,
and April Winchell.
 

trr1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
found here

1932:
Actor Pat Morita, the voice of the Emperor in Disney's 1998 animated features
Mulan and the 2004 Mulan II, is born in Isleton, California. He also narrated the television
special Reflections on Ice: Michelle Kwan Skates to the Music of Disney's Mulan. (Best known from The Karate
Kid
movies, TV fans may also remember Morita for his role as Arnold on the 1970s ABC hit sitcom Happy Days.)
1946:
Disney's Donald Duck short Donald's Double Trouble, directed by Jack King,
is released. Donald hires a look-alike with more gentlemanly manners to win back the heart of Daisy
after an argument.​
1971:
Walt Disney World announces their plans for an airstrip to be built on the Florida
property. The Lake Buena Vista STOLport (located not too far from the Contemporary Resort) will consist of a
2000-foot runway and a terminal building. STOLport will be open only to commercial air traffic, with a second
airport for corporate and private flights to be built later. (Neither the terminal or the second airport will ever be built
and STOLport will only be in business for about one year.)​
1987:
Snow White is bestowed the 1,850th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Special guests attending include animators Ward Kimball, Marc Davis and Art Babbitt as well as Adriana
Caselotti - the original voice of Snow White. Held directly across from Mann's Chinese Theater, the honor coincides with Snow White's 50th anniversary. This makes her the third animated character to receive a
star (after Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck).​
1988:
The opening of Disney's Grand Floridian Beach Resort
ushers in an era of accelerated hotel building at WDW
during which 10 new resort hotels have been added to
date. The Grand Floridian, located at 4401 Floridian
Way, is the third Magic Kingdom monorail resort located
on the beaches of the Seven Seas Lagoon between the Polynesian Resort and
the Magic Kingdom. The luxurious hotel - the crown jewel of the Walt Disney World resorts - is themed
to be reminiscent of turn-of-the-century Victorian Florida. Also opening in the hotel is Flagler's restaurant, 1900
Park Fare restaurant, M. Mouse Mercantile shop, Narcoossee's restaurant, Victoria and Albert's restaurant,
and the Grand Floridian Cafe restaurant. An opening dedication ceremony takes place with celebrities Burt Reynolds and Loni Anderson cutting the ribbon, along with Michael Eisner and Frank Wells. (In 1997 the hotel's name will be changed to The Grand Floridian Resort & Spa when a top-of-the-line facility spa and health club is added.)
1999:
At Disneyland, a Main Street Window is dedicated to the former
Chairman of the Walt Disney Attractions, Dick Nunis. (Receiving a window
on Main Street is the highest honor any Cast Member can achieve.) Mr. Nunis and Mickey Mouse ride out from the
gate beside the Mad Hatter in a little blue motorcar while the Disneyland Band plays Zip A Dee Do Dah. On
May 26, 1999, exactly 44 years to the day since he joined the Company, Nunis retired as chairman of Walt Disney
Attractions.​
2008:
It is reported that Walt Disney World is shutting down the six nightclubs at Pleasure Island to make its party district at Downtown Disney more family friendly. Such clubs as BET SoundStage Club, Mannequins Dance Palace, and 8Trax will close after September 27. During the next few years, Disney will reopen the Pleasure Island venues with a broader mix of restaurants and shops.

A baby elephant is born at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Twenty-six-year-old Moyo gives birth to a 327-pound male elephant after 21 months gestation. This newest addition is the heaviest elephant calf ever born at the theme park. (The baby will be named Tsavo - pronounced sah-vo - a few weeks later.)

2018:
DisneyToon Studios, an animation studio which created direct-to-video and occasional theatrical animated feature films, shuts down. A division of Walt Disney Animation Studios located in Glendale, California, it produced 47 feature films, beginning with DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp in
1990. Its final release was Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast in 2015. Although having success with
the Cars spinoff Planes in 2013, which was followed by a sequel called Planes: Fire & Rescue, for the most part DisneyToons was focused on creating content that would be released directly on DVD and Blu-ray. The direct-to-video market has dwindled in recent years with the advent of streaming services, which has resulted in more content being produced directly for streaming and bypassing the physical product altogether.​

2019:
Avengers: Endgame is re-released in theaters with seven minutes of new post-credits footage not included in the original theatrical release (on April 26), including a Stan Lee tribute, and an unfinished deleted scene. Included is a sneak peek of Spider-Man: Far From Home (to be released July 2 in U.S. theaters).
 

trr1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
July 15th found here

1912:
Imagineer and writer Al Bertino, who helped design such
Disneyland attractions as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, the Haunted
Mansion, Country Bear Jamboree, and America Sings, is born
in California. First joining Disney in 1935, he worked on Pinocchio and Fantasia, before writing for
Disney's television series. Big Al, the most familiar face in Frontierland's Grizzly Hall, is a loving tribute to Bertino!

