OCT 24 Disney History

1970:

Musician, songwriter, and producer Ted Bruner is born in St. Louis, Missouri. He's written and/or produced songs for Katy Perry, Marie Digby, Selena Gomez, Plain White T's, Bowling For Soup, Jason Castro and Miley Cyrus (most notably her song "Breakout" co-written with Gina Schock & Trey Vittetoe).

2005:

As a result of Hurricane Wilma, all 4 Disney World theme parks, 2 water parks, resort amenities (Downtown Disney, the golf courses) and Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground are closed for the morning. All theme parks (except Disney's Animal Kingdom and the Disney-MGM Studios) and Downtown Disney are re-opened at 1:00pm.

After two years of testing and development, the first version of Club Penguin (an online game developed by New Horizon Interactive) is made available to the general publice. Using cartoon penguins as avatars, players waddle around, chat, play minigames and participate in other activities with one another in a snow-covered virtual world. Disney will buy Club Penguin in August 2007.

"May EPCOT Center entertain, inform and inspire, and above all, may it instill a new sense of belief and pride in man's ability to shape a world that offers hope to people everywhere."

- EPCOT dedication This Day in Disney History 1982

1910:

Publisher & Disney Legend Poul Brahe Pederson is born in Heidelberg, Germany. In 1954, he will join Disney licensee Gutenberghus Publishing

(today called Egmont Group) in Copenhagen as its managing director of weekly publications.

1929:

Disney's third Silly Symphony cartoon Springtime is released. Directed by

Ub Iwerks, it is the first of the Silly Symphony cartoons based on the 4 seasons.

1947:

In Washington, D.C., Walt Disney heads a list of "friendly" witnesses testifying to the first House Un-American Activities Committee investigation on Communist subversion in Hollywood, California.

Actor Kevin Kline, the voice of Captain Phoebus in Disney's 1996 release The Hunchback of Notre Dame, is born in St. Louis, Missouri.

1955:

The Mickey Mouse Club airs on ABC-TV. Today is Fun With Music Day.

1958:

The TV series Walt Disney Presents airs the episode "Rusty and the Falcon."

1965:

The Sentinel-Star runs the headline: WE SAY OUR 'MYSTERY' INDUSTRY IS DISNEY! (An unknown buyer has been purchasing large parcels of land in the Orlando, Florida area and rumours are spreading about who it might be.)

1982:

EPCOT Center (Disney's third theme park) is officially dedicated by Disney Chairman E. Cardon Walker 23 days after the park's grand debut.

1994:

The animated series Gargoyles airs for the first time. Created and produced by Greg Weisman, it is hailed as one of the more ambitious Disney animated series in history. Known for its complex and dramatic stories, Gargoyles is targeted at an older demographic.

1997:

The Orlando Sentinel runs an article over the controversy raging in Florida about Disney World closing the Mr. Toad's Wild Ride attraction. Actors Steve Guttenberg and Kirsten Dunst, stars of The Wonderful World of Disney's upcoming "Tower of Terror," come out strongly pro-Toad while Darius Rucker, lead singer of Hootie & the Blowfish, makes it clear that he's a Pooh man.

2001:

The Walt Disney Company completes its acquisition of Fox Family Worldwide,

Inc. from Haim Saban and Fox Broadcasting Company. The acquisition closes

on this day with a final purchase price of $5.2 billion, including approximately $2.9 billion in cash and the

assumption of $2.3 billion in Fox Family obligations. (The Fox Family channel will be turned into the ABC

Family channel.)

John R. "Jack" Shively Sr., one of the original builders of Walt Disney World,

passes away at age 71. Starting in 1969, Shively carved designs into the theme

park's walls, put up fences and helped construct many attractions. He retired in 1992.

NYSNC's Lance Bass and Joey Fatone visit Disney World to lead the new

"Share a Dream Come True" parade at the Magic Kingdom and to star as grand

marshals in the new "Disney Stars and Motor Cars" parade at the

Disney-MGM Studios.

2002:

It is reported that Disney's Monsters, Inc. has sold 13 million units worth $250 million on DVD and VHS internationally.

2003:

Disney's animated Brother Bear (featuring 5 new songs by

Phil Collins) premieres at the El Capitan Theater.

1983:

Adrienne Bailon, a member of Disney's The Cheetah Girls, is born in New York.

2006:

Walt Disney Records releases The Hannah Montana Soundtrack - from

Disney Channel's hit original series. (It will shatter industry records as the first-ever TV soundtrack to enter the Billboard Top 200 at No 1!) Disney also unveils The Nightmare Before

Christmas 2-Disc Special Edition Soundtrack in celebration of the 13th anniversary of Tim Burton's cult classic animated feature.

The stage show, Sister Act the Musical (based on the motion picture and

licensed by Disney) opens at the Pasadena Playhouse in California.

The show features the music of Alan Menken and Glenn Slater.

1971:

Disney World's Electrical Water Pageant debuts in the Seven Seas Lagoon

for the dedication of the Polynesian Luau and the official grand opening

celebrations of Disney's Contemporary and Polynesian Village Resorts.

Athough opened to the public since October 1, Disney World debuts its very first

fireworks display - Fantasy in the Sky Spectacular - on this evening.

1998:

The third annual Epcot International Food & Wine Festival begins in Florida.

Epcot's World Showcase Lagoon is 15 feet deep and has a circumference of one and a

quarter mile.

The World

Showcase water area is

185 acres ... that's larger

than the original

Disneyland!

OCTOBER 24

1957:

Disney's third Zorro episode "Zorro Rides to the Mission" airs on ABC-TV.

2007:

Disney announces that it will contribute $2 million in aid towards relief efforts for the nearly one million victims of the ongoing Southern California wildfires.

1956:

The Disneyland TV series aris episode 54 - "Behind the Cameras at Lapland / Alaskan Eskimo" on ABC.

1940:

Disney's Pinocchio is released in Australia.

2008:

Pixie Hollow, a new meet & greet featuring Tinker Bell and her fairy friends, debuts at the Magic Kingdom's Mickey's Toontown Fair (at Disney World).

(Tinker Bell, a brand new movie, will be released 4 days later on DVD.)

High School Musical 3: Senior Year, the third installment in Disney's High School Musical franchise, has its theatrical release in the United States.

Meanwhile over at Disney's California Adventure, The High School

Musical 3: Senior Year - Right Here! Right Now! street show premieres.

Roadside Romeo a computer-animated film written and directed by Jugal Hansraj is released in the U.S. The film, about a dog named Romeo,

is co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures.

1968:

Voice actor, storyboard artist, and writer Mark Walton is born in Salt Lake City, Utah. He supplies the voices for Rhino in Bolt and Goosey Loosey in Chicken Little. His animation credits include Meet the Robinsons, Chicken Little, and Tarzan.

1969:

Russian cosmonauts Major General Georgiy Beregovoy of the Russsian Air Force and civilian scientist Konstantin Feoktistov begin the Disneyland part of their two-week tour of the U.S. At special cermonies held in front of Flight to the Moon, Mickey Mouse and Pluto (dressed in space helmets and space suits) present the Russian space travelers with Mickey Mouse watches and hats.

1908:

Preston Blair, character animator best known for his work at Walt Disney Productions and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animation department, is born in California. At Disney, Blair will animate some of the Mickey Mouse scenes in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" section of Fantasia, and the hippo-aligator dance in Fantasia's "Dance of the Hours" sequence. He will also work on Disney's Pinocchio and Bambi. Blair is the brother-in-law of artist Mary Blair.

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