Corny jokes, Kurt Russell singing “Sugar, Sugar”, and The Osmonds’ singing of the 1970s staple “The Age of Aquarius.” Not only did viewers tune in and see some of the biggest stars in the world singing, they also were treated to a full 20 minutes of footage from the just-opened Haunted Mansion attraction, featuring cameos …
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On this day in 1969, Dexter Riley was introduced to the world, a character played by Kurt Russell. In The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, Dexter attempts to fix an early 1960s computer, but he gets an electric shock which essentially turns his brain into a computer. Kurt’s version of Dexter returned for two additional Disney …
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It was on this day in 1969 that Haunted Mansion, one of the most beloved attractions at Disneyland, finally opened its creaking doors. Construction on the Mansion had begun seven years before, but work ceased on the project when Walt and his Imagineers were forced to turn their attentions to the 1964 World’s Fair. After …
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In 1969, Disneyland faced the future with great optimism when the new Tomorrowland debuted, bringing the land completely up to date and into tomorrow. Now guests could visit new and updated attractions including Carousel of Progress, Adventure Thru Inner Space, People Mover, Rocket Jets, and Circle-Vision featuring the new America the Beautiful. Guests could also …
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President Nixon presented Lillian Disney and members of the Disney family with a special honor, the Walt Disney Commemorative Medal. In his remarks, President Nixon stated, “Many ceremonies are held in this White House, but none that I think will have more meaning to all of us, young and old, than this one today, because …
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To pick what model car would be the star of this project—then titled Car-Boy-Girl — producer Bill Walsh parked several small cars in front of the commissary on the Walt Disney Studio Lot and watched employees’ reactions. When he noticed that many of them fondly patted the VW Beetle, a star—and The Love Bug—was born!
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Today marks the anniversary of “Windsday.” That’s the day when Winnie the Pooh and the gang encountered a very blustery day in Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day. The featurette made its debut in theaters with The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit on this day in 1968, and this second Pooh featurette introduced …
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The Horse in the Gray Flannel raced into theaters on this day in 1968, telling the story of a troubled ad exec (Dean Jones) who desperately needs to come up with a successful ad campaign to promote Aspercel, an indigestion remedy. Using a little horse sense, he gets his firm to purchase a horse, who …
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It was on this day in 1968 that It’s Tough to Be a Bird landed in theaters for the first time. With a story by the zany Disney animator Ward Kimball, who also directed the film, this mostly animated featurette takes a humorous-yet-educational look at the history of birds. One standout segment features narrated live-action …
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“Happy 40th, MICKEY.” This was the title of an article that appeared in Life Magazine on this day in 1968. It told of Mickey’s successes in his first 40 decades, including “character roles in over 140 movies, as well as personal appearances on at least 5,000 different products, 400 funny-paper strips with a mass circulation of …
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