1941:
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt sends federal labor conciliator Stanley White to Hollywood, California. White is to make an attempt to settle the Disney workers' strike.
1955:
Two days before the grand opening of Disneyland, the Long Beach Press-Telegram, the Santa Ana Register and other Southern California newspapers include an advertising supplement for Disneyland in their papers. It highlights all the "wonderous attractions" that guests will find, and ads from Disneyland’s sponsors - such as the Richfield Oil Corporation.

On this same day, a young California woman named Rima Bruce is called in for an interview at Disneyland. Bruce decided to apply for a job at Disneyland when she and her mother were looking for a place to picnic as they drove on Harbor Boulevard and noticed the park under construction. She will start her new job the next day, July 16, thus becoming one of the original Disneyland employees. Bruce will work at Disneyland for the next 32 years, starting as a secretary to the food liaison and ending (in 1987) as an executive assistant to the vice president!​

1975:
Construction begins on Disneyland's Space Mountain. Twelve years in the planning, the idea for Anaheim's ride originated in the mid 1960s, during Walt Disney's lifetime, as a way to energize the aging Tomorrowland. The project was shelved until the success of Space Mountain at Walt Disney World. One thousand tons of steel will be used in its construction. Disneyland's Space Mountain, a more compact, longer, single-track version than the one at WDW, will open in May 1977.

1988:
Disney re-releases Bambi in theaters for the 7th and final time.

Actress Aimee Carrero is born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She
provides the voice of Princess Elena on the Disney Channel animated series Elena of Avalor (a spin-off of
the Disney Junior series Sofia the First).​

1994:
Disney releases the family sports fantasy comedy-drama film Angels in the Outfield
(a remake of the 1951 film of the same name). When an orphan boy prays for a chance to have a family if the California Angels win the pennant, angels are assigned to make it possible. The cast includes
Danny Glover, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tony Danza, Matthew McConaughey, Ben Johnson, and Christopher Lloyd. (Disney at this time is a minority owner of the California Angels.)​
1995:
In Florida, Disney's Wedding Pavilion - located south of the
Grand Floridian Beach Resort - opens. Built on a private island
surrounded by the Seven Seas Lagoon, it is a glass-enclosed Victorian-style
non-denominational chapel. Available for weddings, vow renewals and commitment ceremonies, the chapel can
seat up to 300 guests. Walt Disney Imagineering has designed the site so that Cinderella Castle (in the nearby Magic Kingdom) is framed in two views: through a window behind the indoor altar where ceremonies are held,
and through a hedge arch outside the chapel. Opening next door to the pavilion is Franck’s Bridal Studio, a one-stop shop for couples to meet with a Disney wedding planner to review all the details for the big event. It is named after the eccentric wedding planner Martin Short played in the 1991 film Father of The Bride.
1998:
Building a Company: Roy O. Disney and the Creation of an Entertainment Empire by author Bob Thomas is published by Hyperion Press.

The Disney Magic arrives at Port Canaveral, Florida for the first time.​
2005:
Disneyland's Space Mountain reopens after a two-year refurbishment.
Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, takes part in the opening ceremony. The reopened Space Mountain
keeps the original track layout but features new special effects and theming.

Disney's California Adventure opens its newest attraction - Turtle Talk with Crush -
in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot. Designed by Walt Disney Imagineering in collaboration with Pixar,
the attraction consists of an unscripted, real-time conversation with Crush, the sea turtle from the Disney/Pixar film Finding Nemo. (It is the 2nd "Crush" attraction to open, as one debuted in Epcot in 2004.)

The Anaheim park also announces that the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage will
be built on the site of the old Submarine Voyage attraction. (Nemo will debut in June 2007.)

Life is Ruff, a Disney Channel Original Movie, debuts​
2020:
Epcot and Hollywood Studios reopen at Walt Disney World after being closed for months
due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

Disneyland Paris begins its phased reopening as well with visitors able to return to Disneyland Park, Walt Disney Studios Park, Disney’s Newport Bay Club hotel, and
Disney Village.

