This Week in Disney History (October 19-25)



1880: Actor Scotty Mattraw (Bashful in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Town Crier in Babes in Toyland) is born in Evans Mills, New York.
1901: Composer, and Disney Legend, Frank Churchill (Peter Pan, Dumbo, Bambi, “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?”, “Whistle While You Work”, “Some Day My Prince Will Come”) is born in Rumford, Maine. 
1904: Animator Vladimir “Bill” Tytla (Grumpy in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Stromboli in Pinocchio, the old magician in Fantasia’s ”The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”) is born in Yonkers, New York.
1908: Mechanical Engineer, Imagineer, and Disney Legend, Roger E. Broggie (helped with the Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad, the Monorail, and the Matterhorn) is born in Pittsfiled, Massachusetts.
1911: Artist, and Disney LegendMary Blair (Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, the it’s a small world attraction) is born Mary Browne Robinson in McAlester, Oklahoma.
1922: Actor John Anderson (voice of Mark Twain and Franklin D. Roosevelt in Epcot’s American Adventure) is born in Clayton, Illinois.
1924: Actor Billy Barty (original voice of Figment in EPCOT’s Journey into Imagination, Baitmouse in The Rescuers Down Under) is born in Millsboro, Pennsylvania.
1935: Actor Jerry Orbach (Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast) is born in The Bronx, New York.
1941: Disney’s 4th animated feature, Dumbo, is released by RKO Pictures.
1942: Actress, Singer, and Disney Legend, Annette Funicello (The Mickey Mouse Club, The Shaggy Dog, Babes in Toyland, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, The Monkey’s Uncle) is born in Utica, New York.
1957: Actress Nancy Cartwright (Kim Possible, Goof Troop, Timon and Pumbaa, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?) is born in Dayton, Ohio.
1964: The Ayefour Corporation (I-4, get it?), one of Disney’s pseudo-companies, purchases the first five-acre lot for the Florida project.
1965: Since most of the land for Disney’s new Florida project has been bought, the news is leaked to the Orlando Sentinel.
1969: WED Enterprises and the Florida Citrus Commission sign a contract for the FCC to sponsor a future Magic Kingdom attraction (Tropical Serenade). This contract also allowed WED Enterprises to come up with the Orange Bird character as a spokesman for the FCC.
1971: In Disney World’s Seven Seas Lagoon, the Electrical Water Pageant debuts for the official grand opening of both the Polynesian Village Resort and Contemporary Resort’s grand opening.
1971: In Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, the Fantasy in the Sky Spectacular, its first fireworks display, debuts.
1971: The formal dedication of Walt Disney World takes place with Roy Disney officiating.
1982: In EPCOT Center’s World Showcase, the first evening show, Carnival de Lumiere, debuts.
1983: Singer Adrienne Bailon, a member of Disney’s The Cheetah Girls, is born in New York.
1989: In EPCOT’s Wonders of Life pavilion, Body Wars, Cranium Command, and the film Goofy About Health all debut.
1994: Disney’s animated series Gargoyles premieres on TV.
1997: The Disney Channel hosts The Jim Henson Company‘s latest project: Bear in the Big Blue House.
1998: Disney Channel premieres The Famous Jett Jackson.
2000: In Walt Disney World’s Liberty Square, the Haunted Mansion receives its first FASTPASS booths.
2001: The Walt Disney Company officially acquires Fox Family Worldwide, Inc., from the Haim Saban and Fox Broadcasting Company for $5.2 billion, causing the Fox Family Channel to turn into the ABC Family Channel.
2005: Hurricane Wilma forces the Walt Disney World Resort to close.
2008: The Blue Sky Cellar (a preview center for the changes coming to DCA) opens at Disney’s California Adventure
2008: At Disney World’s Magic Kingdom’s Mickey’s Toontown Fair, Pixie Hollow, featuring Tinkerbell and her friends, opens to the public.

Information and Links

More information about this post, categories and links for you to use if you want to share this story.


Other Posts

Subscribe to the Podcast


Write a Comment

Take a moment to comment and tell us what you think. Some basic HTML is allowed for formatting.

Reader Comments

Be the first to leave a comment!