2008:
The United States Air Force "Thunderbirds" fly over Walt Disney World. The Las Vegas, Nevada-based air demonstration team, who are celebrating their 55th anniversary, soar over the resort following an air show in Punta Gorda, Florida.
In a public ceremony, Jackie Autry, wife of the late Gene Autry ("The Singing
Cowboy") accepts a star on the Anaheim/Orange County Walk of Stars in honor of her husband and Orange County’s baseball pioneer. Actor & singer-songwriter Gene Autry is the sixth honoree on the Anaheim/OC Walk of Stars (Walt Disney was the first) and is recognized for his contributions to baseball and professional sports in Orange County. Autry once owned the California Angels and later sold a quarter share of the team to The Walt Disney Company.
2005:
A themed airplane adorned with the image of Tinker Bell on the
fuselage and golden Mickey Mouse ears on the tail from Alaska Airlines soars
into Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The bright blue Boeing 737-400 named the
"Magic of Disneyland" celebrates the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney's Anaheim park.
It is reported that thirty-five nonprofit organizations from five Central Florida
counties received a collective $600,000 in awards from the Walt Disney World
Resort as part of Disney's Helping Kids Shine program.
It is announced that Brooke Tansley, who started her run as Belle in Disney's
Broadway musical Beauty and the Beast on September 14th, 2004, and was
extended through May 1st, has been extended again through September
18th, 2005.
1928:
Actor James Garner, the voice of Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke in
Disney's 2001 animated release Atlantis: The Lost Empire, is born in
Norman, Oklahoma. His live-action Disney film credits include the 1974 The Castaway
Cowboy and the 1973 One Little Indian. (TV fans know him as the star of "The Rockford Files"
and for his role in "8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter.")
1939:
Disney's final Silly Symphony cartoon The Ugly Ducking is
released. Based on a story by Hans Christian Andersen, this short retells the
tale of an outcast duckling who turns out to become a beautiful swan. A color remake of the 1931 Disney
short, it will win an Academy Award for Best Cartoon.
Sound recording for Disney's newest feature Fantasia begins. (The project will consume a half million feet of sound film during 42 days of recording!)
1964:
Actor Russell Crowe, who starred as John Biebe in Disney's 1999 drama "Mystery, Alaska" (distributed by Hollywood Pictures) is born in Wellington, New Zealand.
He also co-starred in Touchstone Pictures' The Insider with Al Pacino.
1970:
At the 42nd Academy Awards (held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles), Disney's It's Tough To Be A Bird wins an Oscar (Short Subjects, Cartoon).
1990:
At Walt Disney World's Downtown Disney, Cage replaces Videopolis East (one of the original Pleasure Island clubs for the under-21).
1995:
Walt Disney's sister Ruth (the youngest of the family) passes away.
The Disney film A Goofy Movie is released. This film was animated primarily at a new Disney studio in France, after character design, art direction, and storyboarding had been completed in Burbank, California. It features the voices of Bill Farmer (as Goofy), Jim Cummings, Jo Anne Worley, and Joey Lawrence.
1996:
The 12th Annual Walt Disney World's Happy Easter Parade,
hosted by Regis Philben and Joan Lunden, airs on television.
2001:
Disney's House of Mouse debuts the episode "Thanks to Minnie."
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - Play It! officially opens at Disney-MGM Studios.
The attraction is a modified version of the popular Who Wants to Be a Millionaire television game show.
2003:
The National Association of Broadcasters inducts the Disney anthology television series into the NAB Hall of Fame at the NAB2003 Television All-Industry Luncheon in Las Vegas. CEO Michael Eisner accepts the award on behalf of The Walt Disney Company. The Disney anthology includes "Disneyland," "Walt Disney Presents," "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color," "Disney's Wonderful World," "Walt Disney," "The Disney Sunday Movie," "The Magical World of Disney" and, as it is currently known, "The Wonderful World of Disney." Michael Eisner also speaks at the Television All-Industry Luncheon (at the Las Vegas Hilton). He talks about Disney's Movie Beam, a new video on demand service.
