2005:
Gary Estrada rides Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion ride for the
999th time! He's the first person (to Disney's knowledge) to hit that goal
in just 10 months. Estrada began his marathon riding in January.
The Magic Kingdom hosts the 15th and final Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party of the season at Disney World.
1912:
Oliver Martin Johnston in Palo Alto, California. Starting at Disney in 1935, his many contributions
include Bambi, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Mary Poppins, The Aristocats, The Jungle Book, The Rescuers, and The
Fox and the Hound.
1927:
Disney's All Wet (an Oswald the Lucky Rabbit silent short) is released.
1939:
This is the date of the fateful "elevator accident" at the
Tower of Terror, Disney's scary attraction at its Hollywood Studios. This is also the date
inscribed on the eviction notice that appears on the entrance gates and on an inspection notice in one of the elevators.
Actor Ron Rifkin is born Saul M. Rifkin in New York City. In 2001, his association with Touchstone Television began when he played ruthless intelligence agent Arvin Sloane in the series Alias. Rifkin later played second-in-command businessman Saul Holden on the ABC series Brothers & Sisters.
1936:
Disney's Silly Symphony cartoon The Country Cousin is released.
Co-directed by David Hand and Wilfred Jackson, this short will win an Academy Award for Best Cartoon.
1942:
Actor David Ogden Stiers, the voice of many Disney animated characters including Cogsworth in the 1991 Beauty and the Beast, and Jumba in the 2002 Lilo & Stitch, is born in Peoria, Illinois. His Disney voice roles also include Governor Ratcliffe / Wiggins in Pocahontas, Archdeacon in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Governor Ratcliffe / Duke of Buckingham in Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World, and Fenton Q. Harcourt in Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Stiers portrayed Alexei Jovanovic in the live-action Jungle 2 Jungle. He also lent his voice to such animated television shows as Teacher's Pet, Disney's House of Mouse, and Lilo & Stitch: The Series. (TV fans may remember him as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III on the hit series M*A*S*H. Though he had no formal musical training, Stiers was the associate conductor of the Newport (Oregon) Symphony Orchestra and the Ernest Bloch Music Festival.)
1950:
Funnyman John Candy, the voice of Albatross Wilbur in Disney's 1990 The
Rescuers Down Under, is born in Toronto, Canada. He rose to fame as a member of the Toronto branch of the Second City and its related Second City Television series before appearing in such Disney/Touchstone films as Splash (1984) playing Tom Hanks' womanizing brother Freddie, and Cool Runnings (1993) as coach Irv Blizer. Candy was also originally supposed to voice Redfeather, a turkey in Pocahontas, but his role was later removed after the animators decided to have the film's animal characters be mute.
1955:
Mickey Mouse Club airs on ABC-TV. Today is Fun With Music Day.
1957:
Disney's fourth Zorro episode "The Ghost of the Mission" airs on ABC-TV.
1958:
The TV series Walt Disney Presents airs "Texas John Slaughter," the first of 17 episodes (that will run over the next 3 years) about a real historical figure who helped clear the Texas territory of outlaws and bandits.
1966:
At Disneyland's New Orleans Square, the new Pirates of the Caribbean River
is filled with water for the first time (the attraction will open March 18, 1967).
1993:
The Disney Villain by veteran animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston (two of Walt's "Nine Old Men") is published by Disney Editions.
Actress Letitia Wright is born in Georgetown, Guyana. She co-starred in the 2018 film Black Panther, playing the role of Shuri, King T'Challa's sister and princess of Wakanda. Wright reprised the role in Avengers: Infinity War, which was released later that year
1996:
Ghost and goblins put on a happy face at Disney World's Magic Kingdom
for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. Guests attend the party
(held on this evening only) dressed in costumes and enjoy special entertainment, hayrides down
Main Street, U.S.A., and trick-or-treating for children throughout the park.
2000:
To celebrate the first Disney store opening in Europe 10 years ago, a special Pooh beanie is released. The item features Pooh wearing a pointed hat with the words "The Disney Store
Europe" on it.
The Magic Kingdom hosts Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party for the third and final night of the season at Walt Disney World.
The soundtrack to Disney's 1989 The Little Mermaid is released internationally as a double pack with The Little Mermaid II soundtrack.
Radio Disney Holiday Jams is released on Walt Disney Records.
2001:
The Disney Village (at Disneyland Paris) hosts a ticketed event on this
Halloween night. Guests compete in a costume contest while enjoying the
evening's lineup of concerts, parades and shows.
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party takes place at the Magic Kingdom
at Disney World for the fifth and final time this season. The special ticketed event was also
held on October 18, 21, 26, and 28.
