1998:
Disney and Chevron announce a partnership to makeover one of Disneyland's original attractions, the Autopia. The updated attraction will feature a new queue, a new track and three new car styles. The current colorful Chevrolet Corvette Stingray-style cars will be replaced by three different kinds of cars - Dusty, an off-road style car; Sparky, a sports car; and Suzy, a Volkswagen Beetle-style car. (The new Autopia will be unveiled in February 2000.)
1947:
Actor Richard Dreyfuss, the voice of the Centipede in Disney's 1996 James and the
Giant Peach, is born in Brooklyn, New York. In 1986 he co-starred in Down and Out in Beverly Hills,
a comedy released by Touchstone Pictures, along with Bette Midler and Nick Nolte. That same year he co-starred with Danny DeVito as rival door-to-door aluminum siding salesmen in the Touchstone comedy Tin Men. The following year Dreyfuss played Detective Chris Lecce in Touchstone's action comedy Stakeout. In 1991 Dreyfuss portrayed an egotistical psychiatrist in Touchstone's comedy What About Bob?, co-starring Bill Murray. Two years later he returned to the role of Detective Lecce for the sequel Another Stakeout. In 1995 Dreyfuss starred in Mr. Holland's Opus
(distributed by Disney's Hollywood Pictures) playing a musician named Glenn Holland who takes a teaching job at a high school to pay the rent while trying to compose one memorable piece of music that could make him famous. He was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for his role of Holland. (An Academy Award- winner, Dreyfuss has starred in such classic films as American Graffiti, Jaws, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.)
"Walt Disney always believed in the beauty and natural wonders of the world. But he felt as we passed through
that we should try to add a little wonder and beauty to it. Maybe you'll understand that Walt's dream was just a beginning. The dream doesn't stop here. This is the start of it. I think you'll want to tell your grandchildren you were there when it happened."
-Bob Hope on NBC's The Grand Opening of Walt Disney World
1966:
Walt Disney receives the American Forestry Association award for "outstanding service in conservation in American resources." (The oldest national nonprofit conservation organization in the United States, the American Forestry Association was formed in Chicago, Illinois in September 1875.)
1971:
A 90-minute NBC-TV special,
The Grand Opening of Walt Disney World, shows the park to approximately 52 million people in the U.S. The celebrity-filled look at the new resort (filmed during WDW's 3-day grand opening on Oct. 23, 24 & 25) includes appearances by Julie Andrews, Glen Campbell, Buddy Hackett, Jonathan Winters, and Bob Hope. Campbell kicks off the program with a rendition of Jerry Reed's "Today Is Mine."
"It's really two buildings leaning against each
other. And I want to congratulate the architect
... Dean Martin. I have a lovely room with
complete privacy, except in the bathtub which
Donald Duck shares with me. Have you ever tried
bathing with a duck who was playing with his
rubber man? I ordered lunch from room service.
Snow White brought it in and I was afraid to eat
the apple. I don't dare drink the water because
that was delivered by Pluto."
-Bob Hope on the Contemporary Hotel
1993:
Tim Burton's animated The Nightmare Before Christmas debuts in U.S. theaters.
A stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy film, it is directed by Henry Selick, and produced and conceived by Tim Burton. Released by Touchstone Pictures, the film features the voices of Danny Elfman (who also scored the music),
Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey, and Paul Reubens. The story of Jack Skellington, a being from "Halloween Town" who opens a portal to "Christmas Town," the idea for the film started as a poem Burton wrote while working as an animator at Disney in the early 1980s. Disney has decided to release the film under their Touchstone Pictures banner because they believe the film might be "too dark and scary for kids."
(Nightmare will inspire video game spin-offs, including Oogie's Revenge and The Pumpkin King.)
The Disneyland Line (a publication for Disneyland Cast Members) features an article
titled "The Tale of The Haunted Mansion." It recalls the history of the popular attraction.
2001:
The Orlando Sentinel reports that the "Carousel of Progress is now shuttered."
Although there isn't a 'closed' sign on the futuristic building, the attraction has been taken off Magic Kingdom
guide maps and the daily bulletin board on Main Street. (It will reopen soon afterwards on a seasonal basis.)
2002:
Sherry Anderson replaces Mary Stout as Madame de la Grande
Bouche in Disney's Beauty and the Beast Broadway show. (She had first
starred as Madame in the national tour of the Disney classic.)
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In one of the Haunted
Mansion's early drafts,
Walt Disney himself
recorded the narration for
the attraction. It was
eventually scrapped
for the Ghost Host
version.
2007:
"Welcome: Portraits of America," a multimedia presentation created by Walt Disney
Parks and Resorts debuts simultaneously at George Bush Intercontinental Airport
and Washington Dulles International Airport. The seven-minute presentation, aimed at
welcoming international travelers to the United States, is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security and the U.S. Department of State.
At the Lloyd Center mall in Portland, Oregon, John Lasseter and his Pixar crew
hold a test-audience screening for their next release, Wall-E. About a robot named WALL-E,
who is designed to clean up a waste-covered Earth far in the future, the film won't be released until the following June.
Members and friends of the longest running stage show in history the
"Golden Horseshoe Revue," reunite at the Walt Disney Studios to honor Disney Legend Fulton Burley. Burley, an Irish tenor who for 25 years starred in Disneyland's "Golden
Horseshoe Revue," passed away last May.
