MAY 27 Disney History

2002:

25th Anniversary Edition of the Many Adventures of Winnie

the Pooh is released on DVD and VHS.

The Walt Disney Company puts the nose of one of their old Mark IV monorail cabs up for sale via online auction.

1879:

Star of stage & screen Lucile Watson - the grandmother in Disney's 1946 feature Song of the South - is born in Quebec, Canada.

1911:

Legendary actor & writer Vincent Price - the voice of Professor Ratigan in Disney's 1986 release The Great Mouse Detective - is born in St. Louis, Missouri. (Horror film fans know Price best from classics like Tower of London, The House of the Seven Gables, and House of Wax.)

1933:

Disney's animated Silly Symphony short Three Little Pigs is generally

released. (The popularity of the film will lead to 3 sequels.)

The Century of Progress Exposition opens in Chicago, Illinois.

In August, Walt Disney and animator Ward Kimball will visit the

show to see its acres of famous railroad engines.

1938:

Disney's Silly Symphony cartoon Wynken, Blynken, and Nod is released. The 8-minute short is based on a popular poem for children written by journalist Eugene Field in 1889. Disney makes lavish use of its new multi-plane camera, which gives scenes great depth & beauty - most particularly to the opening sequence.

1948:

Disney's 10th animated feature Melody Time, a film made up of miscellaneous stories, is released. Segments include "Once Upon A Wintertime" (featuring the singing voice of Frances Langford), "Bumble Boogie" (featuring the music of Freddy Martin and his orchestra), "Johnny Appleseed" (with radio star Dennis Day providing all the voices), "Trees" (with Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians), "Little Toot" (featuring the singing Andrews Sisters). "Blame it on the Samba" (starring Donald Duck and José Carioca), and "Pecos Bill" (featuring Roy Rogers & the sounds of the Sons of the Pioneers).

1977:

Disneyland holds a grand opening ceremony for its newest attraction, Space

Mountain (just in time for the Memorial Day weekend crowds). Attending the

debut are the six surviving astronauts from the original seven Project Mercury space travelers and the

widow of the seventh. Also opening along with Space Mountain is the 1,100-seat Space Stage, the 670-seat Space Place fast-food restaurant and the Starcade electronic arcade. It is the second

Space Mountain in the world (the first one opened at WDW in Florida in 1975).

1984:

Roy E. Disney's son, Roy P. Disney marries Linda Ross.

1987:

Disney's featurette Sport Goofy in Soccermania airs on television.

1992:

Euro Disney's Sequoia Lodge - a recreation of a wilderness

hideaway - opens. The main lodge includes 1011 rooms.

1995:

The Coca-Cola Refreshment Corner, located on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom (at Disney World), is renamed Casey's Corner.

1996:

Disneyland's Toy Story Funhouse closes in Tomorrowland.

1998:

Animator, Imagineer and Disney Legend Ken O'Connor passes away in

Burbank, California. As a Disney layout artist and art director he worked

on such classics as Cinderella, Fantasia, and Dumbo. As an Imagineer

he worked on such projects as the Universe of Energy at EPCOT

Center and the Back to Neverland introduction to animation film,

featured in the Animation Building at Disney-MGM Studios in Florida.

1997:

The soundtrack to Disney's animated Hercules is released on Walt Disney Records. It features the single "Go The Distance" written by Alan Menken & David Zippel, and performed by Michael Bolton.

When the Star Tours attraction officially opened at Disneyland in 1987,

it marked the first time an aerospace simulator was used in a theme park.