On October 1, 1982, EPCOT Center (now known simply as Epcot) first invited the public to explore “this place of joy, hope and friendship,” as Disney chairman and CEO Card Walker would describe it in his dedication speech. Throughout the month, each of the pavilions in both Future World and World Showcase would have its …

In 1982, before laptops and DVDs, before multi-gigabyte hard drives and the World Wide Web, there came the silver screen computer world of Tron. Tron tells the story of Kevin Flynn, a brilliant young video game programmer for ENCOM, who discovers that Ed Dillinger, in an effort to boost his own career, has stolen Flynn’s …

On this day in 1982, TV audiences learned that Computers Are People, Too! At a time when PCs were far from common in most households, the show offered a look at how dancers, artists, and composers use computers to create or enhance their own craft (not by coincidence, the program coincided with the original release …

After appearing in Vaudeville and in films while under contract with MGM, Wally Boag came to Disneyland in 1955 to star in the Golden Horseshoe Revue and signed a two-week contract, or as his Horseshoe costar and friend Fulton Burley would quip, “Was it two week or too weak?” Twenty-seven years later, on this day …

In the 1950s, Walt Disney allowed Ice Capades to use stories, music, and costumes from Disney properties, but it wasn’t until this day in 1981 that Walt Disney’s World of Ice premiered, a joint effort between Disney and Feld Entertainment®, the largest provider of live family entertainment in the world, which put a new spin …

When The Fox and the Hound was released in 1981, it was a huge success, no bones about it. The film tells the, um, tale, of a most unlikely pair of pals, Tod the fox and Copper, a hound dog, who happen to be the best of friends. This was the first film to be …

Two and a half years before Tokyo Disneyland, the first international Disney theme park, opened, ground was broken in a very unique ceremony featuring members of Walt Disney Productions and the Oriental Land Company. The initial contract for the new park outlined that Walt Disney Productions would provide the design, master plan and technical advice …

Although the mine trains on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, which seem to have a mind of their own, had already been thrilling guests for a couple months after the attraction’s “soft” launch, Big Thunder had its official grand opening in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World on this day in 1980. Although Disney’s Imagineers …