1998:
Disney and Chevron announce a partnership to makeover one of Disneyland's original attractions, the Autopia. The updated attraction will feature a new queue, a new track and three new car styles. The current colorful Chevrolet Corvette Stingray-style cars will be replaced by three different kinds of cars - Dusty, an off-road style car; Sparky, a sports car; and Suzy, a Volkswagen Beetle-style car. (The new Autopia will be unveiled in February 2000.)
1947:
Actor Richard Dreyfuss, the voice of the Centipede in Disney's 1996 James and the
Giant Peach, is born in Brooklyn, New York. In 1995 he starred in Mr. Holland's Opus (distributed
by Disney's Hollywood Pictures) playing a musician who takes a teaching job at a high school to pay the rent while
trying to compose one memorable piece of music that could make him famous. Dreyfuss later played an egotistical
psychiatrist in the Touchstone Pictures comedy What About Bob?, co-starring Bill Murray. (An Academy Award-winner, Dreyfuss has starred in such classics as American Graffiti, Jaws, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.)
"Walt Disney always believed in the beauty and natural wonders of the world. But he felt as we passed through that we should try to add a little wonder and beauty to it. Maybe you'll understand that Walt's dream was just a beginning. The dream doesn't stop here. This is the start of it. I think you'll want to tell your grandchildren you were there when it happened."
-Bob Hope on NBC's The Grand Opening of Walt Disney World
1966:
Walt Disney receives the American Forestry Association award for "outstanding service in conservation in American resources."
(The oldest national nonprofit conservation organization in the United States, the American Forestry Association was formed in Chicago, Illinois in September 1875.)
1971:
A 90-minute NBC-TV special, The Grand Opening of Walt Disney World, shows the park to approximately 52 million people in the U.S. The celebrity-filled look at the new resort (filmed during WDW's 3-day grand opening on Oct. 23, 24 & 25) includes appearances by Julie Andrews, Glen Campbell, Buddy Hackett, Jonathan Winters, and Bob Hope.
"It's really two buildings leaning against each other. And I want to congratulate the architect ... Dean Martin. I have a lovely room with complete privacy, except in the bathtub which Donald Duck shares with me. Have you ever tried bathing with a duck who was playing with his rubber man? I ordered lunch from room service. Snow White brought it in and I was afraid to eat the apple. I don't dare drink the water because that was delivered by Pluto."
- Bob Hope on the Contemporary Hotel
1979:
Walt Disney World welcomes its 100-millionth guest!
1993:
Tim Burton's animated fantasy, The Nightmare Before Christmas, debuts in U.S. theaters. Released by Touchstone Pictures, it features the voices of Danny Elfman (who also scored the music), Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, and Paul Reubens. The story of Jack Skellington, a being from "Halloween Town" who opens a portal to "Christmas Town," the idea for the film started as a poem Burton wrote while working as an animator at Disney in the early 1980s.
(Nightmare will inspired video game spin-offs, including Oogie's Revenge and The Pumpkin King.)
The Disneyland Line (a publication for Disneyland Cast Members) features an article titled "The Tale of The Haunted Mansion." It recalls the history of the popular attraction.
2001:
The Orlando Sentinel reports that the "Carousel of Progress is now shuttered." Although
there isn't a 'closed' sign on the futuristic building, the attraction has been taken off Magic Kingdom guide maps and
the daily bulletin board on Main Street. (It will reopen soon afterwards on a seasonal basis.)
2002:
Sherry Anderson replaces Mary Stout as Madame de la Grande
Bouche in Disney's Beauty and the Beast Broadway show. (She
starred as Madame in the national tour of the Disney classic.)
The Disneyland Resort and the City of Anaheim, California team up to
celebrate the Anaheim Angels clinching the World Series. The festivities
kick off at Disneyland at 10 a.m. with an Anaheim Angels Hometown Heroes Welcome
Cavalcade down Main Street.
Pixar animator Glenn McQueen, who helped create some of Pixar's most well-known characters such as Woody in Toy Story and Boo in Monsters, Inc., passes away at age 41 in California. Also the supervising animator for A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, and Monsters, Inc., Pixar's next feature Finding Nemo will be dedicated to him. The main character in Cars, Lightning McQueen, will be named in his honor.
Disney's Lyric Street releases Melt, the second album from the American country music group Rascal Flatts. (It will sell over sold 3,000,000 copies in the U.S.)
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In one of the Haunted Mansion's early drafts, Walt Disney himself recorded the narration for the attraction. It was eventually scrapped
for the Ghost Host
version.
2007:
"Welcome: Portraits of America," a multimedia presentation created by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts debuts simultaneously at George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport. The seven-minute presentation, aimed at welcoming international travelers to the United States, is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of State.
At the Lloyd Center mall in Portland, Oregon, John Lasseter and his Pixar crew hold a test-audience screening for their next release, Wall-E.
Members and friends of the longest running stage show in history the
"Golden Horseshoe Revue," reunite at the Walt Disney Studios to honor Disney Legend Fulton Burley. Burley, an Irish tenor who for 25 years starred in Disneyland's "Golden Horseshoe Revue," passed away last May.
2005:
Actress/singer Laura Michelle Kelly leaves the West End production of Mary Poppins after more than 400 performances as Mary. Originating the
role since the show's London premiere in December 2004, she will be succeeded by Scarlett
Strallen. Kelly (whose West End musical credits also include Beauty and the Beast) will later
play the role of Mary Poppins on Broadway, ironically taking over the role in October 2009
from .... Scarlet Strallen!
OCTOBER 29
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THIS DAY MADE IN THE USA
OCTOBER 29
R.I.P., good friend Gordon. Now you've crossed the river Jordan.
The Nightmare Before Christmas debuts
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Grand Opening of WDW airs on TV
Haunted Mansion tribute to Gordon Williams - one of the audio designers for the attraction, as well as resident Audio-Animatronics expert
The special is presented exclusively by
Eastern Airlines: the people to call for travel to Walt Disney World; GAF: the official film
of Disneyland and Walt Disney World,
and U.S. Steel: In countless ways that
contribute to a better life,
we're involved.
"Walt Disney World is the culmination of a lifetime devoted to bringing joy and excitement and laughter to children and adults in America and throughout the world ... there is a spirit here everywhere. All of this is Walt -- this is what Walt wanted for all of us: an escape from our aspirin existence into a land of sparkles and lights and rainbows." -Bob Hope
2010:
The Disneyland Resort marks a milestone in the expansion of Disney California Adventure, by erecting the top peak of Cars Land. Construction workers hoist a 43-foot-long beam onto a structure that will become a mountain-like range during a "topping out" ceremony. The traditional event (an ancient Viking custom) is held by construction workers when the top piece of steel is installed on the frame of a building. (The 12-acre Cars Land, set to open in 2012, is the largest portion of Disney’s $1-billion expansion of the theme park.)
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R.I.P.
Wee
G. Bord
R.I.P.
Manny Festation
