2003:
Disneyland's 6-million gallon Rivers of America is drained, putting a stop to the boat cruises and cutting off access to Tom Sawyer Island. Although a 2,000-foot long, 8-foot tall blue fence surrounds the dried up area, park guests still peek through cracks to view the boats' underwater tracks. To entertain guests until the Rivers of America are refilled, Disney employees dressed as Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher re-enact the fence-painting scene from Mark Twain's classic novel "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer."
1939:
Disney publishes the first issue of The Bulletin - a studio employee newsletter.
1955:
Actor, writer & funnyman Rowan Atkinson, the voice of Zazu the hornbill in Disney's
animated feature The Lion King (and the star of the Mr. Bean British TV series) is born in Consett, County Durham, England.
1963:
The TV series Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color airs "Three Tall Tales."
Ludwig Von Drake and his sidekick Herman tell viewers about three famous American tall tales: Casey Bats Again, The Saga of Windwagon Smith, and Paul Bunyan.
1985:
The Hallmark Card Shop on Disneyland's Main Street closes.
It will re-open in March as Disney Clothiers LTD.
1997:
At Disneyland's New Orleans Square, the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction closes for its 30th Anniversary renovation. (It will reopen and be rededicated March 7, 1997.)
2002:
The 9th annual Walt Disney World Marathon kicks off. A record
field of 13,500 entrants take off for the Walt Disney World Marathon, while another 5,000 entrants take part for the
Walt Disney World Half Marathon. Dai Roberts, a British Naval officer stationed at Virginia Beach, Virginia, wins
the marathon with a time of 2:32:38.
Other winners on this day include:
Women’s Overall: Ilda A.Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2:48:38
Men’s Masters: Perry W. Small, Cape Coral, Fla., 2:42:37
Women’s Masters: Carol Postigo, Miami, Fla., 3:08:21
Men’s Chair: Saul Mendoza, Wimblerley, Texas, 1:41:17
Women’s Chair: Katherine Hunter, Alberta Beach, Canada, 2:36:35
Men’s Half: Gabriel Rodriguez, Miami, Fla., 1:09:07
Women’s Half: Monica R. Hostetler, Kendallville, Ind., 1:17:34
Men’s Half Chair: Michael Bird, Indianapolis, Ind., 2:22:31
Women’s Half Chair: Shannon Schaffer, Orlando, FL, 1:47:31
Since 1994 the WDW Marathon has been the quest of approximately 70,000 runners, walkers and wheelchair
athletes from as near as Orlando, Florida, and as far as Osaka, Japan!
The Travel Channel airs Great Hotels - Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge for the first
time. The 25th episode of the show's first season, Great Hotels is hosted by Samantha Brown.
2007:
The Walt Disney World Half Marathon is held. Jarrod Shoemaker and
Melissa White win the men's and women's divisions, respectively.
Bidding ends on the $250,000 Chicago house in which Walt Disney was
born in. The house located at 2156 N. Tripp fails to sell on ebay
(although one bid is reported) after 30 days.
Disney World's Country Bear
Jamboree was originally
designed for Mineral King, an
alpine area resort in
California's Sierra Nevada
mountains. Mineral King was
never built, so the bears found
a home in Florida.
JANUARY 6
2008:
Today is the last day of existence for Disney-MGM
Studios in Florida. As of tomorrow, the Disney World
park will be called Disney's Hollywood Studios.
Today is also the closing date for Block Party Bash,
a hybrid stage show and parade running at Disney's California Adventure (since May 2005). It will be transferred to Disney's Hollywood Studios - replacing the Disney Stars and Motor Cars Parade.
2009:
The newspaper article "They're Just Two Wild And Crazy Guys," by Susan Dunne appears in The Hartford Courant. It tells the story of the Barstow family from Connecticut who back in 1956 won a family trip to Disneyland. A home movie that Robbins Barstow made of that trip has been admitted
into the National Film Registry, and a fleeting image in that movie turns out to be none other than actor/comedian Steve Martin, who worked at Disneyland for several years! Martin saw the film, recognized himself hawking guidebooks at his old post, and began a correspondence with Barstow.
"At age eleven I worked at Disneyland. I sold guidebooks at the park from 1956 to about 1958. I am as positive as one can be that I appear
about 20:20 into your film, low in the frame, dressed in a top hat, vest, and striped pink shirt, moving from left to right, holding a
guidebook out for sale." -Steve Martin
JANUARY 06
THIS DAY MADE
IN THE
USA
 | ||||
| ||||
Actress Cheryl Holdridge, best known for having been a cast member of the original Mickey Mouse Club, passes away at age 64 in California. She auditioned for Disney's daily show in the spring of 1956, was hired, and joined the club's "Red Team" - the most visible and popular of the Mouseketeers. She went on to appear on such TV shows as Leave It to Beaver, My Three Sons, and Bewitched.
