2004:
Florida's major central Florida resorts and theme parks, including Walt Disney World, close due to Hurricane Frances. This is Disney World's fourth closing ever since its 1971 grand opening. The Disney Magic pulls into Galveston’s harbor (in Texas) as Hurricane Frances forces the liner from its course home to Port Canaveral, Florida.
Some areas of Florida will receive over 13 inches of rain during the slow onslaught. Similar to Hurricane Charley earlier in the month, the Florida citrus crops will be heavily damaged by Frances.
1913:
Disney Legend Masatomo Takahashi, whose vision and desire
will bringt a Disney park to Japan, is born in Fukushima, Japan.
1919:
Actor and director Howard Morris is born in New York City. He will go on to voice
the character of Gopher for Disney's Winnie the Pooh features. (Fans of The Andy Griffith Show
will know Morris for his comedic role of Ernest T. Bass.)
Imagineer Xavier Atencio, a layout artist, character stylist, and lyricist, is born in Trinidad, Colorado. He will help design the Disneyland Railroad's Primeval World diorama segment and write the script for both Adventure Thru Inner Space and Pirates of the Caribbean - for which he will also pen the lyrics to the theme song, "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)." Atencio will also write the script for the Haunted Mansion attraction, including the lyrics to its theme song, "Grim Grinning Ghosts (The Screaming Song)."
1922:
The Laugh-O-Gram black & white silent cartoon Jack and the Beanstalk is released. It is directed and co-animated by Walt Disney.
1942:
Disney's Goofy cartoon How To Play Baseball is released.
1997:
"The Spirit of Pocahontas," performed at the Fantasyland Theater in Disneyland, gives its final performance after nearly a 2 1/2 year run.
Buena Vista Home Entertainment announces that it is entering the DVD market in the U.S. and abroad, with product to
be available in the U.S. as early as Christmas.
1998:
Fifty-one Miss America contestants, led by reigning Miss America Kate Shindle, greet fans and sign autographs at Disney World's BoardWalk. This is the only opportunity fans have to meet all 51 contestants before they take the stage in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
1999:
The Disney Channel Original Movie P.U.N.K.S., about a group of misfit teens who evade a corrupt scientist when they steal and attempt to return a suit that delivers supernatural strength to its wearer, premieres.
2000:
Hundreds of Mary Poppins' fans gathered at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood where moviegoers are invited to sing-along with the film as lyrics appear along the bottom. Before the film starts, the Sherman Brothers and others involved with Mary Poppins speak about creating the film.
2001:
Disney's new theme park Tokyo DisneySea has its grand opening at
the Tokyo Disney Resort. It is Disney's second theme park in Japan and ninth in the world. The park
has a nautical theme and is broken up into separate areas with such names as Mediterranean Harbor, Port
Discovery, American Waterfront, Lost River Delta, Mermaid Lagoon, Mysterious Island, and Arabian Coast. The
park's two iconic symbols are the DisneySea AquaSphere - a water fountain (located in the entrance plaza) and
a gigantic volcano - Mount Prometheus (located in the center of the park). Also on this day, Tokyo Disney Resort
celebrates the grand opening of the first hotel to be built inside a Disney Park in Japan, Tokyo DisneySea Hotel
MiraCosta.
The 2001 Official Disneyana Convention takes place at the Disneyland Resort. The 5-day event is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to acquire unusual Disney collectibles and meet legendary Disney personalities.
Disney's touring production of Aida opens at the Arizona State University's Gammage Auditorium in Tempe, Arizona. (The show will run through the 15th.)
2003:
Disney On Ice Presents Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc pulls into Orlando's TD Waterhouse Centre for a 4-day engagement.
2006:
Another Tower of Terror opens ... this time at Tokyo DisneySea Park!
The second theme park to open at the Tokyo Disney Resort (and the ninth Disney park worldwide), it
features seven uniquely themed areas or "ports of call." Tower of Terror opens in American Waterfront, a
"port of call" representing the northeastern seaboard of the United States in the early 20th century.
"Welcome one and all to a world where Imagination and Adventure set sail. Tokyo DisneySea is dedicated to the spirit of exploration that lives in each of us. Here we charter a course for Adventure, Romance, Discovery and Fun and journey to exotic and fanciful Ports of Call. May Tokyo DisneySea inspire the hearts and mind of all of us who share the water planet, Earth."
-Michael Eisner's DisneySea dedication This Day in Disney History 2001
1937:
The first formal story conference for Disney's next scheduled feature Bambi takes place. Director David Hand announces that animation will begin on December 1. (Months later Walt will postpone work on Bambi and instead begin production on Pinocchio.)
In 1976, Disney aired a
patriotic TV special entitled America on Parade, hosted by legendary comedian
Red Skelton.
2007:
It is reported that the Boca Raton-based Florida Atlantic University recently received a Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund award. (The Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund distributed $1.5 million in 2007 - and has given out more than $11 million since Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park opened.) Atlantic University will use the fund to help with sea turtle recovery efforts and to increase understanding of these animals through public education.
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1968:
Film and television actor Phill Lewis is born in Uganda, East Africa. Fans of The Suite
Life of Zack and Cody and its sequel The Suite Life on Deck know Lewis for his comedic role of Mr. Moseby,
the hotel/ship manager. He has also appeared as a guest star on Disney Channel's That's So Raven.
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SEPTEMBER 4
THIS DAY MADE
IN THE
USA
SEPTEMBER 4
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America on Parade was also an
actual parade that ran in the
parks to commemorate the
United States Bicentennial.
Tokyo DisneySea opens
1918:
Postal employee Walt Disney (who is a substitute mail carrier) is walking through the West Adams Street lobby of the Federal Building in Chicago when he hears a deafening blast that shakes the ground. Someone has planted a bomb. More than 75 are injured and four are killed - including a co-worker of Walt's named William Wheeler. The force of the blast also kills a horse on the street, damages a streetcar and shatters windows on nearby buildings.
"I was in the post office. I just got though sorting my mail, or finishing my route. I was walking out ... going out a certain
entrance ... when it was bombed. I was right in the lobby when, FOOOOOM, this thing went off. Here comes the dust shooting out
and everything. That was the way I went out every night. I missed that darn thing by about three minutes." -Walt Disney
2009:
Disney World hosts the very first Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party of the 2009 season at the Magic Kingdom.
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Xavier Atencio born
