2003:
Disney World's newest attraction, Mission:
SPACE liftts off with a soft opening. Located in
Epcot's Future World, Mission: SPACE will have
its official opening in October.
The Lizzie McGuire episode "My Dinner with Dig"
debuts on Disney Channel as does the Disney Channel Original Movie The Cheetah Girls. (Despite a widespread blackout in the Northeast, The Cheetah Girls is watched by about 6.5 million viewers!)
1843:
It includes a variety of attractions such as mechanical amusement rides, a theatre, restaurants and flower gardens. On certain evenings, specially designed fireworks will fill the sky over Tivoli's lake. (One of the oldest amusement parks in the world, Tivoli Gardens will greatly inspire and influence Walt Disney.)
1901:
Songwriter Hall of Famer and Disney Legend Ned Washington is born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. A 12-time Oscar nominated lyricist, Washington helped write (along with Leigh Harline) the popular Disney tune When You Wish Upon A Star - which won an Oscar in 1940. Washington also co-wrote "Baby Mine" for Dumbo and the title song of Saludos Amigos. (His non-Disney works includes such songs as "Rawhide," "My Foolish Heart," "Green Dolphin Street," "Town Without Pity," and "Stella by Starlight.")
1917:
Disney Legend Chuck Boyajian - who in 1955 became Disneyland's very first Manager of Custodial Operations - is born in Ohio. He developed a reputation for cleanliness and efficiency that had never been seen before in an outdoor entertainment enterprise. Retired since 1983, Boyajian was later honored with a window on Disneyland's Main Street that reads:
Royal Care Co. - We Keep Your Castle Shining - Chuck Boyajian - Prop.
1929:
Wild Waves, a Mickey Mouse short, is released. Mickey (voiced by Walt Disney)
saves Minnie (voiced by Marcellite Garner) whose been swept out to sea!
1935:
Actor Jim Dale, whose Disney credits include the 1979 The Spaceman and King Arthur, the 1978 Hot Lead and Cold Feet and the 1977 Pete's Dragon, is born in England. Best known as the narrator of the Harry Potter audiobooks, Dale also narrated the ABC-TV series Pushing Daisies.
1936:
Disney animator Ward Kimball marries Betty Lawyer, who has been working in Disney's Ink and Paint Department for a year. Betty will work her way up the ranks at Disney - painting cels, choosing colors and creating color models to guide the work of other painters. Betty will leave the studio in mid-1939 to raise a family and her marriage to Ward will last 66 years until his death in 2002.
1946:
Disney's animated Make Mine Music, ten musical shorts combined into a compilation,
is generally released. Narrated by Nelson Eddy, the film features the voices and sounds of vocalist
Dinah Shore, bandleader-clarinetist Benny Goodman, actor Sterling Holloway (future voice of Winnie the
Pooh), and singing trio The Andrews Sisters.
1994:
As part of the re-Imagineering of Future World's pavilions, the Spaceship Earth attraction at Disney's Epcot park closes. (The revamped attraction will open November 23, 1994 with 12 new scenes and a new musical score.)
Family PC magazine is first published. The monthly mag is a collaboration between Walt Disney Publishing and Ziff-Davis (an American publisher and Internet company).
1999:
Disney's newest ship the Disney Wonder embarks on its maiden voyage.
2006:
After nearly 13 years of
entertaining Walt Disney World guests, Merlin performs his last Sword in the Stone show in front of Cinderella's Golden Carousal. Merlin has been challenging young guests to pull the sword from the stone several times a day in Fantasyland (at the Magic Kingdom) since 1994.
Walt Disney Records releases The Cheetah Girls 2 (the soundtrack to the Disney Channel original movie The Cheetah Girls 2) and the soundtrack to Brother Bear 2 (a direct-to-video sequel to Brother Bear - to be released August 29).
1958:
Actor, director, comedian & photographer Rondell Sheridan - Victor Baxter on both Disney Channel series That's So Raven and Cory in the House - is born in Chicago, Illinois. As a director, his credits include episodes of Disney Channel's Hanna Montana. Sheridan has also made guest appearances on Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas and Disney Cruise Line as a stand-up comedian!
The Horizons logo, in homage
to the Epcot attraction
replaced by Mission: SPACE,
is on display at the center of
the rotating "gravity wheel"
in the queue.
1955:
LIFE magazine runs a 4-page article on Disneyland's grand opening day (which happened 3 weeks ago).
"Welcome to the International Space Training Center. You're here today to train for the greatest adventure of the history of mankind."
2007:
Florida Governor Charlie Crist visits the Walt Disney World Resort to promote
two of his pet issues - energy conservation and physical fitness.
