Animator Ollie Johnston's lifelong
hobby was steam trains. Starting in
1949, he built a 1" scale backyard
railroad, with three 1/12th scale
locomotives. His railroad was one
of the inspirations for Walt Disney
to build his own backyard railroad!
2005:
Members of the Board of Governors of the Carolwood Pacific Historical Society gather in Disneyland to congratulate fellow Society Governor, animator, and Disney Legend Ollie Johnston for receiving the "Walter E. Disney Railroad Preservation Award," the highest honor given by the Society.
1939:
Ron Ziegler - who worked at Disneyland as a Jungle Cruise skipper during his college years (at the University of Southern California) and later became U.S. President
Nixon's press secretary - is born in Covington, Kentucky.
1950:
Actor and sci-fi/suspense writer Bruce Boxleitner is born in Elgin, Illinois. He co-starred in Disney's 1982 Tron and its 2010 sequel Tron: Legacy as Alan Bradley/Tron. Boxleitner revived the role for the 2011 short Tron: The Next Day. (Fans of Babylon 5 know him best as Captain John J. Sheridan.)
1967:
Florida's Governor Claude R. Kirk, Jr. signs legislation enabling Walt Disney
Productions' operation of Walt Disney World. Thus the Reedy Creek Improvement
District is created, and out of this district - the cities Lake Buena Vista and Bay Lake are established. Now Florida
taxpayers will not have to spend public money on Disney construction, and the Disney company will not have to
rely on state agencies for approval of anything built. Because Disney has so many plans for the theme park, the
company decides to build it in phases. Phase One will consist of a theme park, two resort hotels called the "Tempo Bay Resort Hotel" and the "Polynesian Village Resort," and a campground. The theme park will be a larger version
of the Disneyland Park. The park and the two hotels will be situated around a large, man-made lagoon.
1989:
Episode 15 of MMC airs on Disney Channel. Today is Hall of Fame Day!
'Blast to the Past' on the Videopolis stage.
1993:
Walter Elias Disney is inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians.
Created by the Missouri Capitol Society, Inc., the Hall of Famous Missourians occupies the 3rd floor rotunda area of the Capitol.
1994:
It is reported that David McCullough, president of the Society of American
Historians, has begun a campaign to prevent the Walt Disney Company from
building a Civil War theme park near Manassas Battlefield in Virginia. McCullough
has announced the creation of Project Historic America, a group of 30 historians and writers that will try to
persuade Disney to go elsewhere.
2000:
At Disneyland the Fantasyland Theater will now be sponsored by Nestle.
The second Star Wars Weekends kicks off for the second time this season at Disney-MGM. Special celebrity guests through May 14 include concept designer Iain McCaig and
Peter Mayhew (who played Chewbacca).
2001:
A crew of Walt Disney World chefs - from Victoria & Albert's, the Contemporary Resort, and the Grand Floridian Resort - take part
in an event called "Folktales & Fairytales" at the Mennello Museum
of American Folk Art. The event benefits the Orlando Opera, the Winter Park Public Library and the Mennello Museum.
2002:
Dinotopia, a six-hour mini-series from Hallmark Entertainment airs on The Wonderful World of Disney.
1937:
Comedy Hall of Famer and actor George Carlin, the voice of Fillmore in
the 2006 Cars and Zugor in the 2005 Tarzan II, is born in New York City.
The character of Fillmore, a Volkswagon Type 2 microbus, has a license plate that reads
"51237" - a reference to Carlin's birthday. Zugor is an old hermit gorilla who lives in a hollow tree
on Dark Mountain. Carlin's live-action credits include Touchstone's comedy Outrageous Fortune
(1987) as Frank Madras, and the Miramax Film Jersey Girl (2004) as grandfather Bart. A stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, actor, and writer/author who won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums, Carlin was known for his reflections on politics, the English language, psychology, religion, and taboo subjects. The first of Carlin's 14 stand-up comedy specials for HBO was filmed back in 1977. Unfortunately Carlin had a history of heart problems spanning three decades. He passed away at age 71 in June 2008.
1934:
Winnie the Bear (the real life inspiration for Winnie-the Pooh) passes
away at the London Zoo at the ripe old age of 20 (a good life span for a bear).
A female black bear, Winnie had been living at the zoo since 1915. Playful and gentle, she had become
well-liked by writer A. A. Milne's son Christopher Robin.
2007:
Aly & AJ's single "Potential Breakup Song" (from their forth-coming album Insomniatic on Disney's Hollywood Records) is released to Radio Disney.
2006:
Disney Channel debuts the Hannah Montana episode "It's a Mannequin's
World." It is the seventh episode of the new series starring Miley Cyrus.
Goal! The Dream Begins, a sports drama film, is released by Touchstone Pictures. A young man with a rough background named Santiago Munez is given a chance at professional football, after being spotted by a scout who has ties with Newcastle United. Directed by Danny Cannon, the film stars Kuno Becker, Alessandro Nivola, and Stephen Dillane.
"A house is just a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff." -George Carlin
MAY 12
In the 1960s Ollie acquired and
restored a full-size narrow-gauge
Porter steam locomotive, which he named the "Marie E." - after his wife!
Today it is owned by John Lasseter.
1915:
Animator-turned-comic book illustrator Tony Strobl is born in Cleveland, Ohio.
Hired by Disney as an "in-betweener" in December 1938, his first assignment was the cupids for the
Pastoral Symphony sequence in Fantasia. He then worked on Dumbo and Pinocchio, before being drafted
into the army during World War II. After the war he entered the comics industry working for Western
Publishing. Between 1955 and the late 1970s, Strobl illustrated more Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse
comics than anyone else!
