1994:
Thanksgiving Day
At Epcot Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, a multi-media 3-D movie
experience, has an official opening. Already running for the last few days, it replaces Captain EO
at the Journey into Imagination pavilion.
1826:
Journalist Carlo Lorenzini, better known as Carlo Collodi, Italian author of
The Adventures of Pinocchio, is born in Florence, Tuscany (today known as Italy).
2005:
Thanksgiving Day
Mickey Mouse and friends take to the streets of Broadway spreading holiday cheer to
millions, as Walt Disney World Resort joins the 79th Annual Macy's
Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. LeAnn Rimes and Disney characters ride aboard the
"S.S. Celebration" Showboat float, a replica of the riverboats of yesteryear. At 33 feet tall, the Showboat is the
largest vessel to ever float down the parade route! New balloons debuting in this year's parade include Mr. Potato
Head. A vintage toy first introduced in 1952, Mr. Potato Head's popularity has risen due to his appearances in the
Toy Story films.
1941:
After suffering a strike and declining revenue because of the war in Europe, Walt Disney's studio is in trouble. Disney animator Ward Kimball notes in his diary for this day: "100 layoffs announced. Studio personnel from 1600 down to 300. Geez, Is this the writing on the wall?" (Disney will save itself by doing defense films for the army & with the post-war release of Cinderella - be back on top.)
1942:
Actor-comedian-musician Billy Connolly, the voice of Ben in Disney's 1995
release Pocahontas, is born in Scotland. He also played the role of Billy Bones in the 1996 Muppet Treasure Island.
1950:
The Disney cartoon Morris, the Midget Moose, directed by Jack Hannah, is released.
1954:
The Disneyland television series airs its 5th episode on ABC with an edited
version of the 1949 movie "So Dear To My Heart," starring Burl Ives.
1955:
Thanksgiving Day
The Mickey Mouse Club Circus attraction opens at Disneyland the same
day the Mickey Mouse Club airs on ABC-TV. Today's theme ... is appropriately
Circus Day! The Mickey Mouse Club Circus attraction (which will run through early January) is
held under a huge striped tent and features live performances from Professor Keller and His
Feline Fantastics, Serenado the Wonder Horse, Bob-O the Disneyland clown and of course TV's Mouseketeers!
Also at Disneyland, the park debuts its "Christmas at Disneyland Festival" (which will run through early January 1956). The event includes the very first holiday parade to be staged at Disneyland. The procession is led by Walt Disney and Fess Parker (donning his Davy Crockett garb) and features high school marching bands and various traditional holiday elements, such as the "wise men" and live animals, including camels, a llama and even an ostrich.
1968:
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color airs
part 1 of "The Treasure of San Bosco Reef."
1971:
The creator of This Day in Disney History takes his very first trip to Walt Disney World - which includes a stay at the Contemporary Resort Hotel.
2000:
Disney's feature film 102 Dalmatians is generally released.
2003:
The Orlando Sentinel reports that Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa's Victoria & Albert's has been named
Central Florida's only AAA five-diamond restaurant.
2004:
The Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights returns to
Disney-MGM Studios for the 2004 holiday season.
2006:
Epcot's annual Holidays Around the World kicks off in Florida.
 | ||||
1956:
The second 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.
Pinocchio is Italian for "pine
eye." Pino means pine,
and occhio means eye.
1999:
At Epcot, The Global Neighborhood - Spaceship Earth's post show - is replaced with The New Global Neighborhood.
Toy Story 2, the third Disney/Pixar feature film, and the
sequel to Toy Story, is released in U.S. theaters. The film features most of the original characters and voices from the first film, including Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, Annie Potts, John Ratzenberger, Joe Ranft, John Morris, and Laurie Metcalf. Toy Story 2 also debuts new characters voiced by Jodi Benson, Joan Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Estelle Harris, and Wayne Knight. (Not originally intended for release in theaters, Disney had asked Pixar to make a direct-to-video sequel for the original Toy Story with a 60 minute running time. But when Disney executives saw how impressive the in-work imagery for the sequel was, they decided to create a theatrical movie!)
1888:
Actress Cathleen Nesbitt is born Cheshire, England. Fans of Disney's 1961
The Parent Trap will recognize her as Louise McKendrick.
2007:
Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Rob Thomas poses with Santa Goofy on Santa's Sleigh at the Magic Kingdom in Florida. Thomas, a solo artist and lead singer of the multi-platinum-selling rock/pop group Matchbox Twenty, is on vacation with his family at Disney World.
1784:
Zachary Taylor, the twelfth United States President, is born in a log cabin in Montebello, near Barboursville in Orange County, Virginia. Sadly he will die in office from cholera morbus in 1850. Visit Taylor and all the U.S. Chief Executives at Disney World's The Hall of Presidents.
| ||||||
1990:
English novelist and playwright Dorothy Gladys "Dodie" Smith passes away at age 94. Smith is best known for her 1956 novel "The Hundred and One Dalmatians" which was adapted into the Disney animated film One Hundred and One Dalmatians. The story was inspired by her very own Dalmatian named Pongo!
advertisement
NOVEMBER 24
THIS DAY MADE
IN THE
USA
NOVEMBER 24
N
O
V
| ||||
| ||||
Honey, I Shrunk the Audience opens
| ||||
Fancy the happiness of Pinocchio on finding himself free! Without saying yes or no, he fled from the city and set out on the road that was to take him back to the house of the lovely Fairy.
-from Collodi's "The Adventures of Pinocchio"
102 Dalmatians released
| ||||
Writer Carlo Collodi originally had
not intended his novel as children's
literature, for in the original
version ... Pinocchio dies a
gruesome death! He later added
the part in which the Fairy with
Turquoise Hair (or "Blue Fairy" as
the Disney version names her)
rescues Pinocchio and transforms
him into a real boy.
"For more than half a century, during which kingdoms and empires have fallen, this Union
has stood unshaken. The patriots who formed it have long since descended to the grave; yet
still it remains, the proudest monument to their memory...." -Zachary Taylor
SEASON 1 EPISODE 5
2010:
Tangled, a 3D animated musical film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios,
is released to theaters. The 50th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, it is
largely based on the classic German fairy tale Rapunzel.
Hollywood couple Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas celebrate their tenth
wedding anniversary with a family trip (along with their children Dylan and Carys)
to Walt Disney World. The family poses for a photo with Mickey and Minnie at Epcot.
Disney's stage musical Beauty and the Beast celebrates 15 years in Japan with a
special curtain call in Tokyo at the Shiki Natsu Theatre.
THE TOYS ARE BACK!
2011:
Thanksgiving Day
The 85th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade takes place in New York City.
Disney’s balloon participants include Kermit the Frog, Sailor Mickey, and Buzz Lightyear. Disney
Channel's China Anne McClain (A.N.T. Farm) and Zendaya (Shake It Up!), both perform on various
floats. Musical numbers from the Broadway version of Sister Act and Disney's newest stage show
Newsies (which will open on Broadway next March) are featured. The parade's newest balloon
is a Tim Burton character (from next year's Frankenweenie) named B. (also known as B. Boy).
