2005:
After 18 years, the Walt Disney World Information Center, located just off Interstate 75 and State Road 200, closes at the end of this day. The Internet age has reduced the number of Disney visitors using the center.
1932:
Disney's 44th Mickey Mouse cartoon Mickey's Nightmare is released.
Directed by Bert Gillett, Mickey dreams that he and Minnie are married ... but the imagined union
turns to catastrophe when the stork delivers too many ittle mice who demolish their house!
(Mickey's Nightmare is the first Disney film distributed by United Artists.)
1942:
Disney's 5th full length animated feature Bambi has its U.S. premiere at the
Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Directed by David Hand and distributed through
RKO Pictures, the voice cast includes Hardie Albright (as Adolescent Bambi), Donnie Dunagan (as Young Bambi), Sam Edwards (as Adult Thumper), and Sterling Holloway (as Adult Flower). Bambi will receive 3
Academy Award nominations for Best Sound, Best Song for "Love Is a Song" and Original Music Score.
1948:
Disney's Pluto cartoon Cat Nap Pluto, featuring Figaro the cat from Pinocchio, is released. Directed by Charles Nichols, Pluto comes home after a
long night and has to fight Figaro for the right to take a nap!
1954:
Excavation of the Disneyland site in Anaheim, California begins with the removal of walnut and orange trees.
The Disney short Grin and Bear It, featuring Donald Duck, Humphrey the Bear, and the first appearance of Ranger Audubon J. Woodlore, is released. Directed by Jack Hannah, the Ranger vainly tries to keep Humphrey from helping himself to Donald's picnic.
1963:
Angel Florez, a member of the 1977-1978 TV series
The New Mickey Mouse Club, is born in Stockton, California.
1983:
Attendance at Tokyo Disneyland reaches a high of 94,378!
1995:
The one-millionth patron attends Disney's Beauty and the Beast on Broadway.
1996:
Disney's Aladdin and the King of Thieves is released direct-to-video.
2000:
"The New Adventures of Spin and Marty: Suspect Behavior" airs on The Wonderful
World of Disney. This updated version of the 1950s "Mickey Mouse" serial features cameos by Tim
Considine and David Stollery (the original Spin and Marty).
2002:
The nominees for the 5th Annual DVD Awards are announced. Disney's Buena Vista Home Entertainment takes home the most nominations with 15, including five for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Songwriter-keyboardist Jonathan Cain (best known for his work with the rock
group Journey) releases his Animated Movie Love Songs CD on One Way
Records. The instrumental tracks include such Disney favorites as A Whole New World, Beauty and the
Beast and Someday My Prince Will Come.
2004:
Walt Disney World and other anxious Orlando tourists and residents hunker down as
Hurricane Charley with 110 mph winds hits Central Florida. Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-
MGM Studios and Animal Kingdom all close at 1 p.m. It is the third closing in Disney World history.
Disney Channel debuts 3 new Phil of the Future episodes - "Future Tutor,"
"Future Jock," and "You Say Toe-Mato."
2006:
Actor Tony Jay, the narrator of Disney's Treasure Planet, passes away at age 73 in Los Angeles, California. Best known for his deep baritone voice in animation and computer games, he was also a Legendary Royal Shakespeare Actor. Jay's large body of Disney work includes The Jungle Book 2, House of Mouse, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Mickey Mouse Works, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. At Disneyland, his urbane rumble is heard nightly as the Magic Mirror in the production of the Fantasmic! water show.
1967:
The opening night of the Montreal Expo's World Exhibition of Animation Cinema
takes place. The event features a screening of Disney's 1941 Dumbo as part of an "Hommage Aux
Pionniers." Retired master animator Vladimir "Bill" Tytla has been invited - and although he is worried no
one will remember him ... he attends. When the film finishes, they announce the presence of "The Great
Animator". When the spotlight finally finds Tytla, to his surprise the audience goes wild!
