2005:
Hong Kong Disneyland opens two shops at the Hong Kong International Airport to sell thousands of souvenirs with the theme of Hong Kong Disneyland (which is scheduled to open September 12).
1907:
Writer Helen Aberson is born in Syracuse, New York. Her book
"Dumbo, the Flying Elephant" (co-written with husband & journalist Harold Pearl) inspired the Disney classic Dumbo. It is believed her story was sold to Roll-a-Book in 1939, who in turn sold the story to Walt Disney Productions. Disney released their animated version in 1941. According to her family, Aberson-Mayer may have written more children's books into the 1960s, but none of them were published. She passed in April 1999 at age 91.
1934:
The Mickey Mouse short Mickey's Steam Roller, directed by David Hand, is released. While worker Mickey romances Minnie, Mickey's nephews Morty and Ferdy take his steamroller on a very destructive ride. Walt Disney & Marcellite Garner provide the voices for Mickey & Minnie.
1945:
Walt Disney's wife Lillian christens the SS Rice Victory,
a 10,500-ton U.S. warship.
1955:
Disney's 15th animated feature film Lady and the Tramp has its
world premiere in Chicago. It is the first Disney cartoon feature filmed in CinemaScope
(a wide screen film process). It will be generally released 6 days later.
Disney also releases the third People and Places film Switzerland.
Actress Laurie Metcalf, the voice of Lucille Krunklehorn in Meet the Robinsons, Andy's Mom, Mrs. Davis, in all 4 Toy Story films and Sarah in Treasure Planet, is born Carbondale, Illinois. Gaining national attention for her performance as Jackie Harris in the ABC sitcom Roseanne (1988–1997, 2018), she went on to make guest appearances in such television shows as Dharma & Greg, Grey's Anatomy, and Desperate Housewives. (Fans of the CBS hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory will know Metcalf for her role of Mary Cooper.)
1956:
Disneyland debuts Tom Sawyer Island & the Rafts to Tom Sawyer
Island in Frontierland, the film 3D Jamboree at the Mickey Mouse Club
Theater, and the Storybook Land Canal Boats attraction in Fantasyland.
Tom Sawyer Island (today known as Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island) is an artificial island surrounded by the
Rivers of America and inspired by the works of Mark Twain. Guests visit the island by traveling on a motorized raft
which is piloted by a Disneyland Cast Member.
The short 3D Jamboree features the famous Mouseketeers and their leader Jimmy Dodd. The presentation
includes the animated shorts Melody and Working for Peanuts all in 3D.
Storybook Land Canal Boats (originally known as Canal Boats of the World in 1955) features 13 boats (powered
by outboard motors) afloat in 465,000 gallons of water.
1961:
Walt Disney purchases the film rights to the Winnie-the-Pooh stories from Mrs.
Daphne Milne, wife of the late author A.A. Milne. (The first film, Winnie the
Pooh and the Honey Tree, will appear in 1966 as a twenty-six minute short.)
1964:
Aerial photographs of a location east of the Hollywood Bowl in California are shot for Walt Disney. He is forming the new CalArts college and a plot of land has been suggested for the campus.
1977:
Circus performer and actor Ricky Luna, a member of the Disney Channel's The All
New Mickey Mouse Club, is born in Los Angeles, California.
Rocket scientist and astronautics engineer Wernher von Braun, who had helped
Walt Disney produce a series of space-related TV shows in the mid-1950s, passes
away in Alexandria, Virginia. One of the most important rocket developers of space exploration
between the 1930s and 1970s, he helped NASA land men on the moon in 1969.
1989:
The Disney Channel airs episode 40 of MMC. Today is Hall of Fame Day!
1998:
Reflections on Ice: Michelle Kwan Skates to the Music of Disney's Mulan airs on ABC-TV.
1999:
A DisneyQuest opens in Chicago, Illinois. (Due to poor profits it will close in September 2001.)
2000:
Totally Circus (a documentary/adventure series) premieres on the Disney Channel.
