In The Shaggy Dog, Disney’s first live-action comedy and the first to star Disney Legend Fred MacMurray, young misfit teenager Wilby Daniels happens across a magic ring which leads to his transformation into a Bratislavian sheepdog. The Shaggy Dog set the formula Disney would follow for many years to come — kids, animals, transformative events, …

On this day in 1959, Walt Disney was replaced by a pair of rodents who took over as host of an episode of the Disneyland TV show, entitled The Adventures of Chip ‘n’ Dale. As hosts, Chip and Dale prove that they are not only “a great sensational corporation,” as their theme song states, but …

In “Duck Flies Coop”, an episode of the Disneyland television series which took to the air on this day in 1959, Donald Duck has it out with his boss, Walt Disney. Feeling overworked, that temperamental star decides to duck away for a vacation, vowing never to return. Walt decides to teach him a lesson, and …

While yesterday marked the anniversary of the release of Sleeping Beauty which showcased Tchaikovsky’s musical themes, today marks the anniversary of The Peter Tchaikovsky Story, an episode of the TV series Walt Disney Presents. Background information gathered during the making of Sleeping Beauty served as inspiration for this production which dramatizes the life of the …

On this day in 1959, Sleeping Beauty was awakened in theaters across the country. Based on the classic fairy tale, and including musical themes from Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet version of the story, the entire look of the film was different from any animated movie ever produced, partly because of a budget that exceeded $6 million …

It was on this first day of 1959 that Fantasyland Autopia first opened its highways to Disneyland guests. To steer us in the right direction for this topic, we turned to the man who was responsible for creating the attraction vehicles, Disney Legend Bob Gurr, who told us, “From Disneyland’s opening day, the Autopia in …

It was on this day in 1958 that Main Street, U.S.A. in Disneyland was first illuminated with choirs holding candles proceeding down to Town Square during the very first Candlelight Procession and Massed Choir Ceremony. The ceremony was conceived by Dr. Charles Hirt of the University of Southern California School of Music, who had been …

On this day in 1958, the Walt Disney Presents television series first aired From All of Us to All of You, predating the tradition of animated Christmas specials. The show was a compilation of both Christmas and other festive animated clips from Disney’s features, along with yuletide cartoon shorts. The episode would pop up in …

After a dozen photographers spent nearly three years in the white wilderness of the Arctic, a new True-Life Adventure was born. White Wilderness, released on this day in 1958, told the story of the animal inhabitants of Canada’s subarctic and Alaska’s arctic wilds. As was typical with the True-Life Adventures, White Wilderness and several other True-Life …

For many years, Tinker Bell has been known to fly high above Disneyland to light the fireworks, just as she had done so many times on Disney’s television series. On this day in 1958, circus performer “Tiny Kline” first dressed as Tinker Bell to perform a 1000 foot glide over a Los Angeles audience when …