1956:
The Main Street Horseless Carriage begins operating at Disneyland.
2009:
Today is the final day of business for the Virgin Megastore at Downtown Disney,
Florida. Opened since 1997 (as part of the new West Side) it was the eleventh Virgin Megastore in the U.S.
The closing leaves a gaping 49,000 square-foot vacancy across from the Wolfgang Puck Café, between
DisneyQuest and the AMC 24 Theatres Complex.
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MAY 12
THIS DAY MADE IN THE USA
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George Carlin born
2011:
The first Grad Nite of the 2011 season kicks off at 11:30PM at the Disneyland Resort. A long-running tradtion for high school seniors, Grad Nite will also take place May 19, May 26, June 2, June 8, June 9, and June 16.
1988:
Construction continues on Disney's Typhoon Lagoon, a water park at Walt Disney World. The mountainous Mt. Mayday begins to take shape behind what will be the surf pool. The man-made mountain will not only provide launching areas for the waterslides, but will also conceals the park's pipework.
The 56-acre Typhoon Lagoon will open in June 1989.
Jake and the Never Land Pirates first landed at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in March 2011, less than a month after they cast off on their first adventure
on Disney Channel (as part of the launch of Disney Junior programming designed for 2-to-7-year-old children). Jake and his crew join Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny and Little Einsteins as part of Disney Junior–Live on Stage! several times during the theme park day.
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Photo by Bernie at Disney.Rocket9.net
MAY
May 12
In Memory of Winnie the Bear
2017:
Nemo & Friends SeaRider, the first new addition of the year for Tokyo DisneySea
launches in Port Discovery. A simulator ride, it is based on the Disney/Pixar films Finding Nemo and
Finding Dory. Guests board a fish-shaped submarine and are shrunk to the size of a typical
fish, before Dory and Nemo guide them on an adventure through the ocean.
Happily Ever After, a fireworks and projection mapping show, debuts at the Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World. Featuring projection mapping across Cinderella Castle, lasers, searchlights,
and pyrotechnics, the show includes characters and music from a wide array of Disney films.
2018:
The first ever Disney Channel Go! Fan Fest is held at the Disneyland Resort. Starting
with a VIP brunch at the Grand Californian Hotel and Spa, stars from Disney Channel’s most popular small screen
series turned up for a fun-filled day packed with panel discussions, live script readings, meet and greets with fans
and a cavalcade down Disneyland’s famous Main Street U.S.A. Among the actors participating in the all-day event -
Jenna Ortega from "Stuck in the Middle"; "Bizaardvark" cast members Madison Hu and Ethan Wacker; Peyton List
and Mallory Mahoney from "Bunk’d"; Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Joshua Rush and Trent Garrett ("Andi Mack"); Raven-
Symone ("Raven’s Home"); Meg Donnelly and Kylee Russell ("Zombies"); and the cast from the animated comedy-
adventure series "DuckTales."
1995:
Crimson Tide, a submarine film directed by Tony Scott, and produced by Don
Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, is released by Hollywood Pictures. After the Cold War, a
breakaway Russian republic with nuclear warheads becomes a possible worldwide threat. U.S. submarine Capt.
Frank Ramsey (played by Gene Hackman) signs on a relatively green but highly recommended Lt. Cmdr. Ron
Hunter (Denzel Washington) to the USS Alabama, which may be the only ship able to stop a possible Armageddon.
When Ramsay insists that the Alabama must act aggressively, Hunter, fearing they will start rather than stop a
disaster, leads a potential mutiny to stop him. The film is distributed by Buena Vista Pictures.
1986:
Actress Emily VanCamp is born in Port Perry, Ontario, Canada. Her film credits include Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2020) playing the role of Sharon Carter / Agent 13. VanCamp also portrayed Rebecca Harper in the ABC series Brothers & Sisters (2007–10) and Amanda Clarke in the ABC drama series Revenge (2011-15). In 2014 she hosted the television special Marvel 75 Years: From Pulp to Pop! and appeared on the 2020 ABC special The Disney Family Singalong. (She is also best known for her role on The WB television series Everwood, which ran between 2002-06.)
1983:
Domhnall Gleeson, an actor, voice actor, screenwriter, and short film director, is born in Dublin, Ireland. He portrayed General Armitage Hux in the films Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). He also played writer A.A. Milne in the 2017 British biographical drama Goodbye Christopher Robin (distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures).
1992:
Malcolm David Kelley, sometimes credited as just Malcolm Kelley, a rapper, singer, songwriter and actor, is born in California. He is best known for portraying the character Walt Lloyd on the ABC series Lost.
1962:
Actor, film director and screenwriter Emilio Estevez is born to artist Janet Sheen and actor Martin Sheen (legally Ramón Estévez) in The Bronx, New York. He co-starred in Touchstone's action-comedy films Stakeout (1987) and Another Stakeout (1993) with Richard Dreyfuss. Estevez portrayed attorney/hockey coach Gordon Bombay in Disney's The Mighty Ducks sports comedy-drama trilogy as well as the 2021 Disney+ series The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers. (Estevez is best known for such films as The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo's Fire, Young Guns, and Bobby.)
1978:
Actor & comedian Jason Biggs is born in Pompton Plains, New Jersey. Best known for playing Jim Levenstein in the American Pie comedy film series, in 2004 he appeared in Disney's Miramax comedy-drama Jersey Girl as Arthur Brickman. (Coincidentally George Carlin, who shares a birthday, was also in that film.) In 2006, Biggs played the role of Charlie Cooper in Walt Disney's survival drama Eight Below. Biggs later starred in the short-lived 2020 sitcom Outmatched. Production companies involved with the show included Fox Entertainment and Disney's owned 20th Century Fox Television.
