This Day in Disney History

[bigbrian-nc.com]

October 3
1998:
Disneyland's Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes closes forever.

I know these closed under Pressler...but I thought they re-oppened under Cynthia Harris (it was one of those things she did that gave me hope about her for a while there)

[tiggerguy]

I know these closed under Pressler...but I thought they re-oppened under Cynthia Harris (it was one of those things she did that gave me hope about her for a while there)

I guess I stand corrrected, I got bad info from one web-site

[tiggerguy]

October 7

1971:
The Disney animated and live-action feature film, Bedknobs and Broomsticks premieres in London, England.

1981:
The live-action Disney film The Watcher in the Woods starring Bette Davis is released.

1998:
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, housed in the space formerly occupied by Take Flight, opens at Disney World. Presented by Mattel, it is the first interactive dark ride at the Magic Kingdom.

2002:
A Bug's Land opens inside Disney's California Adventure. Designed especially for younger kids, the area (inspired by the Disney/Pixar movie) features "Flik's Fun Fair."

2003:
Disney's The Lion King is released on a 2-disc DVD set. It includes a new animated song (written by Elton John & Tim Rice) and sequence. This is the first time Disney has added a newly animated scene specifically for a DVD.

[tiggerguy]

October 8

1996:
A full-service spa and health center opens at Disney World's Grand Floridian Beach Resort.

1999:
The documentary film The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story is released in Los Angeles for one week (so that it may qualify for an Academy Award). The film focuses on animation pioneer and early Walt Disney collaborator Ub Iwerks.

2002:
Walt: The Man Behind The Myth (originally broadcast on TV in September 2001) is released on DVD

2003:
Mickey's PhilharMagic, a new computer-animated 3-D attraction, has its official grand opening in the PhilharMagic Concert Hall at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom.

In the evening, the Magic Kingdom hosts a live performance of the Brian Setzer Orchestra on the Castle Forecourt stage. Afterwards the park officially debuts a new pyrotechnic show called Wishes.

[tiggerguy]

October 9

2001:
Disney re-releases its 1937 classic "Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs" on DVD.

[tiggerguy]

October 10

1929:
Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon "The Barnyard Battle" is released.

1931:
The Mickey Mouse short "The Barnyard Broadcast" is released.

1936:
Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon "Mickey's Elephant" is released.

1957:
Disney's third series Zorro has its debut on ABC-TV with the episode "Presenting Senor Zorro."

1998:
The Journey Into Imagination ride and the attraction Image Works both close at Disney World's Epcot.

2002:
The Walt Disney Company and Frito-Lay announce a new multi-year agreement by which Frito-Lay snack products will be featured at both the Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts.

[tiggerguy]

October 11

1955:
Ticket books are available for the first time at Disneyland. They contain A, B, and C tickets (D tickets won't be added until the following year).

1959:
The "Rainbow Caverns Mine Train" attraction closes in Disneyland's Frontierland.

2003:
A preview of the new Disney/Pixar feature The Incredibles airs during "The Wonderful World of Disney" on ABC-TV.

The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter at Disney World's Tomorrowland closes at the end of this day.

[tiggerguy]

October 12

1955:
The Adventures of Mickey Mouse airs on the television series Disneyland. Walt Disney discusses the career of Mickey Mouse and shows several cartoons.

1986:
The Golden Horseshoe Revue in Disneyland's Frontierland officially closes. The show had been running since July 1955.

1995:
Disney World welcomes its 500-millionth guest.

1997:
INTERCOT, a Disney based website comes online. Within 4 years it will become one of the most frequently visited Disney World information sites.

2003:
Disney's 10K Classic, a race throughout the World Showcase at Epcot, takes place. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is the official race beneficiary.

[tiggerguy]

October 13

1960:
Walt Disney returns to his boyhood home of Marceline, Missouri to help dedicate "Walt Disney Elementary," a new public school. Walt donates playground equipment to the new Marceline school, and also gives them a flagpole from the 1960 Winter Olympic ceremonies in Squaw Valley, California.

1978:
Mickey Mouse is awarded a star on Hollywood Blvd's Walk of Fame.

[tiggerguy]

October 14

1926:
Alan Alexander Milne's "Winnie the Pooh" is published by Methuen & Co. Ltd. in London, England. The book is illustrated by E.H. Shepard. Milne creates Pooh after his son Christopher becomes enamored with a bear cub named Winnie at the London Zoo. The Pooh books will become a favorite of Walt Disney's daughters, thus inspiring him to bring Pooh to film in 1966.

1971:
Disney World's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" attraction (based on the 1954 Disney film) opens.

2001:
Winnie the Pooh turns 75.

2003:
Matt Ouimet is named president of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California.

[tiggerguy]

October 15

1923:
Walt Disney receives a telegram from Margaret Winkler (a New York cartoon distributor) offering to pay $1500 each for the first six of his Alice Comedies.

1925:
The Alice Comedy Alice Plays Cupid is released.

1929:
Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon "The Jazz Fool" is released.

1971:
LIFE magazine presents an article on the newly opened Disney World in Florida. A photo of 1,500 Disney employees, posing in front of Cinderella's Castle, is featured on the cover.

1996:
The Main Street Electrical Parade at Disneyland gives its “final” performance.

1998:
Disney World's newest show 'Fantasmic' opens. The 26-minute performance requires 88 people to dazzle park guests.

2001:
"I Went to Disney World!" a positive article (in the midst of terrorist activities and a weakened economy) by syndicated columnist Liz Smith appears in papers across the country

[tiggerguy]

October 16

1923:
The Disney Brothers Studio is founded as a partnership when Walt and his older brother Roy sign a contract with M.J. Winkler (a New York Cartoon distributor) to produce a series of animated short subjects entitled Alice Comedies. On this day, Walt pens a letter to the parents of actress Virginia Davis persuading them to move to Hollywood (from Kansas City) so that she can star in his new combination live-action and animated shorts

1938:
Disney's first full-length animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is released in Finland.

2003:
The redesigned Disney exhibit at the Burbank Historical Society complex in California is unveiled. The display gives an historical account of the evolution of animation, with a major focus on Audio-Animatronics technology (which was introduced at Disneyland in 1963 in the Enchanted Tiki Room and Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln attractions).

2004:
The Game of LIFE® Pirates of the Caribbean is released.

[MandaBella]

2004:
The Game of LIFE® Pirates of the Caribbean is released.

I didn't know about this one. I have a bunch of other Disney games, but I don't have Life in any form. Hmmm....

Tis the season to be jolly...drink up me 'earties, yo ho!

[Stitch]

Hmm I have the Monster's Inc Life game, but never heard of a POTC one.

[tiggerguy]

October 17

1965:
The World's Fair in Flushing, New York, officially ends. The fair included four attractions developed by Walt Disney: General Electric's Carousel of Progress, Ford's Magic Skyway, Pepsi-Cola's It's a Small World, and the State of Illinois' Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.