2003:
Actor Robby Benson narrates Epcot's Candlelight Processional.
(Benson is the voice of the Beast for Disney's animated Beauty and the Beast.)
1861:
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (a.k.a. author Lewis Carroll) is ordained a deacon
in the Church of England. Dodgson has written many mathematical books,
as well as books for children such as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
1885:
Composer, radio commentator, and author Deems Taylor - the narrator of Disney's 1940 film Fantasia - is born in New York City. He was also instrumental in selecting the musical pieces that were used in the film. (A promoter of classical music throughout his life, working in broadcasting, and as intermission commentator for the New York Philharmonic, Taylor's work "The King's Henchman," was the first opera by an American composer to be broadcast on radio!)
1917:
a husband and wife aerialist team in Chicago, Illinois. Sci-fi fans know him as Robby the Robot
(one of two actors who played the mechanical being) in the 1956 Forbidden Planet.
1936:
Another Snow White conference is held at the Disney Studio's Hyperion sound
stage in California. Twenty-nine employees (mostly animators and animation directors) discuss the
dwarf's personalities and listen to Walt's detailed shot-by-shot description of the movie.
1937:
Animator Wolfgang "Woolie" Reitherman runs into Walt
Disney at the studio the morning after the wildly successful opening of
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Instead of talking about how he can now take a little rest after
all the tensions he'd gone through during the four years it took to make Snow White, Walt talks about the next
animated feature and how he wants to get started right away!
1954:
The Disneyland television series presents episode number 9 "A Present for Donald."
It is a re-edited version of The Three Caballeros in which Donald Duck and friends celebrate Christmas in Mexico.
1955:
Mickey Mouse Club airs on ABC-TV. Today is Circus Day.
Buena Vista Distribution releases the Disney produced feature The Littlest Outlaw.
Filmed entirely on location in Mexico (but in English) with a largely Mexican cast and crew, it is directed by Roberto
Gavaldón and written by Larry Lansburgh and Bill Walsh. The film tells the story of Little Pablito, the ten year old
son of a cruel horse trainer who is responsible for training a Mexican General's horse to jump for the grand race.
When the trainer's methods cause the horse to become afraid of jumping, the general orders the animal's death.
Pablito runs away with the horse ... thus becoming The Littlest Oulaw.
1963:
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color airs a re-edited version of the annual holiday episode "From All of Us to All of You."
1968:
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color airs "The Mickey Mouse Anniversary
Show," narrated by Dean Jones. The episode features Mickey's history from the time he appeared on
Walt Disney's drawing board to the days of the theme parks.
1995:
Writer, Imagineer and Disney Legend Bill Cottrell passes away in Burbank, California. Brother-in-law of Lillian & Walt Disney, Cottrell was the first president of what is today known as Walt Disney Imagineering. First working cameras at The Walt
Disney Studios in 1929, Cottrell eventually moved into the Story department where he contributed ideas to
shorts, including Who Killed Cock Robin? He went on to direct the wicked witch and evil queen sequences in
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and contribute to story on Pinocchio.
Walt Disney Pictures releases Tom and Huck. Based on Mark Twain's novel "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," the film stars Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Brad Renfro, Joey Stinson, and Rachael Leigh Cook.
Chef Mickey's opens at WDW's Contemporary Resort. A spot for character meals, the restaurant offers a buffet breakfast and a buffet dinner.
1956:
The sixth of eight installments titled "My Dad, Walt Disney," by Diane Disney Miller as told to Pete Martin (a "celebrity friendly" writer) appears in the Saturday Evening Post.
During the parades at Disney World, the second story windows on Main Street open and close automatically just before and after the parade to reveal the speakers that
play the parade music.
1953:
Disney's animated Peter Pan is released in West Germany.
DECEMBER 22
advertisement
THIS DAY MADE
IN THE
USA
DECEMBER 22
 | ||||
Season's
Greetings
| ||||
| ||||
1984:
Disneyland's Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln is updated to incorporate the latest innovations in Audio-Animatronics, technology and the inclusion of a new finale song - "Golden Dream." A new audio-animatronic Lincoln has been created with enhanced movements and facial expressions, new skin, a new costume, and even the ability
to hold a piece of paper in his hand for his speech!
| ||||
In Memory of Imagineer Bill Cottrell
DEC
"I learned early that a lot of talented people are often conforming to what is already being done. I’ve prowled around their offices at night, you know…and studied their work. I look for the things that will give me the key to their talent. The little things that they love to do on their own. Often, they hide their own ideas. They’re afraid not to conform." -Walt Disney
SEASON 1 EPISODE 9
1957:
The parade "Christmas in Many Lands" is held at Disneyland, featuring guests
performers from all over the world.
1982:
At 4:34 in the afternoon, all power to Disneyland (and Anaheim) is cut due to winds knocking over a northern California powerline.
1959:
Disneyland's largest Candlelight choir to ever sing at the park ushers in the holiday season. The choir is made up of 2,574 singers!
2007:
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Walt Disney Studios Park (the second theme park of Disneyland Paris) opens to guests.
1999:
Fantasia/2000 is shown at the Theatre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, France.
2000:
Touchstone Pictures' O Brother, Where Art Thou?, an adventure comedy film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, opens in theaters. Starring George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, and Charles Durning, the film tells the story of three escaped convicts who search for hidden treasure while being chased by a relentless lawman.
| ||||
2009:
At Disneyland approximately 500 tuba players take the stage in Downtown Disney to
perform Christmas carols for holiday shoppers.
| ||||
