This Day in Disney History

[tiggerguy]

September 16

1933:
Disney's Silly Symphony cartoon "The Pied Piper" is released.

1955:
Disneyland's "Canal Boats of the World" attraction closes after only 2 months of operation.

1958:
Actress Jennifer Tilly, the voice of Celia in Disney's 2001 "Monsters, Inc." and Madame Leota in Disney's 2003 live-action The Haunted Mansion, is born in Harbor City, California.

2001:
"Walt: The Man Behind the Myth," a TV special about Walt Disney, airs as part of The Wonderful World of Disney on ABC. Narrated by **** Van Dyke, the 2-hour show features interviews with some of the people who knew Walt best.

[TrendyMagic]

1955:
Disneyland's "Canal Boats of the World" attraction closes after only 2 months of operation.

That seems really odd. You post too many good things to remember Brian.

[MandaBella]

September 16


1955:
Disneyland's "Canal Boats of the World" attraction closes after only 2 months of operation.

Would this area later be used for the Storybook canal ride?

[tiggerguy]

Would this area later be used for the Storybook canal ride?

Yes it would. At one point it was thought that Big Rock Candy Mountain would be built here, the boats would enter the mountain and come upon Dorothy having a party with her friends in Oz.

Info from Dave Smith's Disney Trivia A-Z

[tiggerguy]

September17

1927:
Disney's Oswald the Lucky Rabbit film "Rickety Gin" is shipped to New York distributor M. Winkler.

1928:
Actor Roddy McDowall, the voice of Mr. Soil in Disney's 1998 "A Bug's Life," is born in London, England.

1932:
Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon "The Whoopee Party" is released.

1961:
The ABC-TV series Walt Disney Presents airs for the last time. The following week the series will be called The Wonderful World of Disney ... and air on NBC.

2002:
The Disney CD "Disneymania," featuring classic Disney songs performed by acts like 'N SYNC, Usher, Aaron Carter, and Christina Aguilera, is released in the U.S.

Disney also releases its 2001 blockbuster Monsters, Inc., on a 2-disc special edition DVD and VHS. It features an all-new animated short "Mike's New Car," created exclusively for this release.

[tiggerguy]

September 18


1917:
Voice actress June Foray (the voice of Rocket J. "Rocky" Squirrel) is born in Springfield, MA. Her Disney credits include the sounds of Lucifer the cat in Cinderella and Peter Pan for which she played a live-action mermaid to serve as a reference for the animators.

1957:
The Disneyland television series airs "Four Fabulous Characters."

1998:
Secrets of the Animal Kingdom, a syndicated half-hour television series, first airs. Taped at Disney's Animal Kingdom, it is the first series produced by Walt Disney Attractions Television.

2000:
Production begins on Disney's newest film "The Princess Diaries" in San Francisco.

2004:
Marceline, Missouri (boyhood home of Walt Disney) hosts the sixth annual Toonfest celebration.

[tiggerguy]

September 19

1927:
Disney's second Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon "Oh, Teacher" is released.

1952:
The Mickey Mouse cartoon "Pluto's Party" is released.

1956:
The Disneyland television series airs "The Great Cat Family."

1959:
Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev arrives in Los Angeles during his eleven-day U.S. visit. He is suppose to tour Los Angeles housing projects, while his wife and children visit Disneyland. Instead he wishes to accompany them to Disneyland, but is turned down when security officials cannot guarantee his safety. The disgruntled Premier and his family attend a luncheon at Twentieth-Century Fox studios instead.

1966:
Walt Disney gives what will be his last press conference. He speaks about the development of the Mineral King ski resort in southern California. It will feature skiing, an alpine village, skating rink, hotels, dormitories for young people, and restaurants. (Disney's plans will quickly be put to a stop when critics and environmentalists feel the untouched land would be desecrated. Congress will eventually vote to turn Mineral King into a part of Sequoia National Park.)

Disneyland's Monsanto Hall of Chemistry is removed to make way for the new Advetnure Through Inner Space attraction.

2003:
The biggest pin trading event of the year at Disney World kicks off at Epcot's World ShowPlace.

[tiggerguy]

September 20

1925:
Walt Disney's Alice Comedy "Alice's Tin Pony" premieres at Warner's Theater in New York City.

1926:
The Alice Comedy Alice's Monkey Business is released.

2001:
It is reported that Disney's extraterrestrial animated feature, Lilo & Stitch, may get a makeover. The ending scenes have a cute little alien sneaking on board a 747 and taking the jumbo jet for a joy ride through the towers of Honolulu. Following the tragic events of September 11, 2001 Disney has asked screenwriters to rewrite the last scenes. They may replace the airplane with a spaceship.

2002:
The second annual Disney's Pin Celebration begins at Epcot.

2003:

Walt Disney's Hometown Toonfest takes place in Marceline, Missouri (Walt's boyhood home).

Disney's California Adventure presents Disney's Fiesta Latina (a celebration featuring mariachi bands, craft booths and spicy food) for the first of three weekends.

[tiggerguy]

September 21

1947:
Walt Disney appears on a live radio broadcast of The Edgar Bergen-Charlie McCarthy Show. Walt promotes his newest picture, Fun and Fancy Free.

1951:
Disney's Pluto cartoon "Cold Turkey" is released.