2002:
Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, and Steve Jobs, chairman and
CEO of Pixar Animation Studios, announce that their newest feature Finding Nemo will be released May 30, 2003. The film, which is the 5th Walt Disney Pictures presentation of a Pixar Film, will be accompanied by the acclaimed 1989 John Lasseter-directed Pixar short, Knickknack.
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is held for the sixth (but not the final time)
this season. In a Disney World first, the ticketed event will also be held the following evening, November 1.
Radio Disney Holiday Jams 2 is released on Walt Disney Records.
2003:
A Disney multi-media Haunted Mansion display
greets travelers at Grand Central Terminal's
Vanderbilt Hall in New York City. The free exhibit celebrates
the release of the new movie.
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is held for
the tenth and final time this season.
1977:
Director, writer, producer and narrator James "Jim" Algar retires after
43 years with the Walt Disney Studios. He produced live-action films about
animals and nature, worked on 26 one-hour episodes for The Wonderful World of Disney
television series, and contributed to theme park attractions such as "Great Moments with Mr.
2006:
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is celebrated at the Magic
Kingdom for the 18th and final time of the 2006 season.
Why the Wait, an EP by the pop-rock band Ingram Hill, is released by Hollywood Records.
1892:
Elias Disney (future father of Walt) pays $750 for a 25 x 125 corner lot at
2156 N. Tripp Avenue, on the Northwest side of Chicago. The area was
first annexed into the city back in 1889 and is now a desirable location for working-class families
to buy lots and build homes of their own.
1952:
Two Weeks Vacation, a Disney short featuring Goofy, is released.
Doom Buggy is the show name
for Disney's OmniMover system
(used in their Haunted Mansion
attraction). It was initially
developed for the "Adventures
in Inner Space" attraction.
Disney World's Haunted
Mansion has 160 cars with a
guest capacity of 3,200 guests
per hour.
When hinges creak in doorless chambers and strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls,
whenever candlelights flicker where the air is deathly still, that is the time when ghosts are present,
practicing their terror with ghoulish delight.
1951:
Animator Randy Cartwright is born Newsport News, Virginia. While attending UCLA, he
worked at Disneyland in the character department - portraying such characters as Dopey and Pluto. A year after
graduating he accepted a job at the Walt Disney Studios animation training program headed by the veteran Disney
animator Eric Larson. Cartwright began his career as an inbetweener for Ollie Johnston on The Rescuers and
progressed to full animator on Pete's Dragon. He went on to animate Belle in Beauty and the Beast and become
the directing animator for the Magic Carpet in Aladdin.
1953:
This week's issue of Saturday Evening Post features part 1 of the article "The
Amazing Story of Walt Disney" by Jack Alexander. It also features a series of color photos
of Walt and his family & friends at their California home.
Actress Lynda Goodfriend is born in Miami, Florida. Best known for playing Lori Beth Cunningham (née Allen), Richie's girlfriend then wife on the ABC-TV sitcom Happy Days, her Touchstone
film credits include Beaches and Pretty Woman.
Allied Filmmakers live-action feature The Wind in the Willows is released. Featuring members of Monty Python's Flying Circus (Eric Idle, John Cleese, Michael Palin, and Terry Jones) the film will get great reviews, but unfortunately get lost in the shuffle of a legal battle with distributors. When released to DVD by Disney's Home Entertainment division in 2004, the film's title will be changed to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
1956:
The Disneyland series airs the episode "The Plausible Impossible" on ABC-TV. Walt himself explains a principle of Disney's style of animation called "the plausible impossible," in which things that cannot be done in reality can be done in animation ... if there is a plausible basis for it. He uses clips from several cartoons and features to demonstrate.
2008:
Disney World closes the 37-year-old Hall of Presidents attraction after today for an extended refurbishment. The show will stay shuttered for more than eight months so Disney can update
the hall’s aging light, sound, mechanical, projection and show systems and make room for a new, robotic version
of the 44th president of the United States.
The Magic Kingdom hosts the final Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party of
the 2008 season at Disney World.
The cast of the Disney Broadway musical "The Little Mermaid"
performs on this day's broadcast of NBC's Today Show.
OCTOBER 31
Today is Carve a Pumpkin Day
THIS DAY MADE IN THE USA
OCTOBER 31
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1994:
Disneyland and KIIS-FM Radio (featuring Rick Dees) host a special Halloween
party from 6:00 a.m.to 10:00 a.m. Guests arriving at Disneyland in costume
between 6:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. enter free of admission!
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1989:
Disney's Contemporary Resort Halloween Party takes place in the Ballroom of the
Americas (located on the 2nd floor of the hotel) at 7 p.m.
