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October 18
1964:
The World's Fair in Flushing, New York, (which included 4 Disney attractions) closes for its 1964 season. It will re-open the following spring for its final season.
1967:
Disney's 19th animated feature film "The Jungle Book" has its general release. Rudyard Kipling's classic tale of the jungle is the last animated feature personally supervised by Walt Disney.
October 19
1955:
The Disneyland television series presents The Story of the Silly Symphony Walt looks back on the early cartoons from the 1930s.
1989:
Body Wars begins sending guests through the human body at Epcot's Wonders of Life pavilion. Also opening is the attraction, Cranium Command.
1996:
Walt Disney World Resort and ABC present " Super Soap Weekend." A line-up of soap opera celebrities, including Susan Lucci, team up for the 2-day event at Disney-MGM Studios.
1999:
The stage version of The Lion King opens at the Lyceum Theatre in London, In attendance are composers Elton John and Tim Rice, Roy E. Disney and his wife Patty.
October 20
1931:
Disney's Silly Symphony cartoon "The Fox Hunt" is released.
1997:
The Disney Channel debuts Bear in the Big Blue House.
2001:
The EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival begins at Disney World. More than 20 international food and wine marketplaces around World Showcase Lagoon represent different regions of the world.
2003:
Phil Collins and Tina Turner perform at the world premiere of Disney's Brother Bear held at the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York City.
October 21
1939:
An interoffice memo from Walt to his brother Roy and studio worker Gunther Lessing reads: "Everything we do in the future should include television rights. There might be a big angle on television for the shorts we have already produced."
2001:
Disney Imagineer Tony Baxter appears as a special guest of the Carolwood Pacific Historical Society at Walt Disney's Barn in Griffith Park, California. One of the most influential and prolific of the "second generation" Disney imagineers, he played a key role in the design and creation of many Disney attractions in the last 25 years, including Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Splash Mountain.
2003:
The soundtrack to Disney's Brother Bear (featuring music by Phil Collins & Tina Turner) is released.
A two-day celebration of Disney's railroad legacy begins at Disney World. Members of the Carolwood Pacific Historical Society and the Broggie family of California attend to rededicate the Roger E. Broggie Steam Engine No. 3 named for the late Roger Broggie who worked for Disney for 42 years, is one of four that puff around the Magic Kingdom.
October 22
1942:
Annette Funicello is born in Utica, New York. She will be a featured Mouseketeer on the Mickey Mouse Club and star in several Disney features, including The Shaggy Dog, Babes in Toyland, and The Misadventures of Merlin Jones.
1979:
At the Magic Kingdom, Kurt Miller, Walt Disney World's 100-millionth guest, passes through the turnstiles
.
1997:
The Orlando Sentinel reports that Disney World sources have revealed plans to close Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in favor of a trip through the Hundred Acre Woods.
October 23
1931:
Disney's Silly Symphony cartoon The Spider and the Fly is released.
1941:
Disney's 4th animated feature film, premieres in New York.
1982:
At Disney World's EPCOT park, the first World Showcase evening show, Carnival de Lumiere debuts. It celebrates world festivals with fountains, film, music, and other special effects.
1997:
John Lefante launches the "Save Mr. Toad" website the day after The Orlando Sentinel reports that Disney World is going to replace the classic attraction
2001:
Disney releases Dumbo on video and DVD in celebration of the film's 60th anniversary.
October 24
1929:
Disney's Silly Symphony cartoon Springtime the first of the Silly Symphony cartoons based on the seasons is released
1947:
Walt Disney heads a list of "friendly" witnesses testifying to the first House Un-American Activities Committee investigation on Communist subversion in Hollywood.
1971:
Disney World's Electrical Water Pageant debuts in the Seven Seas Lagoon for the dedication of the Polynesian Luau and the official grand opening celebrations of Disney's Contemporary and Polynesian Resorts.
1982:
EPCOT Center is officially dedicated by Disney Chairman E. Cardon Walker at Disney World.
1997:
The Orlando Sentinel runs an article over the controversy raging in Florida about Disney closing Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Actors Steve Guttenberg and Kirsten Dunst, stars of Disney's Tower of Terror movie, come out strongly pro-Toad while Darius Rucker, lead singer of Hootie & the Blowfish, makes it clear that he's a Pooh man.
2002:
It is reported that Disney's Monsters, Inc. has sold 13 million units worth $250 million on DVD and VHS internationally.
2003:
Disney's animated Brother Bear debuts at the El Capitan Theater.
October 25
1965:
Florida Governor Haydon Burns confirms the rumors that Disney is planning on building a park near Orlando.