1996:
IllumiNations 25 (a new show to celebrate Walt Disney World's 25th Anniversary) debuts at EPCOT
.
1998:
Infoseek and Walt Disney announce that their Internet portal site will be called GO NETWORK. The companies expect to launch it before December. (A portal site is an all-purpose Web page from which users can get onto the Internet as well as take advantage of functions such as e-mail, online shopping, and chat groups.)

2001:
Marceline, Missouri, the small mid-western town that Walt Disney used as his model for Main Street USA hosts his 100th birthday celebration starting today through the 23rd, with seminars on Walt Disney, a crop maze, a pie contest, a chili cook off and more.

A spokesman confirms that the Bass family of Texas has sold a sizeable chunk, 135 million shares, of their stake in the Walt Disney Company. The sale generates about $2 billion at about $15 a share.

2002:
The city of Marceline, Missouri hosts the fourth annual Walt Disney's Hometown Toonfest.

[TrendyMagic]

September 21

2001:
A spokesman confirms that the Bass family of Texas has sold a sizeable chunk, 135 million shares, of their stake in the Walt Disney Company. The sale generates about $2 billion at about $15 a share.

How did they get that much and why did they not want it any more?

[tiggerguy]

How did they get that much and why did they not want it any more?

My source doesn't say. I would imagine they got rid of it because the price went too low and they were unhasppy with Eisner's performance.

I do know this is the year that my other Disney friends were getting real unhappy with Disney.

[tiggerguy]

September 22

1950:
Disney's Pluto cartoon "Camp Dog" is released.

1955:
The Disney short Breezy Bear, featuring Donald Duck and Humphrey the Bear, is released.

1984:
Frank Wells is elected President and Chief Operations. At this time, Walt Disney Productions is approximately $900 million in debt. (By 1987, Walt Disney Productions will be worth $340 million.)

1991:
Disney World's 20th Anniversary Surprise Celebration Parade kicks off down Main Street USA.
2000:

Larry King Live with guest **** Van Dyke airs on CNN. When asked if "Mary Poppins" was his first big movie, Van Dyke says: "Yes, absolutely. And Walt Disney, for some strange reason, thought of me. God bless him. Everybody else in the show was British. And I don't know why..."

2001:
The Themed Entertainment Association (or TEA) hold their Thea Awards Ceremony at the Alex Theater in Glendale, California. Among the Disney winners are: Imagineer Tony Baxter (Lifetime Achievement), EPCOT's Millenium Village (Award for Outstanding Achievement - Attraction), DisneyQuest's Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Buccaneer Gold (Award for Outstanding Achievement - Attraction), and Disney's Fastpass (Award for Outstanding Achievement - Breakthrough Innovation).

2003:
Disney World's Coronado Springs Resort hosts a 4-day Native American Business Conference and Trade Show. The event, organized by the United Indian Development Association, allows American Indians as well as other small-business people to network with representatives of large companies.

[tiggerguy]

September 23

1938:
Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon "The Brave Little Tailor" is released. The most elaborate and expensive Mickey Mouse cartoon ever produced, it will be nominated for an Academy Award.

1949:
Disney's Goofy cartoon "Goofy Gymnastics" is released.

1971:
The Dapper Dans (a barbershop quartet soon to be a staple at Disney parks) perform their first set at the GAF Photo Shop on Main Street. Jerry Siggins, Bob Mathis, **** Kneeland, and Bub Thomas sing for Cast Members and their families a week before the grand opening of Disney World.

1980:
The "Big Thunder Mountain" attraction debuts at Disney World.

1984:
Frank Wells officially becomes President of Walt Disney Productions.

1999:
The large and small Horizons signs are removed from the closed EPCOT attraction at Disney World.

2001:

A new attraction "Walt Disney: One Man's Dream," showing memorabilia about Walt Disney's career and heritage to the public for the first time, opens at Disney-MGM in Florida.

[tiggerguy]

September 24

1937:
Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon "Hawaiian Holiday" is released.

1959:
The last episode of the Disney-produced TV show "Zorro" airs.

1961:
Sunday: "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color" makes its debut in color and on NBC-TV. The show consists of "An Adventure in Color," "Donald in Mathmagicland," and a brand new character called Professor Ludwig Von Drake. (Before this, the show had simply been called "Walt Disney Presents" and was broadcast on ABC.)

1973:
Construction begins on a one story pavilion to house General Electric's Carousel of Progress (an attraction shipped in from Disneyland) in Disney World's Tomorrowland.

1984:
The Frontier Shooting Gallery in the Magic Kingdom is renamed the Frontierland Shootin' Arcade.

1999:
Previews begin for the London West End production of Disney's musical "The Lion King" at the Lyceum Theatre.

2001:
Tapestry of Dreams opens at EPCOT (replacing Tapestry of Nations).

2004:
Disneyland debuts "Mysteries, Myths, and Legends Tour" (an interactive tour that allows guests to be a part of a fictional storyline woven by the host).

[tiggerguy]

September 25

1931:
Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon "Fishin' Around" is released.

1960:
The Walt Disney Presents TV series airs for the first time on a Sunday evening. (It had previously aired on Fridays and as the former Disneyland on Wednesdays.)

1963:
Beach Party, starring former-Mouseketeer Annette Funicello and teen idol Frankie Avalon, debuts. The film is the first of several such frothy beach films for the popular duo.

1984:
Disneyland workers, including the "rubberheads" (a nickname given to the costumed characters that roam the park) go on strike.