1912:
Imagineer and writer Al Bertino, who helped design such
Disneyland attractions as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, the Haunted
Mansion, Country Bear Jamboree, and America Sings, is born
in California. First joining Disney in 1935, he worked on Pinocchio and Fantasia, before writing for
Disney's television series. Big Al, the most familiar face in Frontierland's Grizzly Hall, is a loving tribute to Bertino!
1995:
In Florida, Disney's Wedding Pavilion - located south of the
Grand Floridian Beach Resort - opens. Built on a private island
surrounded by the Seven Seas Lagoon, it is a glass-enclosed Victorian-style
non-denominational chapel. Available for weddings, vow renewals and commitment ceremonies, the chapel can
seat up to 300 guests. Walt Disney Imagineering has designed the site so that Cinderella Castle (in the nearby Magic Kingdom) is framed in two views: through a window behind the indoor altar where ceremonies are held,
and through a hedge arch outside the chapel. Opening next door to the pavilion is Franck’s Bridal Studio, a one-stop shop for couples to meet with a Disney wedding planner to review all the details for the big event. It is named after the eccentric wedding planner Martin Short played in the 1991 film Father of The Bride.
2005:
Disneyland's Space Mountain reopens after a two-year refurbishment.
Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, takes part in the opening ceremony. The reopened Space Mountain
keeps the original track layout but features new special effects and theming.
Disney's California Adventure opens its newest attraction - Turtle Talk with Crush -
in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot. Designed by Walt Disney Imagineering in collaboration with Pixar,
the attraction consists of an unscripted, real-time conversation with Crush, the sea turtle from the Disney/Pixar film Finding Nemo. (It is the 2nd "Crush" attraction to open, as one debuted in Epcot in 2004.)
The Anaheim park also announces that the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage will
be built on the site of the old Submarine Voyage attraction. (Nemo will debut in June 2007.)
Life is Ruff, a Disney Channel Original Movie, debuts.
1944:
Actor Jan-Michael Vincent, the star of Disney's 1973 live-action feature The World's Greatest Athlete, is born in Denver, Colorado.
1946:
Grammy award winning singer Linda Ronstadt, who recorded a contemporary version
of Disney's "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" (in both English and Spanish) is
born in Tucson, Arizona. Already a Grammy-winner by 1970, she performed at Disneyland during a Grad Nite event in June 1971. The first time the original members of the Eagles played together was as a backing band for her at that very Disneyland performance! Although not a Disney production, Ronstadt appeared as the guest star in episode 523 "The Muppet Show" in 1980. In 1983, theater producer Joseph Papp wanted to put together a stage version of Snow White starring Ronstadt. Planned as a free performance in Central Park, the show never got produced. But
Ronstadt did appear in the 1987 TV special "Golden Anniversary of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," singing a version of "Someday My Prince Will Come." Her version of "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons," appeared on The Parent Trap (Original Soundtrack) in 1998. (During her 4-decade career, Ronstadt's run on the Billboard charts includes one single or album charted every year from 1970 to 2000! She was the first female in music history to score three consecutive platinum albums and ultimately rack up a total of eight consecutive platinum albums.)
1975:
Construction begins on Disneyland's Space Mountain. Twelve years in the planning, the idea for Anaheim's ride originated in the mid 1960s, during Walt Disney's lifetime, as a way to energize the aging Tomorrowland. The project was shelved until the success of Space Mountain at Walt Disney World. One thousand tons of steel will be used in its construction. Disneyland's Space Mountain, a more compact, longer, single-track version than the one at WDW, will open in May 1977.
1988:
Disney re-releases Bambi in theaters for the 7th and final time.
Actress Aimee Carrero is born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She
provides the voice of Princess Elena on the Disney Channel animated series Elena of Avalor (a spin-off of
the Disney Junior series Sofia the First).
1998:
Building a Company: Roy O. Disney and the Creation of an Entertainment Empire by author Bob Thomas is published by Hyperion Press.
The Disney Magic arrives at Port Canaveral, Florida for the first time.
2000:
Six Walt Disney Imagineers come together for a special lithograph signing to
pay tribute to Disneyland Park and "45 Years of Magic." The event takes place at
The Disney Gallery located in the New Orleans Square.