Hong Kong Disneyland closes once again after a reported outbreak of COVID-19 across
Honk Kong. Hong Kong Disneyland was the second Disney park to reopen, welcoming parkgoers June 18 with
limited capacity and increased health and safety measures. It originally closed last January 26 due to the global
coronavirus crisis.​
 
Last edited:

trr1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
found here

2017:
Voice actress and comedian Patricia "Patti" Deutsch Ross passes away at age 73 in Los Angeles, California. A frequent panelist on the TV game shows Match Game and Tattletales, she also provided voices for Disney films and television shows. Her credits included Tarzan (1999), The Emperor's New
Groove
, Monsters, Inc.(2001), Kronk's New Groove (2005), and The Emperor's New School (2007-2008).

Voice actress June Foray, best known as the voice of the animated character Rocky the Flying Squirrel (on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show), passes away at age 99 in Los Angeles, California. With a career encompassing radio, theatrical shorts, feature films, television, record albums, video games, and talking toys, Foray supplied the voice of Witch Hazel for the Disney short Trick or Treat, Lucifer for Disney's feature Cinderella, Mrs. Featherby for Disney's DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp, and Grandmother Fa for Disney's direct-to-video Mulan II. Her vast television voice credits include Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears.

2019:
The final episode of the Disney Channel series Andi Mack airs.

Russi Taylor, the longtime official voice of Minnie Mouse, passes away in Glendale, California, at age 75. The Disney Legend first assumed the role of Minnie Mouse over 30 years ago after she
beat out more than 200 others during a 1986 audition. Taylor voiced the character in hundreds of Disney projects,
including television, theme park experiences, animated shorts and theatrical films. (She was married to Wayne Allwine, the third voice of Mickey Mouse, from 1991 until his death in 2009.) Her other voices include Huey, Dewey, Louie & Webby in DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (1990), Nurse Mouse in The Rescuers Down Under (1990), Robbie in The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars (1998), Widow Tweed in The Fox and the Hound 2 (2006), Fairy Godmother & Drizella Tremaine in Cinderella III: A Twist in Time (2007), and Fauna in Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams (2007). Taylor's long list of television voice credits include such programs as Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears, DuckTales, Timon and Pumbaa, Kim Possible and Sofia the First.​
 

trr1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
found here

1875:
Writer Hans Christian Andersen, known for his many classic fairytales including
"The Little Mermaid," passes at age 70 near Copenhagen, Denmark. Among his best-known
stories: "The Princess and the Pea," "The Snow Queen," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling." Disney has turned many of his tales into animated features and shorts (undoubtedly the most successful being The Little Mermaid). In March 1955 the Disneyland television series aired the episode "From Aesop to Hans Christian Andersen." Disneyland Records released Walt Disney Presents the Stories of Hans Christian Andersen in 1965 (narrated by Robie Lester). Disney’s IMAX feature Fantasia 2000 has a sequence inspired by Andersen's short story "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," which sees a one-legged toy soldier coming to life to save a music-box ballerina from an evil Jack-in-the-box. (Today there is a sculpture of Hans Christian Andersen in New York's Central Park; built primarily with funds raised by Danish and American schoolchildren in memory of the author.)​
1995:
A ground breaking takes place for Disney's newest Florida theme park Disney's Animal Kingdom. (The largest of all of Disney's theme parks, it will open in
April 1998.)​
2001:
Actor, voice actor and musician Lorenzo Music, best known as the voice of television's animated cat Garfield, passes away at age 64 in California. His Disney voice credits include
Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears (1985-1991), Fluppy Dogs (1986), TaleSpin (1990-1991), and Darkwing Duck (1991). Music was the co-creator of The Bob Newhart Show and supplied the sleepy, husky voice of Carlton the doorman (who was only heard but never seen on camera) for the sitcom Rhoda.
2009:
Walt Disney World celebrates the opening of the first new
monorail line resort hotel in more than two decades, when Bay
Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort debuts. A pedestrian
walkway connects the new 16-story Disney Vacation Club resort (which features 295 villas) to the grand concourse of Disney’s Contemporary Resort. Bay Lake Tower is the ninth Disney Vacation Club resort and
the sixth located at WDW. Although designated as a standalone Vacation Club resort hotel, the tower is considered an addition to the Contemporary and follows the same modern design. Similar to the California
Grill on top of the Contemporary, atop Bay Lake Tower is a lounge called "Top of the World Lounge,"
featuring a viewing deck and an indoor seating area with a full bar.
2017:
Disney releases The Legacy Collection: Robin Hood, a two-disc soundtrack album.
The album features the complete original soundtrack from the 1973 animated Robin Hood, released for the first time
in its entirety. The album also includes five unreleased demos and the full 1974 album, Let’s Hear It for Robin Hood.
Walt Disney Records the Legacy Collection is a compilation album series commemorating distinct anniversaries
of Disney films and the 60th anniversary of Disneyland. Robin Hood is the 13th release (of 14).​
 