Fantasia/2000 (the sequel to the 1940 Disney classic) opens at regular movie
theaters nationwide. The film was first screened in 75 IMAX cinemas worldwide from January 1 to April
30, 2000.
2002:
Father's Day
The premiere screening of Disney's 41st animated feature Lilo
& Stitch takes place at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood.
Among the guests in attendance for the event are actors Jason Scott Lee (the voice of David Kawena), David Ogden Stiers (the voice of Jumba), Kevin McDonald (the voice of Pleakley), and country singer Wynonna Judd (who performs the Elvis Presley song "Burning Love" on the film's soundtrack). Lilo & Stitch will hit theaters June 21.
The Pyewacket (a vessel owned by the Disney Corporation and skippered by Roy Disney) wins the Newport to Bermuda Yacht race. The yacht breaks the record by 3 hours, 52 minutes, and 22 seconds; crossing in 53 hours, 39 minutes, and 22 seconds.
2004:
Around the World in 80 Days, a Walt Disney Pictures/Walden Media film, is released in theaters. An action adventure comedy film based on Jules Verne's novel of the same name, it stars Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan and Cécile de France. Set in the nineteenth century, eccentric inventor Phileas Fogg (played by Coogan) and his valet (Chan), try to circumnavigate the globe in just 80 days.
1980:
Count Basie and his orchestra perform at Disneyland for the first of a six-day engagement.
 | ||||||
Disney's 1969 hit movie The Love
Bug is based on Gordon Buford's
story "Car-Boy-Girl."
2006:
The Disney Channel Original Movie Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior, starring
Brenda Song (from The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) and Shin Koyamada (from The
Last Samurai) debuts. Koyamada plays a Chinses monk who believes teenager Wendy (Song) is the
reincarnation of a powerful female warrior and the only person who can prevent an ancient evil spirit from
destroying the world. The film will draw 5.7 million viewers on this evening.
2007:
The Hannah Montana episode "Take This Job and Love It"
debuts on Disney Channel.
2001:
The Power of BLAST! debuts at Epcot's America Gardens Theatre.
The show will run through August.
JUNE
2008:
A grand opening for the new Disneyland Innoventions Dream Home takes place for members of the press. The Innoventions Dream Home, featuring cutting-edge technology from Microsoft and other industry leaders, is both a show and a showcase as it offers guests a hands-on experience. (Annual passholders will be allowed to visit the following day - but the attraction won't fully open to the public until June 30.)
Disney Channel debuts "Allergy Season," the 50th episode of the series
Life with Derek.
1957:
Holidayland, a nine-acre grassy picnic ground located along the western edge of Disneyland, opens. It has its own admission gate into the park and can hold up to 7,000 guests, for large events. Run by Milt Albright, Holidayland's manager (and future Disney Legend), it features playgrounds,
horseshoes, a baseball field, a volleyball court, and "the world's largest candy-striped circus tent." (Today, Holidayland is a parking lot for employees.)
1984:
The 3D film Magic Journeys begins its 2-year run in Disneyland's Tomorrowland. The first 3D movie created by Walt Disney Imagineering for a Disney theme park, it first opened at EPCOT in 1982. Featuring the song "Makin' Memories," the 70MM Magic Journeys looks at the world through the eyes of a child.
JUNE 16
JUNE 16
THIS SITE MADE
IN THE
USA
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Holidayland opens
In The Love Bug, the car is named
by mechanic Tennessee Steinmetz
(played by Buddy Hackett) after
his uncle "Herb," who was a
middleweight boxer.
"Elvis Presley was a model citizen. I've compiled a list of his traits for you to practice.
Number one... is dancing!" -Lilo
"Everything on the island is free; you only need a ticket to get there. I put in all the things I wanted to do as a kid—and
couldn't. Including getting into something without a ticket." -Walt Disney on Tom Sawyer Island
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2009:
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment releases Morning Light, a
documentary about a group of intrepid and determined young men and women who
race a high-performance 52-foot sloop in the TRANSPAC, the most
revered of open-ocean sailing competitions.
