By Beth Deitchman A “swinging safari that will amuse the young and old.” That was how Disney’s 1967 animated musical, The Jungle Book—the last animated feature to be personally supervised by Walt Disney—was described by Mrs. Reese Hale Taylor, president of the Los Angeles Zoo Association, in a letter inviting friends and zoo supporters to …
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By Greg Ehrbar When the Walt Disney Archives restored Walt’s office at the Walt Disney Studios earlier this year, they placed every available item just as Walt left it 1966 (thanks to Dave Smith’s meticulous documentation). In his private office, on a shelf to what would be Walt’s right, is a selection of vinyl LP …
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By Greg Ehrbar Aglow with idyllic charm suggesting the “Shipoopi” bandstand in The Music Man, Carnation Plaza Gardens brought a variety of joyous entertainment to Disneyland park beginning in 1956. We asked Tim O’Day about the beloved location, since he was a Stage Manager there as a young Cast Member, as well as a PR …
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By Max Lark With Pete’s Dragon charming audiences and critics in theaters, we Disney fans can’t help but be reminded of the 1977 film of the same name. Although the new film portrays a completely different adventure, it shares the central premise of the earlier film—telling the unforgettable story of an orphaned boy named Pete …
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By Jim Frye Disney’s reimagined Pete’s Dragon, from director David Lowery, hits theaters tomorrow. It stars Bryce Dallas Howard, Karl Urban, newcomer Oakes Fegley and screen legend Robert Redford in an all-new original story about an orphaned boy who befriends a lovable dragon. D23 caught up with Lowery to discuss his new film. D23: Is …
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By Nicole Nalty On August 6, 1961, guests began to fly into the future with Walt Disney’s latest attraction, the Flying Saucers. Bringing life to a relatively quiet Tomorrowland, the Flying Saucers were the bumper cars of the future—the saucers hovered above the ground thanks to bursts of air shooting through the attraction’s floor. While …
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By D23 Team It’s hard to believe that more than three decades have passed since comic book artist Woody Wilkins (played by actor Michael Crawford) became his own super hero creation and journeyed across Europe and the Middle East in a series of comic and high-speed chases. Condorman, released in the United States on August …
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By Beth Deitchman Since 1965, when Walt Disney himself selected the first Disney Ambassador—Julie Reihm Casaletto, who was inducted as a Disney Legend at D23 Expo 2015—these “Emissaries of Goodwill” have acted as official hosts to Resort guests and are frequently official spokespeople for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. For someone who loves Disney, it …
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By William Keck One of the greatest challenges facing the creative team behind Beauty and the Beast was convincing their audience that a lovely young French maiden with her head buried in books could fall in love with a monstrous buffalo-headed creature sporting a lion’s mane, wolf’s tail and the tusks of a boar. Not …
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By D23 Team From the moment we first watched the shy and clumsy Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) discover her connection to the Genovian throne in The Princess Diaries (2001), we knew she was a real-life princess we could all identify with—complete with pore strip, retainer, and out-of-control hair. (All right, fans, we know “Catch a …
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