1963:
Walt Disney and a group of associates fly over the coast of Florida aboard a
Beechwood Queen Air (a small twin propeller aircraft first put into service in 1963).
Walt and his entourage of top executives are at the end of a tour of the eastern United States in search of an ideal location for a new theme park. The aerial view confirms Walt's doubts about building a theme park by the ocean.
They fly inland over Orlando, circling the forests and swamps for the very first time. From the air they see the good
road network below (which includes Interstate 4, Florida's Turnpike and McCoy Air Force Base - soon to be Orlando International Airport). Walt has a good feeling about this site. This is followed with a stop in New Orleans to refuel for the trip back to Burbank, California. It is during the stop in New Orleans that they learn of U.S. President Kennedy's assassination in Texas, just hours before. On the somber flight back home, Walt announces that out of all the
stops ... Central Florida appears to be the best choice.
Disneyland will close the following day in honor of President Kennedy (who visited the park, as Senator, in 1959.)
(Although often reported, Disney and his executives were not aboard a 1963 G-151 Grumman Gulfstream 1 plane
on this day. That airplane - today on display at Disney's Hollywood Studios - was not put into service until 1964.)
C.S. Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia, passes away one week before his
65th birthday. (The 2005 film adaptation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - distributed by Walt
Disney Pictures - was based on his first installment in the Narnia series.)
1924:
Actress Geraldine Page, the voice of Madame Medusa in Disney's 1977 animated release The Rescuers, is born in Kirksville, Missouri. An Academy Award and a two time Emmy Award-winner, Page also appeared in the 1967 live-action feature The Happiest Millionaire as Mrs. Duke.
1952:
Disney animator Fred Moore (who is in the midst of working on Peter Pan) and his
second wife Virginia are involved in an auto accident on a rural highway through Big
Tujunga Canyon near the Angeles National Forest. They are both injured after their car is struck
head-on while making a U-turn. (Sadly, Fred will pass away the following day.)
1955:
Mickey Mouse Club airs on ABC-TV. Today is Guest Star Day.
1958:
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis, the star of Disney's 2003 Freaky Friday, is born to
actors Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh in Los Angeles, California. Her Disney credits also
include the 2008 Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Touchstone's 2010 You Again. (Curtis's film debut was the 1978 horror Halloween, playing the role of Laurie Strode.)
1972:
The Julie Andrews Hour: Disneyland airs on ABC-TV. The Julie Andrews Hour, hosted by Julie
Andrews (the star of Disney's Mary Poppins), is a weekly television variety series with each hour-long episode
featuring celebrity guests. This episode pays tribute to the films of Walt Disney and includes a rare onscreen
appearance from Adriana Caselotti, the voice of Snow White for the 1937 animated classic Snow White and the
Seven Dwarfs. The episode also features dancer-singer-actor Donald O'Connor, and singing group
The Young Americans. (The series will run for 24 episodes and win
an amazing 8 Emmy Awards.)
1974:
The Lake Buena Vista Golf Club opens at
Walt Disney World. Located near what will be the Downtown
Disney shopping and entertainment district, the course will earn a
4 star rating from Golf Digest.
1989:
The Swan Hotel, located on Walt Disney World property but
operated by Westin Hotels, opens at 1200 Epcot Resorts Blvd.
Actor Alden Ehrenreich is born Alden Caleb Ehrenreich in Los Angeles, California. He portrayed Hans Solo in the 2018 film Solo: A Star Wars Story.
1991:
The 30th Disney animated feature film Beauty
and the Beast, featuring the voices of Robby
Benson as the Beast and Paige O'Hara as
Belle, is generally released to theaters in
the U.S. & Canada. Belle, whose father is imprisoned
by the Beast, offers herself instead and discovers her captor
to be an enchanted prince named Adam. The film is based
on the fairy tale La Belle et la Bête by Jeanne-Marie Le
Prince de Beaumont. The all-star voice cast includes Richard
White (as Gaston), Jerry Orbach (as Lumiere), David Ogden
Stiers (as Cogsworth) and Angela Lansbury (as Mrs.
Potts). The film's music will win 2 Academy Awards and 4
Grammy Awards and Beauty and the Beast will later be
the first animated film ever to be nominated for best picture.
