This Day in Disney History

[tiggerguy]

December 28

1982:
Attendance at Walt Disney World reaches a high of 123,000!

2006:
Disney announces its studio division generated $3.26 billion in global box office revenue in 2006 and claimed the year's top two box office and top three DVD domestic releases for the first time. Disney claimed the year's top-grossing box office releases with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest,
which has reached $1.06 billion since its May release, and the computer-animated Cars, which grossed more than $462 million globally.

[tiggerguy]

December 29

1941:
Time magazine features a review of Disney's recently released animated feature Dumbo. The report includes the review and a paragraph focusing on animator's Bill Tytla's work.

2001:
According to today's issue of Billboard Magazine, the top 10 video rentals in the USA include Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (at number 5) and Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in The House of Mouse (at the number 7 spot).

[tiggerguy]

December 30

1890:
Raymond Arnold Disney (Walt's older brother and the second child born to Flora and Elias Disney) is born in Chicago, Illinois.

1956:
Walt Disney appears on TV's The Ed Sullivan Show.

[tiggerguy]

December 31

1936:
Walt Disney and his wife gain a second daughter when they adopt a baby girl named Sharon Mae.

[tiggerguy]

January 1

1888:
Elias Disney and Flora Call are married in Acron, Florida - a town in eastern Lake County. Although no longer in existence - Acron was located 40 miles due north of where Walt Disney World stands today.

1959:
The Fantasyland Autopia - sponsored by the Richfield Oil Company - opens in Disneyland.

[tiggerguy]

January 2

1937:
Disney's Mickey Mouse film The Worm Turns - featuring the voices of Walt Disney as Mickey and Billy Bletcher as the dog catcher - is released.

1984:
The Astuter Computer Revue - a show in EPCOT Center's CommunCore East - closes. The attraction took place on a second-floor terraced theater that overlooked a large room housing some of the computers used to operate the park. It was hosted by a projected host who sang and danced his way across computer banks in the foreground of the room in an attempt to explain the role of computers at Walt Disney World. The Astuter Computer Revue will be the first attraction ever to be removed from EPCOT.

[tiggerguy]

January 3

1965:
Disneyland observes its tenth anniversary with a Tencennial parade.

1994:
At EPCOT, The Kitchen Kabaret Revue, better known as simply Kitchen Kabaret, an Audio-Animatronics theatrical presentation about nutrition, closes.

[tiggerguy]

January 4

1937:
The first cels of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs are taken to the Disney Ink and Paint department at the studio on Hyperion Avenue in California. Walt wants the film completed for a Christmastime release.

2007:
Kendi, an eight year old White Rhino gives birth to her second baby – a male named Tom, at Disney's Animal Kingdom. The healthy baby White Rhinoceros is the sixth White Rhino born at Disney's Animal Kingdom, - his mother, Kendi, was the first!

[tiggerguy]

January 5

2004:
The 2003 Annie Award nominations, presented by the International Animated Film Society, are announced. Disney nominees include Disney/Pixar's Finding Nemo (with multiple nominations), Brother Bear, Jungle Book 2, 101 Dalmatians II, Destino, Piglet's Big Movie, and Stitch! The Movie.

[tiggerguy]

January 6

1955:
Actor, writer & funnyman Rowan Atkinson, the voice of Zazu the hornbill in
Disney's animated feature The Lion King (and the star of the Mr. Bean
British TV series) is born in Consett, County Durham, England.

1997:
At Disneyland's New Orleans Square, the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction closes for its 30th Anniversary renovation.

2007:
The Walt Disney World Half Marathon is held. Jarrod Shoemaker and
Melissa White win the men's and women's divisions, respectively.

[tiggerguy]

January 7

1931:
Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon The Birthday Party, featuring the voices of Walt Disney as Mickey and Marcellite Garner as Minnie, is released. Virtually all of the early supporting Disney characters make an appearance at a surprise party for Mickey.

1992:
Voyage of The Little Mermaid, a multi-media presentation, opens at the Disney-MGM Studios in Florida. It replaces Here Come the Muppets.

2007:
Brazilian Adriano Bastos wins his fourth Walt Disney World Marathon title, becoming the first runner ever in the event's 14-year history to win four races and sweep three in a row! Bastos, 28, of Sao Paulo posts a time of 2:19:24, nearly 13 minutes faster than his closest competitor.

In the women's field, Gabriela Trana of Costa Rica, running her first marathon ever, wins with a time of 2:57:03 just ahead of Christa Benton of St. Petersburg, Florida

[tiggerguy]

January 8

1956:
Due to poor attendance, Disneyland's the Mickey Mouse Club Circus - an attraction running since November 1955 - closes. The first major addition to Disneyland, the circus was held in a pink and white striped tent (which was set-up in the area that later will house the Fantasyland Autopia).

2007:
After spending about a year on a redesign project, the Walt Disney Company unveils the new Disney.com at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

[tiggerguy]

January 9

1937:
Don Donald, featuring Donald Duck in his first starring role, is released. A
character named Donna (who will later be called Daisy) makes her debut.

1976:
Disneyland opens the first Disneyana Shop on Main Street.

1999:
Horizons closes forever at Walt Disney World's Epcot park. Opened since
1983, Horizons took guests on a fascinating 15-minute ride through the world
of the 21st century.

[tiggerguy]

January 10

1930:
Roy Edward Disney, a longtime senior executive for Disney and the nephew of Walt Disney, is born to Roy Oliver and Edna Disney in Los Angeles, California.

[tiggerguy]

January 11

1930:
Actor Rod Taylor, the voice of Pongo in Disney's 1961 film One Hundred and One Dalmatians, is born in Sydney, Australia. (You may recognize Taylor from his performance in a 1959 episode of The Twilight Zone.)

At noon, the very first Mickey Mouse Club gathers at the Fox Dome Theater in Ocean Park, California. It is the brainchild of Harry W. Woodin, the theater's manager.

1990:
Disneyland kicks off its 35th anniversary celebration. On hand for the first time since 1955 are all three of the original hosts of the park's grand opening live broadcast. Art Linkletter, Bob Cummings, and Ronald Reagan reunite in front of Main Street station before taking part in the Party Gras Parade.