1971:
The formal dedication of Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, takes place with Walt's brother Roy officiating. A grand opening parade down Main Street is led by Music Man Meredith Willson, the composer of 76 Trombones. Arthur Fiedler conducts the 60-nation World Symphony Orchestra at the base of Cinderella's Castle and Bob Hope hosts the dedication of the Contemporary Resort.
1973:
The TV special Walt Disney - A Golden Anniversary Salute airs.
2000:
Thirty lucky Haunted Mansion fans dine in the popular Disneyland attraction as part of a $2000 a plate Fantasy Dinner offered by the park.
October 26
1935:
Disney's Silly Symphony cartoon Three Orphan Kittens is released, it will win an Academy Award for Best Cartoon.
1986:
Donald Duck is shown for the first time in the People's Republic of China. Chinese television launches a weekly half-hour of old Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse cartoons.
1997:
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad airs on the The Disney Channel four days after it has been announced that Disney World is going to close the classic Mr. Toad attraction
A touring exhibition of design art from the Disney Imagineering archives called Designing Disney's Theme Parks: The Architecture of Reassurance, is displayed at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.
2001:
It is announced that The Walt Disney Company (which pulled its TV advertising September 11) has begun an aggressive new marketing and publicity campaign to court vacationers.
The Orlando Business Journal announces that Disney World guests will start to receive a daily copy of USA Today in their hotel rooms instead of the Orlando Sentinel.
October 27
2002:
Disney helps kick-off the annual Toys for Tots campaign by donating toys at the world premiere of The Santa Clause 2, held at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood.
The Disney-owned Anaheim Angels win their first World Series Championship with a 4-1 victory over the San Fancisco Giants in game 7 at Edison Field (in Anaheim).
October 28
1933:
Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon The Pet Store is released.
1971:
The Dapper Dans of Disney World perform their first show, an evening performance at a convention in Cocoa Beach, since relocating to Florida from Disneyland, California.
1980:
Annette Funicello, Cubby O'Brien, Tommy Cole, join other Mouseketeers wearing black ears and white shirts on a sound Burbank, California, to celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Mickey Mouse Club.
2001:
The Disneyana Fun Fairs Show & Sale takes place at the WestCoast Anaheim Hotel.
The free event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Disney/Pixar's newest animated feature film, Monsters, Inc. premieres at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood. Stars Billy Crystal, John Goodman, and Mary Gibbs are on hand for the event.
October 29
1971:
A TV special on NBC, "The Grand Opening of Walt Disney World," shows the park to approximately 52 million people in the U.S. The celebrity-filled look at the new park include appearances by Julie Andrews, Glen Campbell, Buddy Hackett, Jonathan Winters, and Bob Hope.
1993:
The Disneyland Line, Disneyland’s Cast Members newsletter, features an article titled "The Tale of The Haunted Mansion." It recalls the history of the popular attraction.
2002:
The Disneyland Resort and the City of Anaheim, California team up to celebrate the Anaheim Angels clinching the World Series. The festivities kick off at Disneyland at 10 a.m. with an Anaheim Angels Hometown Heroes Welcome Cavalcade down Main Street.
October 30
1929:
Disney's Silly Symphony cartoon ****'s Bells is released. It's the first cartoon directed by Ub Iwerks.
1930:
Disney's Silly Symphony cartoon Winter is released.
1989:
Body Wars, Cranium Command, Fitness Fairgrounds, Anacomical Players and The Making of Me all debut at EPCOT.
1996:
Disney's Toy Story is released on home video.
October 31
1927:
Disney's All Wet, an Oswald the Lucky Rabbit black & white silent short) is released.
1936:
Disney's Silly Symphony cartoon The Country Cousin is released and will win an Academy Award for Best Cartoon.
1939:
This is the date of the fateful "elevator accident" at the Tower of Terror, Walt Disney's scary attraction at its Disney-MGM Studios. This is also the date inscribed on the eviction notice that appears on the entrance gates and on the inspection notice in the elevators.
1966:
At Disneyland's New Orleans Square, the Pirates of the Caribbean River is filled with water for the first time
November 1
1924:
Disney's Alice Comedy Alice Gets in Dutch is released.
1940:
Disney's cartoon Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip is released.
1946:
Disney's Donald and Goofy cartoon Frank Duck Brings 'Em Back is released.
1986:
At Disneyland, the Golden Horseshoe Jamboree debuts in Frontierland.
1990:
The first international Disney Store opens on London's Regent Street.
1994:
Disney World's All-Star Music Resort opens. It is the second phase of the All-Star Resort.
2002:
Disney's The Santa Clause 2 opens in theaters.
2003:
Disney's animated feature Brother Bear opens in theaters nationwide.