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1925:
Scott Carpenter, the 4th American astronaut in space, is born in Boulder, Colorado.
His Disney credits include the 1986 TV special The Living Seas. The Scott Carpenter Space Analog Station (an
underwater habitat) was on display at Epcot in January 1998. Originally a test pilot, Carpenter became the second
American to orbit the Earth in May 1962.
1989:
The Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park at Walt Disney World
opens to the public. Located south of EPCOT, it is Disney's 5th theme park in
the world. Although it rains throughout the day, the park is packed. It is the largest
opening day press event in Disney World history. Attractions in the park include Walt Disney Studios Animation
Studios (where guests can watch story personnel, animators, artists and technicians produce motion pictures), The
Great Movie Ride, SuperStar Television, and The Monster Sound Show. The Great Movie Ride, a replica of the
entrance to Graumann's Chinese Theater, features a courtyard for celebrity handprints and signatures. A program
called "Star Today" will allow celebrities over the years to leave their mark. The very first "Star Today" is original
Mouseketeer Annette Funicello. Released on this same day at the Animation Studios is a 9-minute short titled
"Back to Neverland." The special film features Walter Cronkite and Robin Williams. Among the Hollywood legends
visiting the park are George Burns and Bob Hope (who help cut the filmstrip ribbon dedicating the Studios).
At Walt Disney World,
the Empress Lilly Riverboat
(which opened on this day in
1977) was refurbished
to become Fulton's Crab
House in 1996.
"The world you have entered was created by the Walt Disney Company & is
dedicated to Hollywood - not a place on a map, but a state of mind that exists wherever people dream & wonder & imagine, a place where illusion & reality are fused by technological magic. We welcome you to a Hollywood that never was - and always will be."
-dedication plaque at Disney-MGM Studios (This Day in Disney History 1989)
C1886:
Robert Louis Stevenson's story Kidnapped is first published in Young Folks magazine. The full novel will be published in book form the following July and seventy-four years later - Disney will release the classic story as a live-action film.
1924:
The Disney Alice Comedy Alice's Wild West Show - starring Virginia Davis as Alice - is released. Alice and her friends put on a Wild West Show for the neighborhood kids!
1927:
Walt Disney ships his second Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon,
Trolley Troubles, to Winkler Pictures - a distributor in New York City.
1940:
Walter E. Disney, of Los Angeles, receives patent #2,201,689 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, for the "art of animation" camera. The multiplane camera allows for a more realistic three-dimensional image as well as depth and richness to the animation. The device uses up to seven layers of artwork (painted in oils on glass) shot under a vertical and moveable camera.
1942:
Disney's Donald Gets Drafted (the first of what will be many Donald Duck World War II shorts) is released.
1946:
Actress Joanna Lumley, the voice of Aunt Spiker in Disney's 1996 James and the Giant Peach, is born in India. (Comedy fans will recognize her from the BBC series Absolutely Fabulous.)
1947:
The rights to use Donald Duck as the official mascot and insignia of the University of Oregon is granted by Walt Disney Productions. (Following Disney's death in 1966, it will become apparent that a formal contract does not exist to allow the school the rights to Donald's image. But in 1973, a written contract will be signed between Oregon's athletic department and Walt Disney Productions, allowing the continued use of the famous cartoon character. Eventually, in 1984, Donald Duck - during the year of his 50th birthday - will be named an honorary alumnus of the university!)
1977:
In a dedication ceremony in Florida, the "Empress Lilly," an historic replica of
a three-decked Mississippi boat is christened by Walt Disney's widow, Lillian, for
whom it is named. The new Walt Disney World landmark, which contains 3 restaurants - Fisherman's
Deck, Steerman's Quarters, and the Empress Room, is unveiled at the Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village.
1983:
Card Walker steps down as chairman of Disney, turning the job over to Ray Watson.