trr1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
found here


1994:
The Concourse Steak House opens at Walt Disney World, on the site of
the former Concourse Grill. It is located next to the escalators to the monorail station at Disney's Contemporary Resort's Grand Concourse (4th floor). (It will close in May 2008 to make way
for the counter service Contempo Cafe.)
2011:
At dawn prior to the park opening, the annual Cast Canoe Races at Disneyland
(a tradition since 1963) takes place. Twelve teams in three divisions row around the Rivers of
America in canoes from Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes. Employees of the Davey Crockett’s Explorer
Canoes sweep the divisions, taking first in the men’s, women’s and co-ed divisions.

The Help, a Touchstone/DreamWorks film, is released. A film adaptation of Kathryn
Stockett's 2009 novel of the same name about a young white woman, Skeeter Phelan, and her relationship with
two black maids during Civil Rights era America in early 1960, the film stars Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia
Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain, Sissy Spacek, Mike Vogel and Allison Janney.

Actor Jeremy Maguire is born. He is most known for playing Joe Pritchett on the ABC sitcom Modern Family.

2020:
Disney announces it is re-branding one of its TV studios, 20th Century Fox Television, as 20th Television. The new name cuts both the "Century" and the "Fox" from the studio's name. The move follows Disney dropping the Fox name from its 20th Century Fox film brand last January.​
 

trr1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
found here

2019:
Starting earlier than ever, Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is held for the first time this season. Running through November 1, the parties are held on select nights at Magic Kingdom after the park closes from 7 p.m. to midnight.

Animator, voice actor, director, and writer Richard Williams passes away at age 86 in England. He was best known for serving as animation director on Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), for which he won two Academy Awards. Williams also voiced Droopy in Disney's 1989 short Tummy Trouble (one of many Roger Rabbit shorts).

Actor, director and screenwriter Peter Fonda passes away at age 79 in California. Son of Henry Fonda, younger brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget Fonda, Peter was a part of the counterculture of the 1960s. Best known for his role in the 1969 film Easy Rider, he played the part of Damien Blade in the 2007 Disney comedy Wild Hogs. He also supplied voices for 2 episodes of the animated Milo Murphy's Law
 

trr1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
found here

1956:
The Disneyland Hotel celebrates its "official" grand opening with many Hollywood
stars and celebrities attending the festivities (although it has been opened since
October 5, 1955). Celebrity guests include Art Linkletter, William Bendix, Alan Ladd, Yvonne
DeCarlo, Jeanne Crain, Anaheim Mayor Charles Pearson and of course Walt Disney.​
1958:
Tim Burton, filmmaker, writer and producer of such joint Disney
films as James and the Giant Peach, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Alice in
Wonderland
is born in Burbank, California. As a youngster he won a Disney scholarship to attend
the California Institute of the Arts and was later hired by the Walt Disney Studios as an animator apprentice.
While at Disney he worked as an animator, storyboard artist and concept artist on films such as The Fox and the
Hound
, The Black Cauldron and Tron. Longing to work on solo projects, Burton made his first short, Vincent, a six-
minute black-and-white stop motion film while at Disney in 1982. Today famous for his dark, gothic, macabre and
quirky take on horror and fantasy style movies, Burton's 3D stop motion animated Frankenweenie (based on a short
he first created at Disney in 1984) was released by Walt Disney Pictures in 2012.
1985:
Three-year old Brooks Arthur Charles Burr is welcomed as Disneyland's 250-millionth visitor!​
2008:
It is reported that Pixar has hired actor Michael Keaton as the voice of
Ken (Barbie's boyfriend) for the new Toy Story 3 (scheduled for a
summer 2010 release).