Former American Idol judge Kara
DioGuardi has written songs for such Disney recording acts as
Hilary Duff, Raven-Symoné,
Ashley Tisdale, Miley Cyrus, and Demi Lovato. Her songs
also appear on both Camp Rock
soundtracks.
"If you can't say something nice ... don't say nothing at all." -Thumper
2007:
High School Musical 2 the soundtrack album for the Disney Channel Original Movie
of the same name is released in the UK, New Zealand, South America and Asia.
2008:
animators for animators, holds a panel discussion and tribute to the life, work and inspiration of Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston (two of Walt's "Nine Old Men") in
Los Angeles, California.
A two-story tall dinosaur for Walt Disney World's T-Rex restaurant is transported
on a flatbed truck to its new home in Downtown Disney.
The restaurant (still under construction) is scheduled to open this fall.
The new Mona Lisa Suite Hotel announces that the all-suite hotel and its Galerie Restaurant and Bar are open and welcoming guests. The luxurious 240-room property is
located in the award-winning town of Celebration, Florida - just minutes from Walt Disney World.
AUGUST 13
THIS DAY
MADE IN
THE USA
AUGUST 13
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"What I’ve learned about
writing pop music is that, despite
all the changes in technology, the
art of crafting a great song hasn’t
really changed." -DioGuardi
"I have been a fan of Disney animation ever since my parents took me to see Snow White when I was six years old. It's been a constant fascination throughout my whole life, and I think Disney has managed to affect a lot of people's lives by providing a sense of wonder and fantasy." -Tony Jay (1933-2006)
U.S. Premiere of Bambi
In memory of Tony Jay (1933-2006)
1941:
Walt Disney and members of his staff are in Miami Beach, Florida on this day just prior to their extended goodwill tour
of South America. Nine of the Disney staff are leaving Florida today and heading off to Brazil, with Walt and his party following on Friday the 15th. (Walt’s
life insurance mandates that he can only fly with six of his employees at the same time.) The photo to the left is taken of Walt at the Pancoast Hotel (a luxurious Mediterranean Revival style oceanfront resort) in Miami Beach.
2010:
The Disney Channel Original Movie Den Brother premieres. Hutch Dano, plays Alex
Pearson, a teen who gets suspended from his hockey team and ends up having to fill in as a Bumble Bee
Troop Leader for his sister Emily's (G. Hannelius) troop. However, Alex isn’t that upset because he gets
Emily and the other girls in the troop to do his chores in exchange for merit badges.
Tales from Earthsea, a 2006 Japanese animated fantasy film directed by Gorō Miyazaki, is released in the U.S. by Walt Disney Pictures. In the land of Earthsea, a mysterious force threatens to plunge humanity into destruction and chaos. The English voice cast includes
Matt Levin, Willem Dafoe, Timothy Dalton, Mariska Hargitay, Cheech Marin, and Blaire Restaneo.
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1991:
Actor Nikita Hopkins, noted for his Annie Award-nominated portrayal of the character Roo in Disney's Winnie the Pooh films, is born in California.
He's voiced Roo in Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie, Pooh's Heffalump Movie, Piglet's Big Movie, Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year and The Tigger Movie.
August 13
This Day in Disney History - THE FIRST - THE ORIGINAL
Traveling in time since 1999!
1961:
Walt Disney visits Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. He rides the zoo’s train, feeds animals at
the Children’s Farm and is interviewed for a local news program. Vernon Stouffer, president of Cleveland
Zoological Society and Stouffer’s Foods, has invited Disney to town to get ideas for ways to
improve the zoo. (The two would later embark on an endeavor to have Stouffer’s bring its practices of quality
and professionalism to the food service at Disneyland.) The visit to Cleveland is followed by trips to New York
and then Europe. A movie starring Fred MacMurray is being filmed overseas and Disney is going to
check on production.
2014:
Brent Dodge, an Annual Passholder, officially reaches his milestone of 365
consecutive days of Disney magic when he passes through the entrance of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. There were actually 3 days he didn't enter a park over
the last 365 days, but those were spent on a Disney cruise!
