The success of Disney’s 1966 featurette, Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, led to two additional featurettes — 1968’s Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day and 1974’s Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too. The bear of very little brains had never been in a feature-length movie until this day in 1977 with the …
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The New Mickey Mouse Club officially premiered starting on this day in 1977. Since Bobby, Annette, Karen, and Cubby were now grown up, Disney screened applications from 6,000 children and auditioned 550 of them before picking the dozen new Mouseketeers. According to former Disney Entertainment show writer/director/choreographer Larry Billman, the new Club first got its …
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On this day in 1976, the hour-long television special Christmas in Disneyland helped get television viewers into the Christmas spirit. The lovable actor Art Carney, best known for his 18-year role as Ed Norton on the classic series The Honeymooners, portrayed a Scrooge-like character who visits Disneyland with his two grandchildren. With Disneyland transformed into …
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The grand America on Parade premiered at Walt Disney World in 1975 and a week later at Disneyland. The bicentennial parade is most remembered for the oversized head costumes of historic Americans and for its very unique and unusual music. Audio production consultant Don Dorsey was quite involved in the unique soundtrack and told D23, …
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River Country, a relaxing oasis under Walt Disney World’s hot Florida sun, began dousing guests with filtered Florida lake water in 1976. Inspired by Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, this old-fashioned swimming hole included a host of natural swimming areas covered with mountainous manmade boulders. A number of water slide …
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One of the finest animators ever to work at Disney, Milt Kahl, who was born in 1909 and retired on this day 42 years after joining Disney in 1934, was known for his innate artistic brilliance… and volcanic temper. In his book Walt Disney: An American Original, author Bob Thomas explained how, during the early …
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Running from June 6, 1975 through September 6, 1976 America on Parade enjoyed the distinction of being the first parade produced simultaneously at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. A parade commemorating the American Bicentennial, this celebration of red, white, and blue milestones in U.S. history featured a kaleidoscopic color palette, amazing floats, and a …
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On the Fourth of July in 1975, The Apple Dumpling Gang was released to theaters, a rip-roarin’, hyde-tinglin’ funny flick that took a fictitious look at America’s old west. In addition to the great Bill Bixby and Susan Clark, the film starred Clay O’Brien, Brad Savage, and Stacy Manning as the lovable little orphans who …
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“The Edison Electric Institute, for America’s investor-owned electric companies, welcomes you aboard the WEDway PeopleMover. On this clean, quiet, electric powered ride of tomorrow, the PeopleMover will be your front row seat for a Grand Circle tour of Tomorrowland. Along the way on your mile-long journey, you’ll preview many attractions looking into the future and …
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America’s bicentennial kicked off a year early, when America on Parade skyrocketed onto the streets of Walt Disney World, and a week later, on this day in 1975, at Disneyland. The gala salute to the nation’s history, creations, contributions, and achievements was several years in the planning and included many innovative live production techniques. Most …
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