This Day in Disney History

[tiggerguy]

August 14

2004:
Due to the impact of Hurricane Charley, Walt Disney World adjusts this day's schedule of operations. All theme parks with the exception of Animal Kingdom reopen to guests.

2007:
The names of the towers at the Disneyland Hotel are changed. As of this day, the Marina Tower is known as the Magic Tower, the Sierra Tower is called the Dreams Tower, and the Bonita Tower (named for the wife of Jack Wrather - the hotel's original owner) is now the Wonder Tower.
In addition, Marina Sundries is renamed Donald’s Gifts and Sundries.

[tiggerguy]

August 15

1946:
Disney's animated Make Mine Music, ten shorts combined into a compilation, is generally released. Narrated by Nelson Eddy, the film features the voices and sounds of vocalist Dinah Shore, bandleader-clarinetist Benny Goodman, actor Sterling Holloway (future voice of Winnie the Pooh), and singing trio The Andrews Sisters.

[tiggerguy]

August 16

1969:
Disneyland attendance hits a record 82,516 visitors!

1973:
Santa Rosa Land Company, Incorporated (which owns some of the Walt Disney World Resort) changes its name to Walt Disney Travel Company, Incorporated.

2007:
The United States Post Office debuts a new set of four 41-cent Disney character stamps at Disney World. Honoring the theme of magic, the stamps feature Dumbo & Timothy Mouse, Peter Pan & Tinker Bell, Mickey Mouse as "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," and Aladdin & Genie.

[tiggerguy]

August 17

2004:
Disney releases The Three Musketeers - starring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy - on DVD and video.

[tiggerguy]

August 18

1956:
Emmy Award-winning composer John Cardon Debney, whose music can be heard throughout the Disney theme parks and in the feature Chicken Little, is born in Burbank, California.

1986:
Crockett's Tavern opens in Walt Disney World's Fort Wilderness. It is located at the northern end of the campgrounds.

[tiggerguy]

August 19

1955:
The Disney short Bearly Asleep, featuring Donald Duck (voiced by Clarence Nash) and Humphrey the Bear (voiced by James Macdonald), is released.

1965:
Walt Disney is issued a passport for an upcoming trip to London, England.

[tiggerguy]

August 20

1932:
Disney's black & white Mickey Mouse cartoon Trader Mickey is released. A spoof of the 1931 MGM film Trader Horn, it is directed by David Hand.

[tiggerguy]

August 21

1956:
Actress Kim Cattrall, who appears in Disney's 2005 Ice Princess, is born in Liverpool, England.

1995:
The Peoplemover (sponsored by Goodyear) closes at Disneyland.

[tiggerguy]

August 22

1929:
The Silly Symphony cartoon The Skeleton Dance is released. Directed by Walt Disney, it is the first of the Silly Symphony series. The short is animated by Walt, his brother Roy, Ub Iwerks, Wilfred Jackson, and Les Clark.

2006:
It is reported that Celebration, the Florida community Disney created in Osceola County, will be getting its third hotel (the largest one to date). Mona Lisa Development, the U.S. affiliate of Mona Lisa Hotels and Residences of France, is partnering with the Related Group of Florida, one of the state's biggest condo builders, to build a 450-room condo hotel in the southern part of Celebration.

[tiggerguy]

August 23

1986:
The U.S. Senate passes a bill, Public Law 99-391, designating December 5, 1986 as "Walt Disney Recognition Day."

2004:
Marceline, Missouri honors the memory of Walt Disney with a ceremony renaming the Marceline Post Office as the Walt Disney Post Office Building. Today is also "Walt Disney Day" in the state of Missouri.

2007:
Disney's newest musical The Little Mermaid opens at Denver's Ellie Caulkins Opera House. This stage production, which has been in previews since July 26, is scheduled to open on Broadway in New York at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre December 6.

[tiggerguy]

August 24

1942:
Disney's 6th animated feature film Saludos Amigos has its world
premiere in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Set in Latin America, the film is
made up of four different segments featuring Donald Duck, Goofy,
and José Carioca. It also includes live-action segments showing
members of the Disney staff touring South America and recording
their impressions in sketches

1958:
Actor Steve Guttenberg, star of the 1997 TV movie Tower of Terror
- based on the Disney World attraction - is born in New York.

2006:
It is reported that two white rhinos have taken their first steps
on African soil after being flown into the country from Disney's Animal
Kingdom to boost stocks. (The two bring the number of endangered white
hinos in the country to just eight.) They were released in the Ziwa Rhino
Sanctuary in Nakasongola district, about 110 miles northwest of Uganda's
capital Kampala after a four-day journey from their home in Florida.

[tiggerguy]

August 25

2004:
tiggerguy takes over This Day in Disney History thread on DisneyWorldTrivia

2006:
Disney's live-action feature Invincible - based on real-life football hero Vince Papale and starring Mark Wahlberg & Greg Kinnear - opens in theaters.

In response to the news on August 24 that a team of astronomers have demoted Pluto to "dwarf planet" status, the Seven Dwarfs themselves take time to issue a statement, via their friends at the
Walt Disney World Resort:
"Although we think it's Dopey that Pluto has been downgraded to a dwarf planet, which has made some people Grumpy and others just Sleepy, we are not Bashful in saying we would be Happy if Disney's Pluto would join us as an eighth dwarf. We think this is just what the Doc ordered and is nothing to Sneeze at."

[tiggerguy]

August 26

2003:
Buena Vista Records/Hollywood Records releases Hilary Duff's second album Metamorphosis - which features the single "So Yesterday."

[tiggerguy]

August 27

1955:
The Mickey Mouse Club Theater opens in Disneyland's Fantasyland.

1964:
Disney's live-action and animated film Mary Poppins has a lavish world premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

1998:
Town Square Exhibition Hall - which houses the Camera Center - opens in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.

[tiggerguy]

August 28

1982:
Grammy Award-winning singer LeAnn Rimes, who was chosen to sing "Remember When" Disneyland's anthem song for its 50th Anniversary Celebration, is born Margaret LeAnn Rimes in Jackson, Mississippi.