1989:
Joseph Adam "Joe" Jonas, a member of Jonas Brothers, is born in Casa
Grande, Arizona. The "middle Jonas," he will actually start out wanting to be a comedian, not a singer.
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AUGUST 15
THIS DAY
MADE IN
THE USA
AUGUST 15
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In memory of Virginia Davis (1918-2009)
"I'd rather get a good clean laugh with good material, than an easy laugh by swearing or shocking. That's not clever or comedic, anybody can get a laugh that way, it's too easy." -Jim Dale
Stories in Make Mine Music include:
Blue Bayou - using Debussy's "Clair de Lune" & featuring animation originally intended for Fantasia
All the Cats Join In - a jazz interlude featuring the sounds of Benny Goodman and his orchestra
Without You - a ballad sung by Andy Russell
Casey at the Bat - featuring Jerry Colonna reciting the famous baseball poem
Two Silhouettes - 2 live-action ballet dancers, David Lichine and Tania Riabouchinskaya, moving in silhouette with animated backgrounds and characters & featuring the vocals of Dinah Shore
Peter and the Wolf - Sterling Holloway narrates an adaptation of Prokofiev's composition about a little boy who goes hunting for a wolf
After You've Gone - once again features Benny Goodman and his orchestra
Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet - the romantic story of 2 hats who fall in love in a department store window
The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met - about a Sperm Whale with incredible musical talent who dreams of singing Grand Opera
2009:
Kouzzina by Cat Cora, a restaurant serving Mediteranean-style cuisine, opens at the former site of Spoodles on the Boardwalk at WDW.
Disney Legend Virginia Davis, Walt Disney's first human star and the original Alice
of his Alice Comedies, dies at age 90. As a child, Davis appeared in the first 13 titles of Disney's
Alice Comedies series - an innovative blend of live action and animation. Born Virginia Margaret Davis in Kansas
City, Missouri on New Year's Eve 1918, she later earned a degree from the New York School of Interior Design
and became a decorating editor for the popular 1950s magazine Living for Young Homemakers. In 1963, she
began a successful career in the real estate industry in Connecticut and later, Southern California. Over the
years, Davis remained in contact with the Walt Disney Company, and was often a special guest at such events as
the annual Disneyana Conventions held at either Disneyland or Walt Disney World.
"To be part of all that majesty and animation history is just heartwarming for me and I really feel privileged to have been part of
it. It makes me think that perhaps I did accomplish something that is indeed a part of Walt Disney's history." -Virginia Davis
2008:
The town of White River, Ontario hold their annual 3-day Winnie's Hometown Festival
in honor of the real-life bear who A. A. Milne made famous.
"I am Merlin, adviser to King Arthur and right now it is my job to discover which one among you is qualified to be
temporary royal ruler. Since the responsibilities are so great, I will be selecting several people throughout the day to
share these burdens of leadership. So, have no fear! If you get selected, it is just a part time job."
Uncle Walt packs his new park with the stuff children's dreams are made on
2010:
Disney Legend Harrison "Buzz" Price, one of Walt Disney’s trusted advisers, passes away at age 89. Price worked on more than 3,000 economic feasibility studies for Disney, as well as Universal Studios, Knott’s Berry Farm, SeaWorld, Six Flags, and eight World’s Fairs. His background in business and engineering gave him the foundation to help theme park moguls make real world decisions. In 1953,
Walt and Roy O. Disney asked Price to find the best location for Disneyland.
"Buzz Price was as much responsible for the success of the Walt Disney Company as anybody except Walt Disney himself." -Michael Eisner
1941:
Walt and members of his staff depart Miami Beach, Florida on their way to Brazil to begin their extended goodwill tour of South America. As it will be a two-day flight, with a stop in Belém (a city in the northern part of Brazil) on the 16th, the group won't arrive in Rio de Janeiro until the 17th.
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2011:
Walt Disney World's classic Adventureland attraction, Walt Disney's Enchanted
Tiki Room officially reopens. A virtually identical copy of the show, called Tropical Serenade, it was
installed at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom when that park opened in 1971. Although accompanied by a
new pre-show, the main show was the same. Tropical Serenade was replaced in 1998 with The Enchanted
Tiki Room (Under New Management), featuring Iago and Zazu from Aladdin and The Lion King. On January
12, 2011, a small fire broke out in the attic of the attraction severely damaging the Iago audio-animatronic figure.
Closed for repairs and improvements since then, Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room now features a state of the
art show-control system, remastered audio, and a new versatile and energy efficient lighting system.