1995:
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party takes place at the Magic
Kingdom in Disney World on this evening only.
1997:
For the second and final night in a row, the Magic Kingdom at Disney World hosts Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.
1999:
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party takes place at the
Magic Kingdom in Disney World for the third and final night. Growing ever-popular with
each season, it is the first time in Disney World history that the special ticketed event has been held for 3 nights.
2004:
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is held for the 14th and final
time this season at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World.
2007:
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is held at the Magic Kingdom for the
19th time this season. One last celebration will be held November 2.
Author Ray Bradbury attends the presentation of a Halloween Tree in
Frontierland at Disneyland. The event celebrates the 35th anniversary of Bradbury’s book,
The Halloween Tree (a 1972 fantasy about a group of boys trick-or-treating on Halloween).
Disney Legend Ollie Johnston born
SEASON 3 EPISODE 8
R.I.P.
Clare
Voince
R.I.P.
Hap A.
Rition
Career highlights:
Fantasia
Bambi
Victory Through Air Power
Seal Island
The Living Desert
The Vanishing Prairie
Ten Who Dared
The Gnome-Mobile
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2011:
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is held at the Magic Kingdom for the 22nd time this season. One last spooky celebration will be held November 1.
1909:
Thelma Boardman, the second voice of Minnie Mouse, is born in the Panama Canal Zone. Voicing Minnie for only 4 shorts (between 1941-1942), Boardman (originally from Disney's Ink and Paint Department) also supplied a few voices for Disney's Bambi and such shorts as Mother Goose Goes Hollywood and Donald's Better Self.
| ||||
2012:
The Magic Kingdom hosts Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party for the
22nd time this season at Walt Disney World. One final spooky bash will be held
November 2.
October 31
2014:
The final Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party for 2014 is held at
Walt Disney World. The 26th celebration of the season, the Magic Kingdom offers
Halloween fireworks and a specially themed parade starring many favorite Disney characters.
2016:
The Magic Kingdom hosts the last Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party for 2016 at Disney World. The event begins at 7:00 pm, but guests with a ticket to the party can enter as early as 4:00 pm.
2017:
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is held for the 31st time this season at Magic Kingdom. One last celebration will be held November 1. (All in all there were 32 dates in 2017, four more dates
than the previous year.)
1976:
Actress Piper Perabo is born in Dallas, Texas. Since her breakthrough role in Touchstone's
Coyote Ugly (2000), her film credits have also included Disney's Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008).
2013:
Illustrator, production designer, writer & animator Toby Bluth passes away at age 73 in California. Younger brother of animator Don Bluth, Toby's artwork can be spotted at Disney theme parks around the world.
Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy, a seasonal overlay of Space Mountain at Hong Kong Disneyland, closes forever at the end of the day. First premiering at the park in 2007, it featured a villainous space spirit that attempts to cause havoc in the stars.
2020:
Actor Sean Connery passes away at age 90 in The Bahamas. Best known as the first actor to portray the character James Bond in film, he appeared in Disney's 1959 Darby O'Gill and the Little People. Fans of Indian Jones and the Last Crusade will remember Connery for his role of Henry Jones, Sr..
1963:
Actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and director Rob Schneider is born in San Francisco, California. A stand-up comic and veteran of the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, Schneider went on to a career in feature films. His Disney/Touchstone/Miramax credits include Around the World in 80 Days, Bedtime Stories, Judge Dredd, The Waterboy, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, and The Hot Chick. (Schneider appeared with Jim Henson's Muppets in the film Muppets from Space. Fans of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York know him as Cedric.)
1945:
Actor, voice actor, and screenwriter Brian Doyle-Murray is born in Evanston, Illinois.
He voiced Baloo in The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story, Wittgenstein in The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars and The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue, The Chief in Teamo Supremo, Panchax in Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, and Baby Face Bryant in Fish Hooks. He played Ernie in the live-action Snow Dogs and appeared in multiple episodes of The Middle portraying boss Don Ehert. (Older brother of Bill Murray, Brian has appeared in such films as Caddyshack, Scrooged, Ghostbusters II, and Groundhog Day.)
1969:
Actress Angela Lansbury signs onto the role of Eglantine Price for Disney's
Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Leslie Caron, Lynn Redgrave, Judy Carne, and Julie Andrews had all been considered for the role. Filming will begin in March 1970.
2022:
Shanghai's Disney Resort abruptly suspends operations to comply with COVID-19 prevention measures, with all visitors at the time of the announcement directed to
stay in the park until they return a negative test for the virus. The theme park continues to
operate rides for visitors stuck in the park during the closure.
