2005:
At Tokyo DisneySea, Raging Spirits (a high-speed roller coaster) begins operation. Located in the Lost River Delta section of the park, the attraction takes riders through the ruins of an ancient ceremonial site.
1924:
Veteran actor Don Knotts is born Jesse Donald Knotts
in Morgantown, West Virginia. His live-action Disney credits include the
1975 The Apple Dumpling Gang, the 1977 Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, the 1978 Hot Lead and Cold Feet, and the
1979 The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again. Knotts also supplied voices for the animated 101 Dalmatians: The
Series, was the voice of Mayor Turkey Lurkey in the animated 2005 Chicken Little and supplied the voice for Sniffer for the 2006 live-action Air Buddies. In February 1972 he hosted an episode of The Mouse Factory. (TV fans will remember him best for his Emmy Award winning role of bumbling Deputy Barney Fife on the classic 1960s sitcom The Andy Griffith Show.)
1939:
Disney releases the Mickey Mouse short The Pointer, directed by Clyde Geronomi. Mickey tries to teach Pluto to be a quail hunting dog, but Pluto isn’t cut out for the pointing business. Many animation experts consider this short to be a milestone in the evolution of Mickey Mouse. Beautifully animated and realistic, it is a turning point in Mickey's appearance as he looks closer to his modern-day version. The addition of pupils to Mickey’s eyes help make his face more expressive (a look similar to his Fantasia appearance).
1943:
Mouseketeer Margene Storey - who joined The Mickey Mouse Club for
its second season in 1956 - is born in El Centro, California. She appeared
extensively in production numbers due to her ability to dance.
1952:
Comedian-actor Robin Williams, the voice of the Blue Genie of the Lamp in Disney's 1992 Aladdin and the voice of Timekeeper in the 1992 From Time to Time (which played in the Disney World attraction The Timekeeper) is born in Chicago, Illinois. His role as the Genie was instrumental in establishing the importance of star power in voice actor casting. Williams also starred in Disney's 1997 live-action feature Flubber and the 2009 comedy Old Dogs, the same year he was inducted as a Disney Legend.
1967:
Actor Basil Rathbone (known for his role of Sherlock Holmes) passes
away in New York City. His Disney voice credits include the 1986 The Great Mouse
Detective (in which an old sound bite was used) and the 1949 The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (as
the narrator of the "Wind in the Willows" segment).
1992:
The Boiler Room Barbecue, a restaurant at Tokyo Disneyland, opens for business.
1999:
Disney Wonder - the second of the Disney cruise ships - visits Southhampton, England on her delivery voyage from Italy (where she was built) to Florida. The vessel is 965 feet long and can hold a maximum of 3,325 passengers.
2002:
Herman's Hermits featuring Peter Noone begin a
2-day engagement at Disney's California Adventure.
The Country Bears, a live-action film produced by Walt Disney Pictures & based loosely on the Disney attraction Country Bear Jamboree, premieres.
2003:
An unfortunate accident occurs at Disney World's Animal Kingdom when a giraffe is struck and killed by lightning.
2006:
The Disney Channel Original Movie Read It and Weep, starring sisters Kay Panabaker and Danielle Panabaker, debuts.
Disneyland replaced individual ride tickets (in use since 1955) with its
new passports (single admission price to the park)
in 1982.
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2004:
The NFFC's 20th Anniversary Convention kicks off at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Garden Grove, California. The Club for Disney Enthusiasts, is an international, non-profit organization committed to preserving and sharing the rich legacy of Walt Disney.
Legendary film composer Jerry Goldsmith, whose Disney credits
include the animated feature Mulan and the theme park attraction
Soarin' Over California, passes away at 75 in Beverly Hills, California.
1951:
Tony Award-winning singer & actress Lillias White - the voice of Calliope, Muse of Epics in Disney's animated Hercules - is born in Brooklyn, New York.
2008:
Animator Charlie Downs (retired since 1992) passes away. He began his career in Disney's
Animation Department in 1950 as an inbetweener, breakdown artist, key rough artist and cleanup assistant to
several of Walt's "Nine Old Men" (such as Ward Kimball & Les Clark). Downs also worked as a staff animator on
many Disney features including Peter Pan and The Black Cauldron.
He later worked on such television cartoons as The Pink Panther, Casper, Scooby-Doo, and The Jetsons.
1986:
At a press conference on the Empress Lilly at Downtown Disney Marketplace in Florida, Disney CEO Michael Eisner announces plans for a new addition to be called Pleasure Island. (Construction will begin on Pleasure Island in August and officially open in May 1989.)
JULY
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1962:
Actor, producer, voice actor, and sound effects specialist Ike Eisenmann is born in Houston, Texas. As a child, his most recognized role was the character Tony in the Disney films Escape to Witch Mountain and its sequel Return from Witch Mountain. (As an adult, he appeared in the 2009 Race to Witch Mountain - playing a sheriff.) During the late 1970s Eisenmann also appeared in episodes of Disney's anthology series - most notably Shadow of Fear and Kit Carson and the Mountain
Men. His voice can be heard in Disney's 2002 The Hunchback of Notre Dame II.
Meet Me at Disneyland (a limited TV series broadcast live on KTTV directly from the Anaheim park) airs episode 7 "Fun in Frontierland." With the emphasis on Frontierland, the show opens with the Gonzalez Trio, who perform a series of lively dance numbers. Host Johnny Jacobs introduces the Villa Fontana Violinists from Mexico City, who play several Mexican folk songs. After Zorro vanquishes a foe on the rooftops, Jacob takes viewers aboard the Mine Train for an exciting ride through Rainbow Caverns and the Painted Desert. Guests include The June Rudell Quintet, Larry Verne and Brian Keith. Meet Me at Disneyland is designed to boost park attendance during the summer weeknights.
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Pleasure Island project announced
"We did Disneyland, in the knowledge that most of the people I talked to thought it would be a
financial disaster - closed and forgotten within the first year." -Walt Disney
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1954:
Construction officially begins on Disneyland.
Amazingly it will be built in less than a year!
2009:
Here We Go Again the second studio album from Demi Lovato is released on Disney's Hollywood Records. It will debut at #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling 108,000 copies in its first week.
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1950:
The Disney short Pests of the West, directed by Charles Nichols, is released.
Pluto guards the chicken house from a hungry coyote named Bent-Tail ... and his even hungrier son!
2010:
Disney and Target announce a new fashion line of apparel and accessories called
"D-Signed," available only at Target stores nationwide and Target.com
beginning in August.
2011:
Walt Disney Imagineers and various crews working on the construction of Disney’s Art of Animation Resort hold a "topping out" ceremony at Walt Disney World. A tradition in the construction and engineering fields, it takes place when the highest piece of steel is placed on a building’s frame. Today's ceremony takes place atop a wing of the resort that will be themed after The Lion King. Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, which will bring to life famous Disney and Disney•Pixar films, is set to open in early Summer 2012.