2017:
The Great Movie Ride and The Universe of Energy featuring Ellen's Energy Adventure
both close at the end of this day at Walt Disney World.
Debuting with the park on May 1, 1989 (when the park was called Disney-MGM Studios), The Great Movie Ride employed the use of Audio-Animatronic figures, live actors, special effects, and projections to recreate iconic scenes from classic films throughout motion picture history. The attraction, located inside a replica of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, directly inspired the creation of the theme park itself. A Mickey Mouse-themed ride called Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway is planned to replace the Great Movie Ride.
The Universe of Energy, a pavilion located in the eastern half of Future World at Epcot, contained one attraction, Ellen's Energy Adventure, starring Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Nye. It will be replaced with a Guardians of the Galaxy-themed attraction (in 2022). The Universe of Energy pavilion opened with Epcot in October 1982 and was updated to its current version with Ellen DeGeneres as host in 1996. (Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in the Wonders of Xandar Pavilion will eventually replace the Universe of Energy pavilion.)
The 2017 Teen Choice Awards ceremony is held in California. Among the winners:
-Choice Movie: Sci-Fi: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
-Choice Movie Actor: Sci-Fi: Chris Pratt – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
-Choice Movie Actress: Sci-Fi: Zoe Saldana – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
-Choice Movie: Fantasy: Beauty and the Beast
-Choice Movie Actor: Fantasy: Moana
-Choice Movie Actress: Fantasy: Emma Watson – Beauty and the Beast
-Choice Movie: Comedy: Finding Dory
-Choice Movie Actress: Comedy: Ellen DeGeneres – Finding Dory
-Choice Movie: Villain: Luke Evans – Beauty and the Beast
-Choice Movie: Breakout Star: Auli'i Cravalho – Moana
-Choice Movie: Couple: Emma Watson & Dan Stevens – Beauty and the Beast
1944:
Julie Reihm Casaletto, Disneyland’s first Ambassador
(in 1965), is born Julie Reihm in Galveston, Texas. After
completing high school, she attended California State Long Beach to study
speech. As a part-time job, she became a tour guide at Disneyland -
working weekends and summers in the Park. After two years as a tour
guide, Julie was encouraged to apply for a new role—that of "Disneyland’s
Ambassador to the World." In 1965, on the occasion of Disneyland’s
"Tencennial," the 10th anniversary of the Park opening, Julie was a key
part of the festivities and even appeared on the Wonderful World of Color
episode "The Disneyland Tenth Anniversary Show." She was inducted a
Disney Legend in 2015.
1982:
Actor Sebastian Stan is born in Romania. He gained wide recognition for his role as Bucky Barnes (Captain America's sidekick and later known as Winter Soldier) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger and later in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Ant-Man (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Black Panther (2018), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
2013:
The Muppet Movie soundtrack is re-released by Walt Disney Records the same date as The Muppet Movie’s release on Blu-Ray. The soundtrack album from the 1979 film The Muppet Movie features songs and select score written by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher. (Originally released on LP by Atlantic Records, the album reached No. 32 on the Billboard 200, and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.) Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment releases the film as the Nearly 35th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray Disc and DVD.
2012:
Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja, an American-British-Irish animated television series created by Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas for Disney XD, premieres. Randy Cunningham (voiced by Ben Schwartz) is a ninth-grader who is an unlikely hero with a superhuman ninja suit, the NinjaNomicon. He must protect his hometown of Norrisville from the evil plans of the Sorcerer, his ally Hannibal McFist, and Hannibal's assistant Willem Viceroy.
2021:
Free Guy, a science fiction action comedy film, is released by Disney's 20th Century Studios to U.S. theaters. The film stars Ryan Reynolds (who also produced) as a bank teller who discovers he is actually a non-player character in an open-world video game and decides to become the hero of the story and save his friends from deletion by the game's creator.