2006:
The 2006 DisMeets in Allentown, Pennsylvania takes place. The 3rd annual
event features presentations by leading Disney-site webmasters.
"Oops! I Meddled Again" - the eleventh episode of Hannah Montana debuts
on Disney Channel.
The Carpenters official video for
their re-make of "Please Mr. Postman"
(from the 1975 album From the Top)
was shot at Disneyland. Mickey Mouse
even appears mailing a letter on
Disneyland's
Main Street.
Singer Karen
Carpenter was
a huge Disney
fan!
1941:
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt sends federal labor conciliator Stanley White to Hollywood, California. White is to make an attempt to settle the Disney workers' strike.
1955:
Two days before the grand opening of Disneyland, the Long Beach Press-Telegram, the Santa Ana Register and other Southern California newspapers include an advertising supplement for Disneyland in their papers. It highlights all the "wonderous attractions" that guests will find, and ads from Disneyland’s sponsors - such as the Richfield Oil Corporation.
On this same day, a young California woman named Rima Bruce is called in for an interview at Disneyland. Bruce decided to apply for a job at Disneyland when she and her mother were looking for a place to picnic as they drove on Harbor Boulevard and noticed the park under construction. She will start her new job the next day, July 16, thus becoming one of the original Disneyland employees. Bruce will work at Disneyland for the next 32 years, starting as a secretary to the food liaison and ending (in 1987) as an executive assistant to the vice president!
JULY 15
THIS SITE MADE
IN THE
USA
 | ||||
| ||||
"You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world.
But it takes people to make the dream a reality." -Walt Disney
| ||||
2011:
PrankStars, a hidden camera/reality series, premieres on Disney Channel.
Hosted by Mitchel Musso, the series involves children and teenagers set up by their friends and
family to meet their favorite stars in "unpredictable and humorous" settings.
Winnie the Pooh, a new animated film, is released by Walt Disney
Pictures. Winnie the Pooh sets out to find some honey, but when he misinterprets a
note from Christopher Robin, Pooh convinces Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Owl, Kanga, Roo,
and Eeyore that their young friend has been captured by a creature named "Backson"!
Inspired by the stories of A. A. Milne, the film is a continuation of Disney's Winnie the
Pooh franchise, and marks the first time a Pooh film has hit theaters since the 2005
Pooh's Heffalump Movie. Burny Mattinson, a Disney veteran who worked as the key
animator on Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too, served as lead storyboard artist for the
film. Winnie the Pooh is preceded by an animated short called The Ballad of
Nessie about a friendly Loch Ness Monster named Nessie and how she and her
best friend MacQuack, the rubber duck, came to live in the moor they now call home.
Winnie the Pooh voice cast:
Jim Cummings - Pooh & Tigger
Tom Kenny - Rabbit
Craig Ferguson - Owl
Travis Oates - Piglet
Bud Luckey - Eeyore
Jack Boulter - Christopher Robin
Kristen Anderson-Lopez - Kanga
Wyatt Dean Hall - Roo
John Cleese - Narrator
Disney's Wedding Pavilion opens
JULY
JULY 15
July 15
2017:
The third season of the animated television series Star vs. the Forces of Evil debuts
with the episode "Return to Mewni". The first Disney XD series created by a woman, Jordana Arkin, it
follows the adventures of Star Butterfly the young turbulent heir to the royal throne in the dimension of Mewni, who is
sent to Earth so she can complete her education and learn to be a worthy princess, and Marco Diaz a human teenager
who becomes her roommate and best friend, as they live their daily lives, and go on adventures in other dimensions.
Day 2 of D23 Expo 2017 takes place in Anaheim, California. Among today's presentations:
-ABC Summer Fun & Games
-Marc Davis Goes to WED Imagineering
-Creating the Worlds in Pixar's Universe
-Walt Disney Parks & Resorts
-Once Upon a Time
-Olaf's Frozen Adventure: A Sneak Peek at the New Frozen Short Film
-A Kiss Goodnight with Disney Legends Richard Sherman and Floyd Norman
-Yesterday's Tomorrow: Disney's Magical Mid-Century
1977:
Actress Lana Parrilla is born in Brooklyn, New York. She starred as The Evil Queen/Regina Mills
in the ABC fantasy drama series, Once Upon a Time.
