2005:
At Disneyland Jiminy Cricket Environmentality buttons are handed
out to guests to celebrate Earth Day.
ASIFA-Hollywood hosts the Aladdin Crew Reunion at the Glendale
Central Library in California. Hosted by Margaret Kerry (the live-action reference
model for Peter Pan’s Tinkerbell), the event re-caps the film’s production history.
1868:
Flora Call is born to Charles and Henrietta Call in Steuben, Ohio (near the now famous amusement park Cedar Point). Flora will go on to marry Elias Disney (the son of a neighborhood family) in 1888 and later give birth to 5 children ... including a son named Walter.
1964:
The World's Fair in Flushing, New York, is opened by U.S.
President Johnson for the 1964 season. The fair features over
100 pavilions on approximately 646 acres. The fair also includes 4 Disney attractions for Ford, General Electric, Pepsi-Cola, and the State of Illinois. Despite it being a rainy day, some 92,000 people visit. An opening day ceremony takes place with a special parade that includes various Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse, Pinocchio, and Alice in Wonderland. On a VIP observation deck above "It's A Small World" (located in the Pepsi Pavilion), Disney personnel - including designer/artist Mary Blair - celebrate the team who has put together the exhibit from scratch in just 9 months! (The fair will run through October 18, 1964 and then reopen again on April 21 for the 1965 season.)
1990:
The Magical World of Disney airs part 1 of "Spooner".
Mickey's Birthdayland closes at WDW's Magic Kingdom. (It will later reopen as Mickey's Starland before becoming known as Mickey's Toontown Fair.)
1998:
Disney World's $800 million Animal Kingdom opens in,
Florida with 5 attractions, 9 exhibits, 12 live entertainment shows, 11 merchandise locations, and 8 food locations. Spanning 500 acres, Animal Kingdom is billed as "a new species of theme park." Two of the three major "lands" - Africa & DinoLand U.S.A. -
open on this date, Asia will open in early 1999.
2001:
Disney World's Animal Kingdom hosts the second Disney's Pin Celebration Countdown for pin-collecting fans. New limited edition and special pins debut and Disney Design Group artists and pin designers Mark Seppala and Michelle Morrow greet guests and sign items at the Upcountry Landing in Asia. (This event is the second of five celebrations, that will lead toward a
four-day event at Epcot August 9-12.)
2002:
Primeval Whirl, a new DinoLand wild coaster ride, opens
at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida.
At Epcot, 80's rockers Survivor performs 3 shows as part of the Flower Power concert series at America Gardens Theatre.
(They will appear throught the 24th.)
2003:
Walt Disney Records releases the soundtrack to The Lizzie McGuire Movie.
The soundtrack features the new single "Why Not" performed by "Lizzie" herself - Hilary Duff.
Lifetime magazine, a publication of Lifetime Entertainment Services, jointly owned
by The Hearst Corporation and The Walt Disney Company, debuts as a bi-monthly.
At Animal Kingdom's 5th birthday celebration, Walt Disney World announces an
opening date of December 14 for their new Pop Century Resort.
2004:
Disney's California Adventure hosts a 2-day Tower of Terror event, which includes dinner in the not-yet-opened attraction.
Disney's 45-minute film Sacred Planet - narrated by actor Robert Redford - is released.
1971:
Award-winning singer-songwriter Kellie Coffey is born in Moore, Oklahoma.
It is her voice you hear singing "We Go On" and "The Promise" during Epcot's Illuminations fireworks show. You
can also hear Coffey at Christmas time at Disneyland singing "White Christmas" as snow falls on Main Street!
Coffey was also the centerpiece of Disney’s extensive, worldwide marketing campaign, as the singer of “Sharing A
Dream Come True.” (A country music artist, she made her debut in 2002 with the release of her single "When You Lie Next to Me" - a Top 10 hit.)
"Welcome to a kingdom of animals... real, ancient and imagined: a kingdom ruled by lions, dinosaurs and dragons; a kingdom of balance, harmony and survival; a kingdom we enter to share in the wonder, gaze at the beauty, thrill at the drama, and learn."
-Michael Eisner's Animal Kingdom dedication This Day in Disney History 1998
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1906:
Actor Eddie Albert is born in Rock Island, Illinois. His Disney credits include the 1995 The Barefoot
Executive, the 1982 Beyond Witch Mountain, the 1975 Escape to Witch Mountain, and the 1963 Miracle of the White
Stallions. (Known as Oliver Wendell Douglas from the sitcom Green Acres, Albert also appeared in such films as Roman
Holiday, Oklahoma!, and The Longest Day.)
2000:
The Disney Channel Original Movie Rip Girls debuts.
"You've probably heard people
talk about conservation.
Well, conservation isn't just
the business of a few people.
It's a matter that
concerns all of us."
-Walt Disney 1956
Public Service Announcement
2008:
Disney's Animal Kingdom turns 10 years young!
During the park's 10-year anniversary ceremony, a new name and a new logo is introduced for Disney’s conservation outreach efforts, changing the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund to the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund. The new name helps build on Disney’s commitment to conservation, and communicates the broader vision for the future of the DWCF which is not only wildlife focused but also supports ecosystems and community conservation.
Disney Parks and CareerBuilder.com announce that Justin Muchoney from Seven Fields, Pennsylvania, has been named the first-ever Disney Parks Chief Magic Official! Muchoney, a Director of Music & Fine Arts, emerged victorious from a field of 1,300 candidates nationwide. He is inducted as CMO in a special ceremony with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck at Walt Disney World.
APRIL 22
Today is
Earth Day
APRIL 22
THIS DAY MADE IN THE USA
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2009:
Disneynature (a new film label) unveils Earth in theaters.
Narrated by James Earl Jones, the film tells the story of 3 animal families - polar
bears, elephants, and whales - as they make their jounrey across our planet.
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The Disney Store chain invites customers to bring in empty plastic bottles to
recycle. Guests can exchange three empty bottles for a free commemorative Earth Day reusable water
bottle. Disney Store also introduces a selection of environmentally friendly T-shirts and tote bags made
from material created from recycled water bottles.
1962:
On this Easter Sunday, the colorful hot air balloon from the 1956 feature film Around the World in 80 Days leaves the Plaza Hub of Disneyland following a traditional old-fashioned Easter Parade down Main Street, U.S.A.
"Nahtazu!"
There are so many people in line on this opening day that officials open
the gates at 6 a.m., instead of the posted 7 a.m. The first guests through the gate are Brenda Herr of St. Petersburg, Florida, her husband, Damon Chepren and their son, Devon, who slept in their car the night before! (The family receives a lifetime pass to Walt Disney theme parks worldwide.) Seventy-five minutes after opening, the park reached its capacity and the gates are closed again until early afternoon. Unofficial estimates place peak crowds at over 35,000 guests.
Honored guests at the park on this day include Dr. Jane Goodall, considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, and comedian Drew Carey, dressed in a leopard suit!
Disney's Animal Kingdom opens
"This park in fantastic. My uncle would have been proud.'' -Roy Disney, nephew of the late Walt Disney
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1991:
A 55-foot-tall oak tree weighing in at nearly 85 tons is moved 12 miles across
Walt Disney World property. It will serve as a centerpiece for the Ol’ Man Island recreation area at
Disney’s Port Orleans Resort-Riverside.
Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, proposed the first nationwide environmental day in 1970. The first Earth Day achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders. It led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species acts.
2010:
Disneynature releases its second film Oceans, narrated by Pierce Brosnan, to U.S.
theaters. Taking seven years to make, filmmakers Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud shot nearly 470 hours of
footage of some 80 underwater species.
As part of its Earth Day Celebrations, guests and local school children help the
Disneyland Resort’s horticulture team release 140,000 ladybugs!
1970:
The very first Earth Day takes place - with over 20 million people participating.
At this time Americans are slurping leaded gas through massive V8 sedans and industry is belching out smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press. Air pollution is commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity and "environment" is merely a word that appears more often in spelling bees than on the evening news.
1999:
Sounds Dangerous with Drew Carey, an audio attraction starring comedian Drew Carey,
debuts at the ABC Soundstudio in Disney-MGM Studios.
1995:
The Empress Lily, an authentic re-creation of an 1800s paddle wheel boat - offering the first character breakfast dining options at Walt Disney World, closes in Pleasure Island, Florida. Named after Walt Disney's wife Lillian, it will reopen as Fulton's Crab House in 1996.
1948:
Singer, songwriter, musician and radio host Larry Groce is born in Dallas, Texas. Specializing in country, folk and children's music, Walt Disney's Vista label Activity Records issued his "Winnie the Pooh For President" as a single. He also recorded the "Disney Children's Favorites" albums on Disneyland Records, featuring many well-loved children's songs, as well as several other Disney recordings during the late 1970s and early 1980s, including the two "Disney Christmas Favorites" LPs. Early in the 1970s, Groce went to work for the National Endowment for the Arts program which funded appearances by artists in public schools. Groce was sent to West Virginia where working with kids inspired him to write the humorous "Junk Food Junkie", which was later recorded in 1975 in front of a live audience at McCabe's in Santa Monica, California. The song, released as a single in early 1976, quickly became a hit in the United States. Groce performed the song on a 1977 episode of The New Mickey Mouse Club.
2011:
Disneynature releases African Cats, narrated by Samuel L. Jackson. Telling the story of two different animal families in the wild by using real-life footage, the film focuses on a young lion cub being raised by his mother, the leader of a pride defending his family from a banished lion, and a mother cheetah who is raising five newborns. The movie's theme song, "The World I Knew" (written and produced by Ryan Tedder), is sung by Jordin Sparks (the winner of the sixth season of American Idol).
THE OASIS: The first area guests experience after entering the park, it is a tropical garden filled with exotic plants and wildlife.
SAFARI VILLAGE: A colorful island celebrating animals and the departure point to all the lands of adventure. Safari Village includes The Tree of Life, The Tree of Life Garden, It's Tough to be a Bug!, and Discovery River Boats at Safari Village.
CAMP MINNIE-MICKEY: An old-fashioned summer camp featuring Character Greeting Area, "Festival of the Lion King" at Lion King Theater and "Colors of the Wind, Friends from the Animal Forest" at Grandmother Willow's Grove.
DINOLAND, U.S.A.: A "fossil park" featuring Countdown to Extinction, The Boneyard, Cretaceous Trail, 1998 Dinosaur Jubilee, "Journey into Jungle Book" at Theater In The Wild, and Fossil Preparation Lab.
AFRICA: A contemporary port of East Africa including Kilimanjaro Safaris, Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail, and Wildlife Express to Conservation Station.
ASIA: Not totally completed by opening day, this area features Discovery River Boats at Upcountry Landing and
"Flights of Wonder" at Caravan Stage.
Peace Through Understanding