2004:
Roy E. Disney and his wife Patty tour the new $22.5 million
"Roy E. Disney Center for Performing Arts" at the National Hispanic Cultural Center & Foundation in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Disney's have contributed $1 million to help fund the construction of the 700-seat theater.
2006:
Disney World's biggest ride yet, Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain, a 20-story, white-knuckle roller coaster spin officially opens in Animal
Kingdom. The ceremonial grand opening is led by Disney CEO Bob Iger and theme parks chairman Jay Rasulo.
The attraction, which features a snowy mountain setting and an "abominable snowman" figure, is currently Florida's
tallest peak, sculpted from 1,800 tons of steel, and covering more than six acres!
The third Hannah Montana episode "She's A Super Sneak"
debuts on Disney Channel.
1983:
Walt Disney World welcomes its 150-millionth guest - Carrie Stahl!
1985:
ABC-TV airs Walt Disney World's Happy Easter Parade.
1957:
Parade magazine features the "Luckiest Boy in the World," a cover story on Cast Member (and future Disney Legend) Tom Nabbe - Disneyland's first Tom Sawyer.
1954:
Chip 'n' Dale's short The Lone Chipmunks, directed by Jack Kinney, is released.
Former U.S. President
Jimmy Carter visited
Disney World's
Animal Kingdom in 1998 -
the year the park first
opened.
"When I started working, I didn't have a clue what I was doing, in that I was just wandering around, hoping that I could succeed. Then after I got a little under my belt, it took me about 25 years to feel like I knew what I was doing." -James Garner
"Certainly, I wish Gene were here. His star is so close to Walt Disney's and that's very fitting. They were both visionaries."
-Jackie Autry
APRIL 7
APRIL 07
THIS DAY MADE IN THE USA
A Goofy Movie released
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2009:
Actress Faith Prince joins the cast of Broadway's The Little Mermaid.
She takes over the role of of the evil sea witch Ursula.
The first three volumes of Disney Animation Collection are released to DVD.
Unstoppable, the sixth studio album by the American country pop group Rascal Flatts, is released on Disney's Lyric Street label.
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Expedition Everest opens
Disney engineers have developed a prototype at Pop Century Resort designed to recover
excess heat from rooftop air conditioner units. This heat is used to make about 85% of
the hot water used by all guests in the building during
the warm summer months.
1997:
Captain EO, a 3-D, 70mm, Sci-fi, fantasy, musical movie attraction
starring Michael Jackson, closes at Disneyland. Directed by Francis Ford
Coppola and executive-produced by George Lucas, the movie had been playing in the
theater in Tomorrowland since September 18, 1986.
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1982:
The television sitcom Herbie, The Love Bug airs episode #4 - "Herbie, the Best Man."
1950:
Disney's Pluto short Wonder Dog, directed by Charles Nichols, is released. Pluto envisions
himself as a circus dog in order to win the heart of Dinah, who has fallen for a poster of Prince the Wonder Dog.
1968:
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color airs part two of "The Mystery of Edward
Sims" on NBC-TV. Based on one of the many "Gallegher" stories by Richard Harding Davis, "The Mystery of
Edward Sims" stars Roger Mobley stars as Gallegher, a turn-of-the-century teenaged newspaper reporter who
helps a Cornish immigrant and his family.
1912:
Songwriter Jack Lawrence is born in Brooklyn, New York. He co-wrote "Once Upon A Dream" with Sammy Fain for Disney's 1951 Sleeping Beauty, and along with Frank Churchill, penned "Never Smile At A Crocodile" for Disney's Peter Pan. (Lawrence is probably best known for his song "Beyond the Sea," co-written with Charles Trenet & Albert Lasry for singer Bobby Darin.)
2011:
A ceremony to officially break ground on the Shanghai Disney Resort takes place in China. Scheduled to open in about five years, Shanghai Disneyland will be the name of the theme park itself, but the property will also have two themed hotels and a venue for retail, dining and entertainment.
