The Partners bronze statue of
Walt and Mickey appear in Disney theme parks all over the world.
The STR symbol on Walt's tie
refers to Smoke Tree Ranch, a
place
in Palm
Springs,
California,
where he
had a
vacation
home.
2004:
Comcast announces that it has withdrawn its multi-billion dollar bid to
buy Walt Disney. (Comcast first announced its bid last February.)
1950:
Disney's animated Trailer Horn, featuring Donald Duck and Chip 'n' Dale, is
released. Donald Duck's peaceful day in the forest turns chaotic when the two chipmunks come across his house
trailer. Written by Roy Williams, Trailer Horn features the voices of Dessie Flynn, James Macdonald and Clarence Nash.
Comedian, actor, writer, producer, and late-night television host Jay Leno is born James Douglas Muir Leno in New Rochelle, New York. He voiced Jay Limo in the animated Cars (2006) and appeared as himself in the live-action Underdog (2007). Leno's Disney TV credits include Disneyland's Summer Vacation Party, an episode of Hannah Montana, and voicing Colonel Contraction in an episode of Phineas and Ferb. Starting in 2017, he has had the recurring role of Billy Beagle in the animated series Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures. (He is
best known as the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno which ran from 1992 to 2009.)
1983:
Total Abandon officially opens at the Booth Theatre in New York City (after 7
previews). The original stage production, starring Richard Dreyfuss, is funded by Walt
Disney Productions - a first for Disney. (Unfortunately it will close after just one performance.)
Musician Charles LaVere, the man who wrote the Golden Horseshoe Revue music, passes away in California. A jazz pianist, saxophonist, trombonist, cornetist, accordionist, singer, arranger
and composer, he played piano for the 'Golden Horseshoe Revue' at Disneyland (1955-1960).
1989:
The Disney Channel airs the 5th episode of MMC. Today is Hall of Fame Day!
A Typhoon Lagoon sneak preview takes place for members of the press.
(The new Disney World water park will open June 1.)
1991:
The Magical World of Disney airs the film "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids."
1995:
The ABC television sitcom Family Matters debuts part 1 of the episode
"We're Going to Disney World." Steve Urkel is a finalist in an Innoventions contest at Epcot
and the Winslow family is invited along for the trip.
The second annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival begins.
Hollywood Pictures releases the romantic comedy A Pyromaniac's Love Story.
A kind pastry boy becomes involved in an arson scandal when he is offered a bribe in exchange for taking
the blame for the fire that destroyed his workplace. The film stars John Leguizamo, Sadie Frost, William Baldwin, Erika Eleniak and Armin Mueller-Stahl.
1997:
The restaurant in Walt Disney World's Cinderella Castle is renamed
Cinderella's Royal Table. Although originally called King Stefan's Banquet
Hall - King Stefan was actually Sleeping Beauty's father ... not Cinderella's!
2000:
Colleagues and fans alike gather at the Motion Picture Academy of Arts
and Sciences' Samuel Goldwyn Theater to pay tribute to Disney Legend & animator Marc Davis, who passed away on January 12th.
Garden enthusiasts dig into a popular Walt Disney World spring
tradition by celebrating the power of the flower at the 7th annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival (running through June 11).
2001:
Disney's House of Mouse airs "Not So Goofy".
The Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register both report that Disneyland's Rocket Rods will never reopen. A high-speed thrill attraction in Tomorrowland, the ride, meant to evoke a futuristic rapid transit system, opened in 1998 on the existing PeopleMover infrastructure as part of the New Tomorrowland project. Plagued with technical problems, Rocket Rods last ran in September 2000.
2006:
Disney's California Food & Wine Weekends begin for the very first time at the
Anaheim park.
Fall Out Boy performs the first of a 2-night engagement at Disney World as part of
Disney's Grad Nite 2006.
The 33rd Daytime Emmy Awards (commemorating excellence in daytime programming
in 2005) are telecast on ABC. The 2005 Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade
wins the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Special Class Special.
"Grandmas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Play Favorites," the 6th episode of
Disney Channel's new series Hannah Montana, debuts.
Touchstone Pictures releases the teen comedy-drama Stick It, starring Jeff Bridges,
Missy Peregrym, and Vanessa Lengies. Peregrym play Haley, a rebellious 17-year-old, who is forced
to return to the regimented world of gymnastics after a run-in with the law. A judge sentences Haley to her ultimate
nightmare, attending an elite gymnastics academy run by legendary coach Burt Vickerman (played by Bridges).
The series finale of "Bear in the Big Blue House" airs. "This is Your Life, Bear" brings all of Woodland Valley back for one final hurrah where everybody thanks Bear for all the ways he's helped them over the years.
1949:
Actor Bruno Kirby is born in New York City. He appeared in Disney's 1973 live-
action comedy Superdad (playing the role of Stanley) and the 1987 Touchstone Pictures
comedy-drama Good Morning, Vietnam (as Lieutenant Steven Hauk). Film fans also know
Kirby from such classics as The Godfather Part II, City Slickers, and When Harry Met Sally.
2005:
It is announced that a fifth grade class from Tradewinds Elementary School in
Coconut Creek, Florida is the winner of the 2005 Jiminy Cricket
Environmentality Challenge! The 30 students arrived at Disney World the day
before, April 27 - and stayed overnight at Disney's Yacht Club Resort. That
evening a private party was held in their honor at Epcot.
"Did I do that?" -Steve Urkel
1758:
James Monroe, the fifth United States President, is born in
Westmoreland County, Virginia. The last president who was a Founding
Father of the United States, his administration was marked by many accomplishments,
including the acquisition of Florida in 1819. Visit Monroe and all the U.S. Chief Executives
at Disney World's The Hall of Presidents.
