1949:
Actor/writer Dave Thomas - the voice of Tuke in Disney's Brother Bear and Brother Bear II - is born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
(Comedy fans will remember him from Second City TV.)
1958:
Actress Judy Kuhn - the singing voice of Pocahontas in Pocahontas
and Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World - is born in New York City.
1960:
Actor Tony Goldwyn - the voice of Tarzan for Tarzan and Tarzan Untamed - is born in Los Angeles, California.
1973:
Disney World's Tom Sawyer Island, the Tom Sawyer Rafts and the Plaza Swan
Boats all first open at the Magic Kingdom. The Swan Boats are powered by
natural gas engines, and are designed to run with an electric guidance system.
(Unfortunately the system will fail early in the attraction's life span and give way
to a new steering mechanism - two jets of water below the hull (one in front,
one in back) that can swivel 360 degrees and move the boat in any direction.
1994:
Disney's Aladdin: The Return of Jafar is released direct-to-video. It features the voices of Jason Alexander, Dan Castellaneta as the Genie, Jim Cummings, and Gilbert Gottfried returning as the voice of Iago.
1996:
Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf, located between the Walt Disney World Dolphin and Walt Disney World Swan hotels, opens.
1999:
Disneyland hosts the official homecoming of Army Staff Sergeant Andrew Ramirez, Staff Sergeant Christopher Stone, and Specialist Steven Gonzales. It is the first time the three U.S. soldiers, who had been captured by Serbian forces on March 31, stand on American soil since their release from captivity.
2000:
The Disneyland Pirates of the Caribbean Celebration is held inside the Main Street Opera House, to celebrate the 33rd anniversary of one of the most popular rides at the park. Special guests include Harriett Burns, the very first woman hired as an Imagineer.
2003:
Disney's 1977 animated feature The Rescuers is released on DVD. (The film was one of the last Disney classics to be animated by members of Walt Disney's "Nine Old Men.")
Also released is Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Special Edition DVD (with rare bonus features) and the direct-to-video  Atlantis: Milo's Return.
2005:
The first of four Star Wars Weekends takes place at Walt Disney World's
Disney-MGM Studios theme park.

The Wonderful World of Disney airs "The Muppets' Wizard of Oz"
on ABC-TV.

The U.S. Postal Service issues a 37-cent stamp featuring Frank Gehry's Walt
Disney Hall (the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic). The stamp is part of a
series titled "Masterworks of Modern Architecture."

Marie Johnston, the wife of legendary Disney animator Ollie Johnston,
passes away from complications due to pneumonia, at her home in
Flintridge, California. She is 87. Marie worked in the ink and paint
departments at both Warner Bros. and Disney (from 1940-41). It was at the
Disney lot that she first met Ollie!

Rolie Polie Olie is awarded Outstanding Special Class Animated Program at the 32nd Daytime Emmy Awards (held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City).
2006:
Life size models of Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) and Sally Carrera (voiced by Bonnie Hunt), from the new animated feature Cars, begin a 2-day exhibit at Downtown Disney West Side in Florida. The film’s sheet metal counterparts were created specifically for the tour by famed movie car creator and customizer Eddie Paul.
MAY 20
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1913:
William Redington Hewlett, an electrical engineer who co-founded the Hewlett-Packard Company, is born in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 1939, he will form a partnership known as Hewlett-Packard Company with David Packard, a friend and college classmate. HP's first product will be an audio oscillator (an electronic test instrument used by sound engineers) based on a design developed by Hewlett. Eight will be sold to Walt Disney to develop and test an innovative sound system for the feature Fantasia.
Instead of Disney's California Adventure, Disney considered building DisneySea -
a contrasting park to Disneyland, to be built in Long Beach next to the RMS Queen Mary (which Disney at the time owned). The park was to have led to a permanent West Coast ship in the
Disney Cruise Line.
MAY 20
1963:
Walt Disney visits St. Louis to tour the Gateway Arch area (which has been under construction since February). He discusses the proposed Riverfront Square with James P. Hickok (president of Civic Center Redevelopment Corporation). Disney has been invited to participate in the development of the Missouri tourist attraction.
1982:
Actress Sierra Boggess, the original Ariel for Disney's Broadway musical The Little Mermaid, is born in Denver, Colorado.
MAY
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2008:
The Walt Disney Company announces that it will contribute $1 million in humanitarian aid to the victims of the recent earthquake in China. The donation will be put towards acquiring materials for immediate relief efforts, helping and supporting displaced and distressed children and rebuilding damaged schools. In addition, Hong Kong Disneyland Cast Members, as well as Disney’s China, Hong Kong and Taiwan-based employees, have made individual monetary contributions.