Lines, Vines and Trying Times, the fourth studio album by the Jonas Brothers, is released in the U.S. on Hollywood Records. (It is their third and last album released under Hollywood Records.)
1962:
Meet Me at Disneyland (a limited TV series broadcast live on KTTV directly from the Anaheim park) airs episode 2 "Plaza Gardens." Johnny Jacobs opens the show at the Plaza Gardens where the Elliott Brothers and their "Disneyland Date Nighters" are warming up. The Elliott Brothers are starting their sixth year at the Plaza Gardens, and they lead the group in a number of swing songs. The show also includes comedy, impersonations, dance performances and appearances by Janet Leigh, Elliott Reid,
Sandy Di Shell, and The Four Preps. Meet Me at Disneyland is designed to boost park attendance during
the summer weeknights.
1967:
Disneyland Grad Nite '67 takes place for the second time this season.
1966:
Disneyland Grad Nite '66 is held for the first of two evenings, from 11PM til 5AM.
2011:
It is announced that the 2011 Disney Legends Awards will be given out during the
first day of the D23 EXPO on Friday, August 19, in the Anaheim Convention Center
Arena. A 24-year tradition of The Walt Disney Company, no honorees were actually awarded in 2010. The
2011 honorees will include Jodi Benson, Barton "Bo" Boyd, Jim Henson, Linda Larkin, Paige O'Hara, Regis
Philbin, Jack and Bonita Wrather, Anika Noni Rose, Lea Salonga, Ray Watson and Guy Williams.
The Lion King North American Tour opens on this evening at the Benjamin & Marian
Schuster Performing Arts Center in Dayton, Ohio.
June 16
This Day in Disney History - THE FIRST - THE ORIGINAL
Traveling in time since 1999!
2016:
Shanghai Disneyland Park, a theme park located in Pudong, Shanghai, China,
officially opens. Part of the Shanghai Disney Resort (which also officially opens this day), it is operated by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and Shanghai Shendi Group. It is the first Disney park resort in mainland China and the second in China, after the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort.
Shanghai Disneyland opens with six themed areas -
-Mickey Avenue: the entrance of the park & the park's equivalent to Main Street, U.S.A.
-Gardens of Imagination: the hub of the park featuring the attractions Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Fantasia Carousel, & Marvel Super Heroes at Marvel Universe - a meet-and-greet pavilion featuring Marvel characters
-Fantasyland: attractions include Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Peter Pan's Flight, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration, & Alice's Curious Labyrinth; a walk-through hedge maze
-Treasure Cove: themed to an 18th-century Spanish harbor town featuring Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure & Eye of the Storm: Captain Jack’s Stunt Spectacular
-Adventure Isle: features Roaring Rapids, a river rapids ride through the land's towering Roaring Mountain & Soaring Over the Horizon, a hang gliding flight experience
-Tomorrowland: featuring TRON Lightcycle Power Run, an indoor Tron-themed roller coaster, Star Wars Launch Bay,
Stitch Encounter, Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue, Jet Packs, and Star Wars: Path of the Jedi
(Toy Story Land the park's first expansion, will open on April 26, 2018.)
Shanghai Disney Resort also features Disneytown, a shopping, dining, and entertainment complex. Along with dining and shops, the complex features the Walt Disney Grand Theatre, an Art Deco theatre that hosts the Mandarin Broadway version of The Lion King.
Also opening on this day are two themed hotels; Shanghai Disneyland Hotel and Toy Story Hotel. Featuring 420 rooms, the Art Nouveau style Shanghai Disneyland Hotel is located across Wishing Star Lake. The Toy Story Hotel, with 800 rooms, is the first to be entirely themed after the Disney•Pixar franchise of Toy Story animated films.
2017:
Disney Pixar's Cars 3 is released to U.S. theaters. The film stars
Owen Wilson, Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy, Tony Shalhoub, Guido Quaroni,
John Ratzenberger, Cheech Marin, Michael Wallis, Paul Dooley, Jenifer Lewis and
Katherine Helmond, reprising their voice roles from the first two films. Blindsided
by a new generation of blazing-fast cars, the legendary Lighting McQueen finds
himself pushed out of the sport that he loves. Hoping to get back in the game, he
turns to Cruz Ramirez, an eager young technician who has her own plans for
winning.