Disney announces it has sold 298 acres of Florida land to Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts for a hotel and golf course to anchor a previously announced luxury development on the northeast border of Walt Disney World Resort.​
2019:
Today is the final day of the 2019 D23 Expo in Anaheim, California. The 3-day event showcased dozens of exclusive reveals and announcements for Disney parks and resorts across the globe.
Today's many events include:
-The Little Mermaid: The 30th Anniversary Celebration!
-The Art of Disney Storytelling
-Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Presentation
-Marc Davis in His Own Words – Imagineering the Disney Theme Park
-Disneyland ’59: Matterhorn, the Monorail, and Submarine Voyage​
 

trr1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
found here

2019:
Disneyland Paris closes Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith to make way for the new Iron Man themed overlay of the attraction. First announced at D23 Expo Japan, the attraction will be totally reimagined as a high-speed, hyper-kinetic adventure, in which guests will team up with Iron Man and their favorite Avengers. The attraction first opened March 16th, 2002 with the debut of Walt Disney Studios Park.​
1971:
Actor Ricardo Antonio Chavira is born in Austin, Texas. Known for his role as Carlos Solis in the ABC comedy-drama series, Desperate Housewives (2004–12), he also had a recurring role on ABC’s Scandal during the fifth and sixth seasons. Chavira's film credits include the 2004 The Alamo as Private Gregorio Esparza.
1997:
Light Magic, a parade/street show, ends its run at Disneyland. Billed as a replacement for the 24-year-old Main Street Electrical Parade, it had debuted last May.

Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World closes. Opened since 1971, it will be updated and renamed The Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management) in April 1998.

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, a syndicated comic science fiction sitcom based on the 1989 film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, debuts. Peter Scolari plays Wayne Szalinski the wacky inventor (played by Rick Moranis in the original film). It will run for 66 episodes.​
2020:
Artist Sue C. Nichols passes away at age 55 in Massachusetts. Best known for her work with Walt Disney Animation Studios predominantly during the Disney Renaissance and Post-Renaissance, her credits included such classics as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, The Hunchback of Notre Dame,
Hercules, Mulan, Enchanted, and The Princess and the Frog
 

trr1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
found here

1996:
Disney Online officially launches its Internet Disney Store.​
1999:
FastPass is first used in Disneyland for It's a Small World.​
2000:
The Wonderful World of Disney airs the movie Santa Who?, starring Leslie Nielsen, for the very first time.
The made-for-television fantasy-comedy centers on Santa Claus (Nielsen) developing a case of amnesia right before Christmas. The cast includes
Steven Eckholdt, Robyn Lively, Max Morrow, Aron Tager, and Tommy Davidson. Thinking him to be a homeless man, a news reporter named Peter Albright (Eckholdt) gets amnesiac Santa a job as a department store Santa and tries to find his family. Directed by William Dear, Santa Who? is distributed in the U.S. by Buena Vista Television.
(This film marks the second of what will be three times where Leslie Nielsen plays Santa Claus. He played Santa in the 1991 film "All I Want for Christmas." He will later play the jolly old elf in an episode of the 2003 animated TV series "Chilly Beach.")
2019:
Frozen stars Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell receive stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame simultaneously. The unveiling takes place at the corner of Hollywood Blvd. and Argyle Ave, near the Pantages Theater.

Disney+ is launched in Australia, New Zealand, and Puerto Rico​
2020:
Disneyland expands its Downtown Disney district by opening Buena Vista Street; part of Disney’s California Adventure, for shopping and dining only. It's the first time visitors have
set foot into a California Disney park since March.

ABC-TV kicks off season 3 of the family drama A Million Little Things.​
 

trr1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
found here


2020:
Composer John Williams wins Best Instrumental Composition for his "Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Symphonic Suite" at the 62nd Grammy Awards.

Hong Kong Disneyland joins Shanghai Disneyland in closing indefinitely amid the coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than 50, infected thousands and restricted millions from traveling to China tourist destinations during the Lunar New Year holiday

2021:
Disney Books releases "City of Villains" by Estelle Laure. Disney’s Villains meet Gotham in this gritty fairy tale-inspired crime series.

Actress Cloris Leachman, Nurse Spex in Disney's 2005 live-action feature Sky High, passes away at age 94 in California. Her Disney credits included The North Avenue Irregulars (1979) as Claire Porter, Herbie Goes Bananas (1980) as Aunt Louise, a 2009 episode of Phineas and Ferb, and 3 episodes of Elena of Avalor. Leachman also co-starred in the short-lived Touchstone/Disney sitcom The Nutt House (created by Mel Brooks) as Ms. Frick. An eight-time Emmy Award winner, Leachman was best known for her role on the classic TV sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show and later the spinoff series, Phyllis. She also appeared in such Brooks films as Young Frankenstein and History of the World, Part I. (As she passes in her sleep, the announcement of her death won't be made until the next day, January 27.)​
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom