2005:
Oscar-winning actor and Disney Legend John Mills, who portrayed Father Robinson in Disney's 1960 live-action film Swiss Family Robinson, passes away in England at age 97.
(He is the father of actresses Hayley and Juliet Mills.)
Disneyland Park guests are offered a sneak peek at Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams. The all-new parade highlights classic Disney stories and characters that have contributed to Disneyland over the past five decades.
Romano Scarpa, one of the most famous Italian creators of Disney comics, passes away in Spain at age 77.
1923:
The parents of child actress Virginia Davis sign a contract with Disney's Laugh-O-Gram Films, giving her 5% of receipts from the film, Alice's Wonderland (for which she stars in). Virginia's family will later move from Kansas City, Missouri to Los Angeles so that in the summer of 1924 she can begin working fulltime for Walt.
1928:
Shirley Jane Temple, the popular child star who presented Walt Disney with special
Oscars for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, is born in Santa Monica, California. First
skyrocketing to fame in 1934, Temple was caricatured in the 1939 Disney animated short Autograph Hound. As an adult,
she took part in a 1957 Disneyland dedication and later served on the board of directors of some of the largest enterprises
including The Walt Disney Company (1974–75).
1957:
The Midget Autopia opens in Disneyland. It is the third (and smallest) Autopia track, following the Tomorrowland Autopia (1955) and the Junior Autopia in Fantasyland (1956). The Midget Autopia, located right next to the Storybook Land Canal Boats, is for very young guests who are too small to ride the other Autopia attractions. (It will close in April 1966 and be donated to Walt Disney's boyhood hometown of Marceline, Missouri.)
1961:
The TV series Walt Disney Presents airs "Texas John Slaughter: Frank Clell's in Town,"
the 17th & final episode of a western mini-series starring Tom Tryon.
The series was based on a real-life historical figure (and symbol of the American West) named "Texas John" Slaughter
who was a Civil War veteran, trail-driver, cattleman, Texas Ranger, famed Cochise County Sheriff, professional gambler,
and an Arizona State Representative.
1969:
Musical cues and various sound effects are recorded at Whitney Studios and
the Walt Disney Productions Recording Stage (both located in California) for Disneyland's much anticipated Haunted Mansion attraction (scheduled for an August debut).
1983:
The Fantasy in the Sky fireworks show debuts at the new Tokyo Disneyland.
1986:
In Florida, a groundbreaking ceremony takes place for Walt Disney World's Grand Floridian Beach Resort. It will open in June 1988.
1993:
At a dedication service, Walker Ranch officially becomes Disney
Wilderness Preserve. Disney and the South Florida Water Management Disrict
had come to an agreement in 1992, allowing Disney to develop on an area in Central Florida
(closer to their theme parks) if Disney would purchase and preserve Walker Ranch, 8,500 acres of
wetlands located about 15 miles south of Disney World. The preserve is home to two endangered
species, the bald eagle and the wood stork, as well as several other threatened species.
Disney will use the Central Florida area to build Celebration, a new city themed
after a typical small American town of the 1940s and '50s. Today the Disney Wilderness Preserve is
owned and operated by The Nature Conservancy.
Touchstone Pictures releases the comedy/drama Indian Summer, featuring the ensemble cast of Alan Arkin, Diane Lane, Bill Paxton, and Elizabeth Perkins.
2002:
Disney release its 1991 White Fang, 1994 White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf, 1994 Iron Will, and the 1994 Angles in the Outfield all on DVD.
President Bush hosts "movie night" at the White House with
a viewing of Disney's The Rookie (starring Dennis Quaid).
Disney Chairman Michael Eisner is in attendance.
2004:
Walt Disney World confirms that It's A Small World will be closing for almost a year for improvements. (Disney hopes the boat ride will re-open in March 2005.)
The HBO series From the Earth
to the Moon (Tom Hank's 13-part drama about space
exploration) was in production
at the Disney-MGM Studios in 2
soundstages in 1997.
1943:
Disney releases the Donald Duck short Fall Out - Fall In, directed by Jack King, to theaters. Donald experiences army life with extended marches and an uncooperative tent.
2007:
The second season of Disney Channel's Hannah Montana
kicks off with the episode "Me and Rico Down by the School Yard."
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1996:
Pamela Lyndon (P.L.) Travers, creator of "Mary Poppins," passes away at age 96 in
London, England. Originally from Australia, the 1934 publication of Mary Poppins was Travers' first literary success.
1886:
Actress and vaudeville performer Belle Montrose is born Isabelle Donohue in Illinois. Described by Milton Berle as "the funniest woman in vaudeville," Montrose's Disney credits include The AbsentMinded Professor and Son of Flubber. (She and her husband Carroll Allen were the parents of television celebrity Steve Allen!)
1931:
The Warner Bros. crime drama film The Public Enemy, starring James Cagney and Jean Harlow, is released. The movie relates the story of a young man's rise in the criminal underworld in prohibition-era urban America.
(A scene from this film is featured in the Disney's attraction The Great Movie Ride.)
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"A writer is, after all, only half his book. The other half is the reader and from the reader the writer learns."
-P. L. Travers
1791:
James Buchanan, the fifteenth United States President, is born in a log
cabin at Cove Gap, near Mercersburg, Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
The last president to be born in the eighteenth century, to date he is also the only president from the
state of Pennsylvania and the only president to remain a bachelor. Visit Buchanan and all the U.S.
Chief Executives at Disney World's The Hall of Presidents.
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APRIL 23
APRIL 23
THIS DAY MADE IN THE USA
Grand Floridian groundbreaking
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A
P
R
1998:
The day after the debut of Disney's Animal Kingdom, The Orlando Sentinel
runs the story - "What a day in Kingdom" by staff writers
Cory Lancaster, Tim Barker and Lesley Clark.
The house was packed. The lines generally were short. The glitches were few. And the weather was perfect.
Add to that good news from federal investigators and a splendid earnings report announcing a planned stock split.
Could even Disney have scripted a day like this?
The planets seemed in perfect alignment Wednesday as Walt Disney World opened its fourth and largest theme park to a crowd of thousands, who began arriving at the gates before dawn.
1999:
Pixar animator & writer Joe Ranft (in the middle of a Florida vacation with his family)
visits Walt Disney World. He offers a presentation for Disney Feature Animation Florida and later drops by
the Disney Institute to spend some time with the Animation Team (including instructor Jim Korkis).
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Midget Autopia opens
Cited as one of Central Florida’s best hikes by the Orlando Sentinel, The Nature Conservancy’s Disney Wilderness Preserve features a 2.5-mile trail that leads to Lake Russell, one of Central Florida’s last remaining undeveloped lakes. The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters
for nature and people.
1965:
Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse (portrayed by Paul Castle) help open the Dodger's new Anaheim Stadium. Walt & Mickey take turns throwing out the first pitch to catcher Goofy!
2010:
Disney Grad Nite kicks off for the first time this season at WDW's Magic Kingdom.
An exclusive annual event for High School Seniors, this weekend's entertainment includes Paramore.
(Disney Grad Nite will continue the following evening and then again on April 30 & May 1.)