1985:
The film-making team of Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker sign a two-year deal with Disney. (Within a week, they will begin work on the film, Ruthless People.)
1994:
Walt Disney: An American Original by author Bob Thomas is released. Originally written in 1976, the book has been revised.
1996:
Actress Luana Pattern, who appeared in such Disney films as Song of the South, So Dear to My Heart, and Follow Me, Boys! passes away in California.
1998:
Disneyland Paris presents its "Festival of Flowers" around the park.
1999:
Disney's ABC Saturday morning cartoon Mickey Mouse Works debuts on television. Each half-hour episode will contains a selection of cartoons that vary in length from 90 seconds to 12 minutes.
2001:
Disney's The Emperor's New Groove is released to home video and DVD.
Because the city of Anaheim, California, receives two to five emergency calls a day from Disney (including heart attacks and heat stroke as well as accidents) two teams of paramedics will be stationed at the two Disney theme parks beginning on this day. The 12 paramedics, who are expected to shave precious minutes off response time to any accident in the parks, will officially work for the city of Anaheim (however, Disney will pay the city $1.4 million a year to cover the labor costs, and will provide housing and transportation in the resort). Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, already has paramedics within its parks. The Disneyland Resort is getting them now because of the recent expansion.
Animal Kingdom's thrill ride Countdown to Extinction changes its name to Dinosaur!.
2002:
The Sherman Brothers (a songwriting team whose music can be heard in countless
Disney films and attractions) are honored at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in
California. Actor Dick Van Dyke appears with his own Barbershop quartet "The Vantastix." Accompanied by the
Jr. Philharmonic Orchestra, they perform Sherman songs from Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (which
both featured Dick Van Dyke).
Disney World's Pleasure Island officially
opens on this day in 1989 too. (Although
Disney has been admitting guests since April 28.)
The Disney Channel airs episode 6 of
MMC. Today is Music Day!
Largely New York opens at the St. James
Theatre in New York City. Among the
show's producers is The Walt Disney
Studios. (It will run for 144 performances.)
1954:
The Anaheim Bulletin reports that Disney has purchased land in Anaheim, California for an amusement park.
1957:
The article "Gay '90s Favorite From Main Street, Disneyland" appears in Better Homes & Gardens. The article features Disneyland recipes that "recapture the treats of yesteryear."
2007:
Corbin Bleu, star of Disney Channel's Jump In! and smash hit High School Musical releases his debut album, "Another Side," on Disney's Hollywood Records.
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C1915:
Art Stevens, an animator, writer, title designer,
and producer at the Disney Studios, is born in
Roy, Montana. He'll begin his career in 1939 as an in-betweener - an artist who makes the drawings between the
animator's key poses - on Fantasia and Bambi. He will retire in 1983.
1986:
At EPCOT, The Good Turn Restaurant (opened in The Land since the park's debut in 1982) closes. It will become Garden Grille Restaurant.
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MAY
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MAY 1
Today is Mother Goose Day
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MAY 01
THIS DAY MADE IN THE USA
DEBUTS ON THIS DAY 1989
Among Stevens' credits as an animator - Peter Pan, 101 Dalmatians, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, Robin Hood, Mary Poppins and the underwater sequence in Bedknobs and Broomsticks. He co-directed The Rescuers with Wolfgang Reitherman and John Lounsbery. Stevens also provided story concepts and did animation for three landmark television documentaries on space exploration that were produced and directed by Disney animation legend Ward Kimball for the Disneyland TV series in the 1950s: "Man in Space" (1955), "Man and the Moon" (1955) and "Mars and Beyond" (1957).
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2009:
Disney's Hollywood Studios celebrates its 20th anniversary. The park opens an hour early, at 8:00 am, with a special rope-drop ceremony to kick off the birthday celebration.
The first phase of Kidani Village, a time-share extension of Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Lodge, formally opens in Florida. The name comes from the Swahili word for “necklace” and is meant
to represent the resort’s layout.