1994:
Disney releases the family sports fantasy comedy-drama film Angels in the Outfield
(a remake of the 1951 film of the same name). When an orphan boy prays for a chance to have a family if the California Angels win the pennant, angels are assigned to make it possible. The cast includes
Danny Glover, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tony Danza, Matthew McConaughey, Ben Johnson, and Christopher Lloyd. (Disney at this time is a minority owner of the California Angels.)
1969:
Film producer Andrew Gunn is born in Toronto, Canada. He has worked with Walt Disney Pictures to produce movies such as The Country Bears (2002), Freaky Friday (2003), The Haunted Mansion (2003), Sky High (2005), and Race to Witch Mountain (2009).
1939:
Actor Patrick Wayne is born to movie star John Wayne and his first wife, Josephine Alicia Saenz, in Los Angeles, California. He made eleven movies with his famous father including "Rio Grande" (his debut at age 11), "The Quiet Man," "The High and the Mighty," "The Conqueror," "The Searchers," "The Alamo," "The Comancheros," "Donovan's Reef," "McLintock!," "The Green Berets," and "Big Jake." Wayne portrayed Bob Leslie in Disney's 1974 drama "The Bears and I." The film tells the story of Leslie, a Vietnam veteran who goes to the remote homeland of a fallen comrade to deliver his personal effects to his father, and along the way adopts 3 orphaned cubs. Later in his career, Wayne became a television host with the 1980 variety program "The Monte Carlo Show" and the 1990 revival of "Tic-Tac-Dough." Wayne retired from acting in the late 1990s.
1961:
Actor Forest Whitaker is born in Longview, Texas. His Disney/Touchstone/Hollywood film credits include
The Color of Money (1986), Stakeout (1987), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Consenting Adults (1992), Phenomenon
(1996), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), and Black Panther (2018). Whitaker also voiced the character of Saw Gerrera in 4 episodes of the animated series Star Wars Rebels (distributed by Disney–ABC Domestic Television).
2016:
Daredevil Season 2 (Original Soundtrack Album) by John Paesano is released digitally by Hollywood Records.
Olivia, the debut EP (featuring 5 songs) by singer and actress Olivia Holt, is released through Hollywood Records.
1960:
Actor, director, producer and screenwriter Willie Aames is born in Newport Beach, California. Best known for playing Tommy Bradford, one of the children of Tom Bradford (played by Dick Van Patten), on the 1970s television series Eight Is Enough, his Disney credits include The Wonderful World of Disney episode "Runaway on the Rogue River" (1974) and The Magical World of Disney episode "Twister, Bull from the Sky" (1976).
2003:
Making The Grade, the second album by the rock band Diffuser, is released on Hollywood Records.
2020:
Epcot and Hollywood Studios reopen at Walt Disney World after being closed for months
due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.
Disneyland Paris begins its phased reopening as well with visitors able to return to Disneyland Park, Walt Disney Studios Park, Disney’s Newport Bay Club hotel, and
Disney Village.
Hong Kong Disneyland closes once again after a reported outbreak of COVID-19 across
Honk Kong. Hong Kong Disneyland was the second Disney park to reopen, welcoming parkgoers June 18 with
limited capacity and increased health and safety measures. It originally closed last January 26 due to the global
coronavirus crisis.
2004:
Actor Hayden Rolence is born in Aurora, Illinois. He supplied the voice of Nemo for the
2016 animated film Finding Dory.
2001:
Film director, animator, and screenwriter Ted Berman passes away at age 81 in California.
Joining Disney in the 1940s, Berman started off as an animator, but focused on writing and directing in his later years. His credits included Bambi, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians, Mary Poppins,
Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Rescuers, The Fox and the Hound and The Black Cauldron.
2021:
The 26th Epcot International Food and Wine Festival begins.
1952:
Actor Terry O'Quinn is born in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Known for playing John Locke on the ABC-TV series "Lost," he also played Howard Hughes in Disney's 1991 adventure film "The Rocketeer." He also had roles in "Tombstone" and "Shadow Conspiracy" (both released by Disney's Hollywood Pictures). Starting in 2002, he played FBI Asst. Director Kendall in 18 episodes of ABC's action thriller "Alias." O'Quinn voiced Professor Mystery in the 2014 "Phineas and Ferb" episode "Lost in Danville."
