2003:
Disneyland's 6-million gallon Rivers of America is drained, putting a stop to the boat cruises and cutting off access to Tom Sawyer Island. Although a 2,000-foot long, 8-foot tall blue fence surrounds the dried up area, park guests still peek through cracks to view the boats' underwater tracks. To entertain guests until the Rivers of America are refilled, Disney employees dressed as Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher re-enact the fence-painting scene from Mark Twain's classic novel "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer."
1939:
Disney publishes the first issue of The Bulletin - a studio employee newsletter.
1955:
Actor, writer & funnyman Rowan Atkinson, the voice of Zazu the hornbill in
Disney's animated feature The Lion King (and the star of the Mr. Bean British TV series) is born in Consett, County Durham, England.
1963:
The TV series Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color airs "Three Tall Tales."
1985:
The Hallmark Card Shop on Disneyland's Main Street closes.
It will re-open in March as Disney Clothiers LTD.
1997:
At Disneyland's New Orleans Square, the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction closes for its 30th Anniversary renovation. (It will reopen and be rededicated March 7, 1997.)
2002:
The 9th annual Walt Disney World Marathon kicks off. A record
field of 13,500 entrants take off for the Walt Disney World Marathon, while another 5,000 entrants take part for the
Walt Disney World Half Marathon. (Since 1994 the Disney World Marathon has been the quest of approximately
70,000 runners, walkers and wheelchair athletes from as near as Orlando, Florida, and as far as Osaka, Japan!)
 | ||||
2007:
The Walt Disney World Half Marathon is held. Jarrod Shoemaker and
Melissa White win the men's and women's divisions, respectively.
Bidding ends on the $250,000 Chicago house in which Walt Disney was
born in. The house located at 2156 N. Tripp fails to sell on ebay
(although one bid is reported) after 30 days.
| ||||
JAN
Disney World's Country Bear
Jamboree was originally
designed for Mineral King, an
alpine area resort in
California's Sierra Nevada
mountains. Mineral King was
never built, so the bears found
a home in Florida.
JANUARY 6
2008:
Today is the last day of existence for Disney-MGM
Studios in Florida. As of tomorrow, the Disney World
park will be called Disney's Hollywood Studios.
Today is also the closing date for Block Party Bash,
a hybrid stage show and parade running at Disney's California Adventure (since May 2005). It will be transferred to Disney's Hollywood Studios - replacing the Disney Stars and Motor Cars Parade.
advertisement
| ||||||
2009:
The newspaper article "They're Just Two Wild And Crazy Guys," by Susan Dunne appears in The Hartford Courant. It tells the story of the Barstow family from Connecticut who back in 1956 won a family trip to Disneyland. A home movie that Robbins Barstow made of that trip has been admitted into the National Film Registry, and a fleeting image in that movie turns out to be none other than actor/comedian Steve Martin, who worked at Disneyland for several years! Martin saw the film, recognized himself hawking guidebooks at his old post, and began a correspondence with Barstow.
"At age eleven I worked at Disneyland. I sold guidebooks at the park from 1956 to about 1958. I am as positive as one can be that I appear about 20:20 into your film, low in the frame, dressed in a top hat, vest, and striped pink shirt, moving from left to right, holding a guidebook out for sale." -Steve Martin
JANUARY 06
THIS DAY MADE
IN THE
USA
| ||||
| ||||
Actress Cheryl Holdridge, best known for having been a cast member of the original Mickey Mouse Club, passes away at age 64 in California. She auditioned for Disney's daily show in the spring of 1956, was hired, and joined the club's "Red Team" - the most visible and popular of the Mouseketeers. She went on to appear on such TV shows as Leave It to Beaver, My Three Sons, and Bewitched.
9th Annual WDW Marathon held
| ||||
"The secret of success if there is any, is liking what you do. I like my work better than my play. I play polo, when I have time, and I enjoy it, but it can't equal work!" -Walt Disney (1933)
"She'd walk into the room and this ray of sunshine would happen every time she smiled." -Mouseketeer Tommy Cole
2010:
The 36th annual People's Choice Awards are handed out in Los Angeles.
Favorite Family Movie is awarded to Disney'Pixar's Up (beating out Hannah Montana: The Movie, Ice Age:
Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, and Where the Wild Things Are).
Miley Cyrus wins Favorite Breakout Movie Actress (edging out Anna Kendrick, Emily Osment, Ginnifer
Goodwin, and Zoe Saldana). Johnny Depp is named Favorite Movie Actor of the Decade!
