NOV 22 Disney History

1924:

Oscar-winning actress Geraldine Page, the voice of Madame Medusa in Disney's 1977 animated release The Rescuers, is born in Kirksville, Missouri. She also appears in the 1967 live-action feature The Happiest Millionaire as Mrs. Duke.

1952:

Disney animator Fred Moore (who is in the midst of working on Peter Pan) and his

second wife Virginia are involved in an auto accident in Los Angeles. They are both

injured after their car is broadside while making a U-turn. (Sadly, Fred will pass

away the following day.)

1955:

The Mickey Mouse Club airs on ABC-TV. Today is Guest Star Day.

1958:

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis, the star of Disney's 2003 Freaky Friday, is born in Los Angeles, California.

1963:

Walt Disney and a group of associates fly over the coast of Florida aboard a Grumman Gulfstream I - Disney's private corporate plane. (Walt and his entourage of top

executives have taken off from Tampa where they had arrived the night before.) The aerial view confirms Walt's

doubts about building a theme park by the ocean. They fly inland over Orlando, circling the forests and swamps

for the very first time. From the air they see the good road network below (which includes Interstate 4, Florida's

Turnpike and McCoy Air Force Base - soon to be Orlando International Airport). Walt has a good feeling about

this site. This is followed with a stop in New Orleans to refuel for the trip back to Burbank, California. It is during

the stop in New Orleans that they learn of U.S. President Kennedy's assassination in Texas, just hours before.

C.S. Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia, passes away one week before his 65th birthday.

1972:

The TV special The Julie Andrews Hour: Disneyland airs.

1974:

The Lake Buena Vista Golf Club opens at Walt Disney World.

Located near what will be the Downtown Disney shopping and entertainment district, the course will earn a 4 star rating from Golf Digest.

1989:

The Swan Hotel, located on Walt Disney World property but operated by Westin Hotels, opens at 1200 Epcot Resorts Blvd.

1991:

The 30th Disney animated feature film, Beauty and the Beast - featuring the

voices of Robby Benson as the Beast and Paige O'Hara as Belle - is generally

released in theaters in the U.S. & Canada. (The film's music will win 2 Academy

Awards and 4 Grammy Awards.)

Also debuting, Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage - a Broadway-style musical

at the 1,500-seat Theater of the Stars, on Sunset Boulevard at Disney-MGM.

1992:

Disney Legend & character actor Sterling Holloway, the first voice of Winnie the

Pooh, passes away in Los Angeles, California at age 87. First making his Hollywood debut in

1926, Holloway's first role for Disney wasn't until the 1941 Dumbo, voicing the messenger Stork who delivers baby

Dumbo to Mrs. Jumbo and then sings "Happy Birthday." His voice can also be heard in such Disney classics as

Bambi, The Three Caballeros, The Aristocats, The Jungle Book, and Alice in Wonderland. (Holloway also voiced

the original Cheerios Honey-Nut Bee and even appeared on an episode of The Twilight Zone.)

1995:

The Disney/Pixar computer animated feature film Toy Story - starring Tom Hanks as the voice of Woody and Tim Allen as the voice of Buzz Lightyear - is released. The film is shown at Disney's El Capitan Theater in Hollywood as part of "Totally Toy Story." Moviegoers can attend the Toy Story Funhouse adjacent to the theater through the first of the new year. The Toy Story Funhouse includes such activities as playing with a giant Lite-Brite and having your photo taken with Buzz and Woody. (The Toy Story Funhouse will eventually re-locate to Disneyland.) Released along with Toy Story is Pixar's Academy Award-winning short Tin

Toy, directed by John Lasseter. (In 2003, Tin Toy will be selected for preservation in the United

States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or

aesthetically significant".)

1999:

Bob Hope appears at Disneyland to inaugurate a new tradition, the first official lighting of the holiday lights at the park.

2000:

Disney's live-action feature 102 Dalmatians is released.

Starring Glenn Close as the villainous Cruella DeVil, it is a

sequel to the 1996 101 Dalmatians (a live-action remake of the

1961 animated feature One Hundred and One Dalmatians).

2001:

Thanksgiving Day

Disney World's A Christmas Fantasy Parade rolls out.

Starting today (and running through January 6, 2002) Christmas decorations and entertainment brighten the Disneyland Hotel, Disney's Paradise Pier hotel and Disney's Grand Californian hotel. This includes visits from Santa Claus as well as strolling carolers in Victorian dress to spreading holiday cheer and singing favorite Yuletide tunes.

The characters from Disney/Pixar's new movie Monsters, Inc. appear in Philadelphia's 82nd Thanksgiving Day Parade. Also on hand are Mickey Mouse, Minnie and the whole Disney family with a spectacular sneak peek at Walt Disney World's 100 Years of Magic celebration. Plus, Channel 6's Karen Rogers broadcast live from Walt Disney World, with the magical holiday celebration in Orlando.

"The Power of BLAST!" (featuring the original cast from the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, "BLAST!") opens in Disney's California Adventure. The brass-and-percussion spectacle will be performed inside the Hyperion Theater several times a day for park guests.

2002:

Disney underwrites one hundred percent of the cost for this year's annual Toys for Tots National Kickoff Luncheon for the organization's corporate sponsors and military supporters, in Washington, D.C. (Disney has been a Toys for Tots supporter since 1947.)

The Lizzie McGuire episode "She Said, He Said, She Said" debuts on Disney Channel.

2003:

The Disney Studios in Burbank, California host the 2003 Disney Holiday Magical Faire (which features handcrafted items and a rare opportunity to visit portions of the Disney Studios).

The Wonderful World of Disney airs the television movie

"Eloise at Christmastime," starring Julie Andrews.

2004:

It is reported that Hong Kong Disneyland will open September 12, 2005.

1985:

Disney's live-action feature One Magic Christmas, starring

Mary Steenburgen and Harry Dean Stanton, is released.

Voice actor Sterling Holloway grew up at 301 S. College Street in Cedartown, Georgia.

The street which formed the corner on which Holloway's house was located is now known as Sterling Holloway Place.

2007:

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Broadway cast of Disney's Mary Poppins performs

"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" live at the 81st Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. Also performing are Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu, and Jonas Brothers.