Playing in front of Cars 3 is the Pixar short Lou. Written and directed by Dave
Mullins, it is about a lost and found box and the unseen monster within. Lou will
be nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 90th Academy Awards.
Also released on this day - Cars 3 (Original Motion Picture
Soundtrack) and Cars 3 (Original Score), both on Walt
Disney Records. The soundtrack features "Run That Race", an original
song written and performed by Dan Auerbach. The film's score was composed
by Pixar's frequent collaborator, Randy Newman.
My Side of Your Story, a new EP album by Canadian singer-songwriter Shawn Hook is released through Hollywood Records. The 4 tracks include "Reminding Me" (featuring Vanessa Hudgens).
2015:
The Legacy Collection: Cinderella is released by Walt Disney Records as a two-disc
album to coincide with the 65th anniversary of the 1950 Cinderella. The album includes the
film's original soundtrack, seven demo recordings, seven "Lost Chords", and nine bonus tracks. Walt Disney Records
the Legacy Collection is a compilation album series produced and released by Walt Disney Records. The series
commemorates distinct anniversaries of Disney films and the 60th anniversary of Disneyland. Cinderella is the 9th
(of what will be 14) in the series.
Also released is the Inside Out Soundtrack, with music by Michael Giacchino (his fifth collaboration with Pixar as a composer).
2019:
Formerly known as the Radio Disney Music Awards, Disney premieres the ARDYs,
hosted by Sofia Carson. Among the winners is BTS, who is given the Radio Disney Award for "Global Phenom."
The event includes live performances by such acts as Avril Lavigne, Jonas Brothers, Andy Grammer, and Tori Kelly.
1927:
Film and television director Charles Jarrott is born in London, England. He directed Disney's 1977 The Littlest Horse Thieves and the 1980 The Last Flight of Noah's Ark.
1959:
George Reeves, best known as Superman in the 1950s television program Adventures of Superman, passes away at age 45 in California, from a gunshot wound. (A controversial subject; the official finding will be suicide, but some will believe he was murdered or was the victim of an accidental shooting.) His only Disney credit was the film Westward Ho the Wagons! in 1956.
2018:
The 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards are held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California. Among the winners:
-Best Movie: Black Panther
-Best Performance in a Movie: Chadwick Boseman – Black Panther
-Best Hero: Chadwick Boseman – Black Panther
-Best Villain: Michael B. Jordan – Black Panther
2021:
Shanghai Disneyland turns 5! "Years of Magical Surprises," which includes spectacular prizes, rare character appearances, and exclusive merchandise, started on April 8.
2023:
Elemental, a computer-animated romantic comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, is released in U.S. theaters. Set in a world inhabited by anthropomorphic elements of nature, the story follows fire element Ember Lumen (voiced by Leah Lewis) and water element Wade Ripple (Mamoudou Athie), who meet and fall in love after Wade is summoned by a plumbing accident at a convenience store owned by Ember's father Bernie (Ronnie del Carmen).
Playing in front of Elemental is Carl's Date, a computer-animated short film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. Written and directed by Bob Peterson and produced by Kim Collins, it stars the voice of Ed Asner (in one of his final roles) reprising his role of Carl Fredricksen from the 2009 Up. Peterson also returns as the voice of Dug. Carl reluctantly goes on his first date since his late wife Ellie's death, even though he has no idea how dating works. Dug tries to help Carl psyche himself to go on a date.
1994:
Actress & musician Caitlyn Taylor Love is born in Corpus Christi, Texas. First appearing as a semifinalist on season 1 of "America's Got Talent," she co-starred in the Disney XD sitcom "I'm in the Band" (2009-2011), and supplied the voice of White Tiger/Ava Ayala for the Disney XD animated series "Ultimate Spider-Man" (2012-2017). She was nominated for a Young Artist Award for her role of Izzy Fuentes in "I'm in the Band."
