1963:
Actor Tate Donovan, the voice of Disney's
Hercules, is born in New Jersey. (Fans of The O.C.
will remember him as Jimmy Cooper.)
Beach Party, starring original Mouseketeer Annette Funicello and teen idol Frankie Avalon, debuts. The film is the first of several such frothy beach films the popular duo will star in.
2004:
In preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Jeanne - which is expected to come ashore late in the evening or early the following day - Walt Disney World closes its theme parks at 7 pm.
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1902:
Songwriter Hall of Famer Al Hoffman is born in Minsk, Russia. (At age 6, he and his family will move to Seattle, Washington.) Along with Mack David and Jerry Livingston, Hoffman will write such classic Disney tunes as "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" and "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" for Cinderella.
(Among Hoffman's non-Disney hit songs: "Hot Diggity," "Papa Loves Mambo," and "Mairzy Doats.")
1931:
Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon Fishin' Around is released. In this short (directed
by Bert Gillett) Mickey and Pluto fish in a "No Fishing" area ... until they have to escape from a
pursuing game warden!
1956:
Inventor, scientist, author and engineer William Daniel Hillis is born in Baltimore,
Maryland. He will go on to work for a short time as vice president of Walt Disney Imagineering before starting
his own company Apple Minds, Inc. with Bran Ferren (also an Imagineer). At Disney, he will develop new
technologies and business strategies for Disney's theme parks, television, motion pictures, Internet and
consumer products businesses. Hillis will also design new theme park rides, a full sized walking robot dinosaur
and various micro mechanical devices.
1957:
The Disneyland television series airs "Adventure in Wildwood Heart."
1959:
ABC-TV's Walt Disney Presents airs the episode "Tomorrow the Moon."
1960:
The Walt Disney Presents TV series airs for the first time on a Sunday evening with
the episode "Davy Crockett's Keelboat Race." (The Disney series had previously
aired on Fridays and as the former Disneyland on Wednesdays.)
1966:
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color airs the episode
"The Legend of El Blanco" on NBC.
1977:
The Wonderful World of Disney airs the 2-hour episode
"King of the Grizzlies" on NBC.
1982:
The CBS television series Walt Disney airs part 1 of
"The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again."
2001:
Disney's touring production of Aida opens in Dallas, Texas.
(The show will run through October 20th.)
In 1961, the monorail track
was expanded to connect the park with the
Disneyland Hotel.
1944:
Actor Michael Douglas, who portrays Danny in Disney's 1972 live-action Napoleon and Samantha, is born to actor Kirk Douglas and actress Diana Dill in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (Co-starring in the TV series The Streets of San Francisco from 1972 to 1976, film fans will know Douglas from such features as The China Syndrome, Romancing the Stone, Wall Street, and Fatal Attraction.)
2007:
High School Musical on Tour, a new stage version of the hit
Disney Channel movie, begins a series of performances at Shea's Performing
Arts Center in Buffalo, New York.
The Haunted Halloween at Hong Kong Disneyland kicks off with over
ten mysterious attractions and entertainment offerings filled with ghostly
encounters! (The special event will run through the end of October.)
T
O
U
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2005:
Disney Channel debuts "The Fall," the second episode of the new series Life With Derek.
1946:
According to The Hollywood Reporter, many recording artists (such as Dinah Shore, the Merry Macs, Woody Herman, and the Modernaires) have already released their versions of Song of the South's music even before the film's premiere (which is scheduled for November).
1953:
Marvin Davis (future Disney Legend) completes his second-generation "hub" layout of the proposed Disneyland. Davis (not to be confused with animator/Imagineert Marc Davis) will continue
to work closely with Walt Disney in designing and laying-out virtually every aspect of the park's conceptualization and architecture.
2008:
Lester Robert "Bob" Jackson, former personal assistant to Walt Disney, passes away from leukemia at age 77. Jackson worked closely with Disney on projects such as the 1964 New York World's Fair and the press conference that announced Disney World's groundbreaking. He also handled dignitary relations such as meetings with presidents and their families, foreign leaders and celebrities. He worked for Disney until 1971 and went on to work with the U.S. Department of Commerce as director of Information Services, director of public relations for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, and later director of Tourism for the City of Miami Beach, Florida.
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SEPTEMBER 25
THIS DAY MADE
IN THE
USA
SEPTEMBER 25
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2009:
The "most delicious time of the year" begins at Disney World with the 14th annual Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy kicks off the annual Eat to the Beat Consert Series. (The festival will run for the next 6 weeks.)
The final performance at the Adventurers Club at Pleasure Island, Florida takes place as part of Congaloosh 2009 (a weekend-long convention to celebrate the popular Adventurers Club). Although the final public performance had taken place September 27, 2008 (the final night for all clubs in Pleasure Island), the Adventurers Club was being used for private parties over the last year.
Over on the west coast, Disney's Halloween Time returns to the Disneyland Resort.
The science fiction film Surrogates, starring Bruce Willis, is released through Touchstone Pictures.
"I've wanted to work at Disney ever since I was a child... I remember listening to Walt Disney on television describing the 'Imagineers' who designed Disneyland. I decided then that someday I would be an Imagineer. Later, I became interested in a different kind of magic - the magic of computers. Now I finally have the perfect job - bringing computer magic into Disney." -William Daniel Hillis
1925:
Disney's Alice comedy film Alice Chops the Suey previews
at Bard's Hollywood Theater in Los Angeles.
Today's Preview
The original Disneyland Monorail was a round trip sightseeing
ride with no stops.
1942:
The Donald Duck cartoon The Vanishing Private, directed by Jack King and written
by Carl Barks, is released. When Donald (voiced by Clarence Nash) is put on camoulflage duty to
paint a large cannon, he comes across an experimental invisible paint. He finds that it works especially well on
himself when he is trying to hide from villainous commander Pete (voiced by Billy Bletcher).
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14th Food & Wine Festival begins
The Vanishing Private released