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APRIL 28
APRIL 28
THIS DAY MADE IN THE USA
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A
P
R
1930:
The Silly Symphony short Night, directed by Walt Disney, is released.
The ninth Silly Symphony, it is the first short after the departure of animator Ub Iwerks. Night depicts the musical nighttime frolics of owls, fireflies, frogs, and other inhabitants of an old mill pond. Released by Columbia Pictures, it features Beethoven's "Piano Sonata No. 14."
2009:
A new documentary The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story screens for the first
time at the Newport Beach Film Festival in California. (The film had premiered at the 2009 San Francisco Film Festival 4 days earlier.) The prolific songwriting team of brothers Richard
and Robert Sherman are responsible for countless songs heard in Disney theme parks and features. The film,
produced and directed by cousins Jeff and Greg Sherman (the sons of Richard & Robert) features interviews
with many of the Disney Legends that the songwriting team worked with over the years. The film will have a limited release on May 22, 2009 in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and Palm Springs.
1946:
Disney Studios runs an ad - "Walt Disney Needs Girl Artists Now!" in the Los Angeles Times.
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Disney wins Daytime Emmy
Flower & Garden Festival 2000
In April 2006 Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund gave five $100,000 donations to a variety of conservation causes. The five beneficiaries were Conservation Matters, Save the Elephants, Roots 'N Shoots, Andean Cat Alliance/Wildlife Conservation Network and
The Howard Gilman Foundation's Greenbelt Movement.
1939:
The Donald Duck short The Hockey Champ, directed by Jack King, is released.
Donald plays a game of hockey with his nephews.
Steady, interesting jobs for girls 18-30
1974:
Actress Penélope Cruz is born in Madrid, Spain. She portrayed Angelica in Disney's 2011
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
2012:
Mickey Mouse appears at Yankee Stadium to mark the official
welcome of the Disney Cruise Line to New York City. Disney
Cruise Line sponsors this day's game to celebrate it first-ever sailing out of New
York City. Disney’s sponsorship includes 100 tickets donated to the Boys and Girls
Club, while the first 10,000 guests receive branded, waterproof beach wallets.
Guests who cruise with DCL on its NYC itineraries will sail out of Manhattan aboard
the Disney Magic, the first ship in the DCL fleet.
2013:
Seven-time Grammy-winning country act Lady Antebellum gives a special performance
at Disneyland park to celebrate the May 7 release of their upcoming album, "Golden."
The special performance occurrs on the stage of the legendary Golden Horseshoe Saloon.
1948:
Actress Marcia Strassman is born in New York City. Disney fans know her as
Diane Szalinski in the 1989 feature film "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids," its sequel "Honey, I Blew Up the Kid" and
the 3-D film spin-off "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience!", which was shown at several Disney theme parks.
(She landed her best-known role as Julie Kotter in the ABC TV series "Welcome Back, Kotter" in 1975.)
2008:
It's a Small World opens in Hong Kong Disneyland. The Hong Kong Disneyland version of the
attraction is mostly modeled after the original Disneyland counterpart, using a canal for the boats to travel through instead of the open-ended water track found in the Magic Kingdom, Tokyo, and Paris versions. The attraction is
the largest indoor attraction at Hong Kong Disneyland.
2015:
The Legacy Collection: Lady and the Tramp is released as a two-disc album on Walt
Disney Records, to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the 1955 Lady and the Tramp.
The album includes the film's complete soundtrack, one demo recording, two "Lost Chords" recordings, and six bonus tracks. Walt Disney Records the Legacy Collection is a compilation album series produced and released by Walt
Disney Records. Lady and the Tramp is the 7th (of what will be 14) in the series.
Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), the film score for the Marvel Studios film Avengers: Age of Ultron by Brian Tyler and Danny Elfman, is released digitally by Disney's Hollywood Records.
1938:
Actress Madge Sinclair is born Madge Dorita Walters in Kingston, Jamaica. She voiced the character of Sarabi, Mufasa's wife and Simba's mother, in the 1994 animated feature film The Lion King.
1973:
Actor & comedian Jorge Garcia is born in Omaha, Nebraska. Probably best known for his portrayal of Hugo "Hurley" Reyes in the ABC television series Lost from 2004 to 2010, his Disney voice credits include episodes of Higglytown Heroes and Phineas and Ferb. Garcia also appeared in 3 episodes of ABC's Once Upon a Time.
1978:
Actor & musician Nate Richert is born in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He is best known for his seven-year role as Harvey Kinkle, the love interest and boyfriend of the title character on the live-action ABC television series Sabrina the Teenage Witch (opposite Melissa Joan Hart).
2011:
Fantasmic!, a nighttime show featuring fireworks, characters, live actors, water effects, pyrotechnics, lasers, music, audio-animatronics, searchlights, decorated boat floats, and mist screen projections, premieres at Tokyo DisneySea. It is the third (and final) Disney theme park in the world to offer the show. It will run through 2020.
2014:
Hawaiian slack key guitarist, recording artist, and music composer Dennis Kamakahi passes away at age 61 in Hawaii. In 2003, both Kamakahi and his son David became involved with the Walt Disney Studios to provide music for the animated film Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (released in August 2005) as well as the soundtrack. Kamakahi is a three-time Grammy Award winner, and in 2009 was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame.
1966:
Comic artist, writer and animator Jesse Marsh passes away at age 58 in California. Best known for his work on the early Tarzan books for Western Publishing (which included Dell Comics and later Gold Key Comics), he began his career at the Walt Disney Company in 1939. A self-taught artst, he worked on Make Mine Music and the shorts Pluto's Kid Brother and Canine Casanova. During World War II, he served as a radar man in Army Air Force, after which he returned to Disney. While continuing at Disney, Marsh began taking on freelance jobs from Western Publishing. He left Disney in 1947.