9th Annual WDW Marathon held
| ||||
"The secret of success if there is any, is liking what you do. I like my work better than my play. I play polo, when I have time, and I enjoy it, but it can't equal work!" -Walt Disney (1933)
"She'd walk into the room and this ray of sunshine would happen every time she smiled." -Mouseketeer Tommy Cole
2010:
The 36th annual People's Choice Awards are handed out in Los Angeles.
Favorite Family Movie is awarded to Disney'Pixar's Up (beating out Hannah Montana: The Movie, Ice Age:
Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, and Where the Wild Things Are).
Miley Cyrus wins Favorite Breakout Movie Actress (edging out Anna Kendrick, Emily Osment, Ginnifer
Goodwin, and Zoe Saldana). Johnny Depp is named Favorite Movie Actor of the Decade!
1938:
A story meeting for sequence 1 of Pinocchio takes place on this Thursday morning at
Disney's Projection Room #4. Among those in attendance for the 3 hour session: Walt, Ben Sharpsteen, Otto Englander, Bill Cottrell, Dick Huemer, Joe Grant, Ted Sears, Ham Luske, Frank Thomas, and Fred Moore.
1950:
Pluto is struck by Cupid's arrow on this day in the release Pluto's Heart Throb, directed by Charles Nichols. Pluto falls for Dinah the dachshund but has to contend with Butch the bulldog, his raging rival.
2011:
Disney Publishing reaches an important milestone, with 1 million downloads for
its Disney Book Apps globally on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.
Lloyd Beebe, the ex-logger who raised animal stars of the big and small screen at his Olympic Game Farm in Sequim, Washington, passes away at age 94. A former woodsman, hunter, and Arctic explorer, he and his wife Catherine became animal trainers and worked on Disney's Vanishing Prairie (1954), White Wilderness (1958), The Incredible Journey (1963), Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar (1967) and A Tale of Two Critters (1977). (Sadly Catherine will pass away two days later.)
JAN
JAN
2012:
Disney Channel airs "Who Will Be the Family Wizard," the final episode
of Wizards of Waverly Place. Starring Selena Gomez, David Henrie and Jake T. Austin
as three wizard siblings with magical abilities competing to win sole custody of the family powers, Wizards of Waverly Place first debuted in October 2007.
2001:
The sixty-second episode of Disney's Recess, "Lawson and His Crew" premieres on
ABC-TV. Originally intended to be the series finale, the show has been renewed for another season. This is the
final episode to premiere on ABC, as the rest of the episodes will air on UPN and in syndication.
2013:
Kali River Rapids ride at Disney's Animal Kingdom closes temporarily. Opened since
March 1999, the attraction will be shuttered until February 15 so improvements and upgrades can be made.
January 06
This Day in Disney History - THE FIRST - THE ORIGINAL
Traveling in time since 1999!
9
2015:
"Agent Carter," a live-action show based around the Marvel character Peggy Carter,
premieres on ABC-TV. Inspired by the 2011 film "Captain America: The First Avenger,"
the television series stars Hayley Atwell.
Jake and the Never Land Pirates: Battle for the Book is released on DVD.
Jake, Izzy, and Cubby go to London to save Wendy's special storybook from Captain Hook. The DVD brings together
the characters from the television series Jake and the Never Land Pirates and the original Peter Pan story.
1995:
The comedy film Houseguest, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures and starring Sinbad and Phi Hartman, is released to U.S. theaters. In hot water with the mob over an unpaid debt, a con man (played by Sinbad) poses as a family friend in an affluent Pennsylvania suburb.
2019:
British actor and voice actor William Morgan Sheppard passes away at age 86 in Los Angeles, California. He was the voice of Santa in Disney's Christmas specials Prep & Landing, Prep &
Landing: Operation: Secret Santa, and Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice.
2006:
The romance film Casanova is generally released by Touchstone Pictures.
With a reputation for seducing members of the opposite sex, regardless of their marital status, a notorious
womanizer discovers a beauty who seems impervious to his charms. In limited release since December 25, 2005,
the film stars Heath Ledger, Sienna Miller, Jeremy Irons, and Oliver Platt.
2021:
Everglazed Donuts & Cold Brew opens at Disney Springs (Walt Disney World).
Replacing the POP Gallery, Everglazed serves unique donuts and cold brew coffees in a fun, quirky setting.