2005:
Actress/singer Laura Michelle Kelly leaves the West End production of Mary Poppins after more than 400 performances as Mary. Originating the
role since the show's London premiere in December 2004, she will be succeeded by Scarlett
Strallen. Kelly (whose West End musical credits also include Beauty and the Beast) will later
play the role of Mary Poppins on Broadway, ironically taking over the role in October 2009
from .... Scarlet Strallen!
OCTOBER 29
THIS DAY MADE IN THE USA
OCTOBER 29
R.I.P., good friend Gordon. Now you've crossed the river Jordan.
The Nightmare Before Christmas debuts
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Grand Opening of WDW airs on TV
Haunted Mansion tribute to Gordon Williams - one of the audio designers for the attraction, as well as resident Audio-Animatronics expert
The special is presented exclusively by
Eastern Airlines: the people to call for travel
to Walt Disney World; GAF: the official film
of Disneyland and Walt Disney World,
and U.S. Steel: In countless ways that
contribute to a better life,
we're involved.
"Walt Disney World is the culmination of a lifetime
devoted to bringing joy and excitement and laughter
to children and adults in America and throughout the
world ... there is a spirit here everywhere. All of this
is Walt -- this is what Walt wanted for all of us: an
escape from our aspirin existence into a land of
sparkles and lights and rainbows." -Bob Hope
2010:
The Disneyland Resort marks a milestone in the expansion of Disney California
Adventure, by erecting the top peak of Cars Land. Construction workers hoist a 43-foot-long
beam onto a structure that will become a mountain-like range during a "topping out" ceremony. The traditional
event (an ancient Viking custom) is held by construction workers when the top piece of steel is installed on the
frame of a building. (The 12-acre Cars Land, set to open in 2012, is the largest portion of Disney’s $1-billion
expansion of the theme park.)
R.I.P.
Wee
G. Bord
R.I.P.
Manny Festation
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1996:
Toy Story is released on VHS and Laserdisc.
Danzig 5: Blackacidevil, the fifth full-length album from Danzig, is released on Hollywood Records
The Disneyland Resort and the City of Anaheim, California team up to
celebrate the Anaheim Angels clinching the World Series. The festivities kick
off at Disneyland at 10 a.m. with an Anaheim Angels Hometown Heroes Welcome Cavalcade
down Main Street.
Sadly on this day, Pixar's Glenn McQueen, who helped create some of their most well-known characters such as Woody in Toy Story and Boo in Monsters, Inc.,
passes away at age 41 in California. Also the supervising animator for A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2,
and Monsters, Inc., McQueen first came to Pixar in 1994. Already in the midle of Finding Nemo, the studio will dedicate the film to him. Later the main character in Cars, Lightning McQueen, will also be named in McQueen's honor.
Disney's Lyric Street releases Melt, the second album from the American country music group Rascal Flatts. (It will sell over sold 3,000,000 copies in the U.S.)
"Glenn is not gone from us. He’s still alive in all of us." -John Lasseter
2012:
Wreck-It Ralph, a 3D computer-animated comedy film produced by Walt Disney
Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, world premieres. The film
tells the story of the titular arcade game villain (voiced by John C. Reilly) who rebels against his role as a
villain and dreams of becoming a hero.
October 29
2018:
The fantasy adventure The Nutcracker and the Four Realms premieres in Los Angeles. Directed by Lasse Hallström and Joe Johnston and written by Ashleigh Powell and Tom McCarthy, it
is a retelling of E. T. A. Hoffmann's short story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King." Starring Keira Knightley, the
film is scheduled to be released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures in the United States on November 2, 2018.
1967:
Actress/singer Joely Fisher is born in Burbank, California. Best known for her work on television as Paige Clark on the ABC sitcom Ellen, she also appeared in a 2011 episode of Wizards of Waverly Place.
2013:
Monsters University, and the first Cars movie in 3D are released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, DVD, digital copy, and on demand.
1957:
Actor and screenwriter Dan Castellaneta is born in Chicago, Illinois. Best known for voicing Homer Simpson (and many other characters) on the animated series The Simpsons, his Disney voice credits include: Super Mario Bros. (1993) as the Narrator, The Return of Jafar (1994) as Genie, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) as Frollo's Soldiers, Aladdin's Arabian Adventures (1998) as Genie, Recess: School's Out (2001) as Guard #1, Return to Never Land (2002) supplying additional voices, Kim Possible: The Secret Files (2003) as Drakken's Goons, and Jasmine's Enchanted Tales: Journey of a Princess (2005) as Genie. Castellanta's Disney television credits include: TaleSpin, Darkwing Duck, Dinosaurs, Goof Troop, Hercules: The Animated Series, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, and Kim Possible.
Actress Winona Ryder is born in Minnesota. She voiced Elsa Van Helsing in Disney/Tim Burton's 2012 animated feature film Frankenweenie and played Patty Vare in the 1996 Touchstone Pictures film Boys.
2020:
Disneyland Paris closes again at the end of this day following another wave of COVID-19 cases across France.
1963:
Actor Adolphe Menjou passes at age 73 in California. With a career spanning both silent films and talkies, his film credits included Disney's 1960 Pollyana. Menjou played the role of Mr. Pendergast, a recluse who eventually opens his heart and adopts an orphan named Jimmy.
1959:
Actress Finola Hughes is born in London, England. Best known for role as Anna Devane on the ABC soap operas General Hospital and All My Children, she later portrayed Carol in the final seasons of the NBC sitcom Blossom (distributed by Disney's Buena Vista Television). Hughes also voiced Queen Anne in Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World, and played Bryce Kellogg in the 1993 Hollywood Pictures film, Aspen Extreme.