Also debuting, Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage - a Broadway-style musical at
the 1,500-seat Theater of the Stars, on Sunset Boulevard at Disney-MGM in Florida.
The Disney Channel airs the Disney Channel Premiere Film Mark Twain and Me
for the first time. A young girl named Dorothy Quick (played by Amy Stewart) befriends the famous
writer Mark Twain (Jason Robards) during the final years of his life.
1992:
Disney Legend & character actor
Sterling Holloway, the first voice
of Winnie the Pooh, passes away
in Los Angeles, California at age 87.
Making his Hollywood debut in 1926, Holloway's
first role for Disney wasn't until the 1941 Dumbo,
voicing the messenger Stork who delivers baby
Dumbo to Mrs. Jumbo and then sings "Happy
Birthday." His voice can also be heard in such
Disney classics as Bambi, The Three Caballeros,
The Aristocats, The Jungle Book, and Alice in
Wonderland. (Holloway also voiced the original
Cheerios Honey-Nut Bee and even appeared on a 1964 episode of The Twilight Zone.)
1995:
The Disney/Pixar computer animated feature film Toy Story,
starring Tom Hanks as the voice of Woody and Tim Allen as
the voice of Buzz Lightyear, is released. The film is shown at
Disney's El Capitan Theater in Hollywood as part of "Totally Toy Story."
Moviegoers can attend the Toy Story Funhouse adjacent to the theater through the
first of the new year. The Toy Story Funhouse includes such activities as playing
with a giant Lite-Brite and having your photo taken with Buzz and Woody. (The Toy
Story Funhouse will eventually re-locate to Disneyland.) Woody, a good-hearted
cowboy doll who belongs to a young boy named Andy (voiced byJohn Morris),
sees his position as Andy's favorite toy jeopardized when his parents buy him a
Buzz Lightyear action figure. The voice cast includes Don Rickles, Wallace
Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Jim Varney, Annie Potts, R. Lee Ermey, and Laurie
Metcalf. Toy Story features the music of Randy Newman,
Released along with Toy Story is Pixar's Academy Award-winning short Tin Toy,
directed by John Lasseter. (In 2003, Tin Toy will be selected for preservation in the
United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being
"culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".)
The Toy Story Parade premiers at the Disney-MGM Studios in Florida.
Disney releases the 1982 film Tron on laserdisc.
Actress Katherine McNamara is born in Kansas City, Missouri. Disney Channel fans will recognize her as Myra Santelli in Girl vs. Monster, Claire in Kickin' It, and Bryn Breitbart in Jessie. McNamara also had a recurring role as Kat in ABC Family's The Fosters and a starring role as Clary Fairchild in Freeform's series Shadowhunters.
1999:
Bob Hope appears at Disneyland to inaugurate a new tradition, the first official lighting of the holiday lights at the park.
2000:
Disney's live-action feature 102 Dalmatians is released.
Starring Glenn Close as the villainous Cruella DeVil, it is a sequel to the
1996 101 Dalmatians (a live-action remake of the 1961 animated feature
One Hundred and One Dalmatians). Cruella De Vil is released from prison
on good behavior swearing that she will have nothing to do with fur ever
again. Everyone marvels at her miraculous transformation, but she,
however, cannot keep her promise and soon is plotting another scheme
with French fashion designer Jean-Pierre Le Pelt to get her ultimate
Dalmatian coat! The cast includes Gérard Depardieu as
Jean-Pierre LePelt, Ioan Gruffudd as Kevin Shepherd, Alice Evans
as Chloe Simon, Tim McInnerny as Alonzo, and Eric Idle as the voice
of Waddlesworth The Parrot. Close and McInnerny are the only two
actors from the first film to return for the sequel.
The soundtrack to 102 Dalmatians is released by Walt Disney Records.
Actress-singer Auliʻi Cravalho is born in Hawaii.
She is best known for voicing the title role in Disney's animated Moana
(2016), as well as the short Moana: Gone Fishing (2017), and the feature
Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018). She was the last person to audition out
of hundreds of actresses for the role of Moana. Cravalho portrayed Ariel
in a live-action concert rendition of The Little Mermaid in November 2019.
Touchstone Pictures releases the superhero thriller
Unbreakable, starring Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Robin Wright, Spencer
Treat Clark, and Charlayne Woodard. David Dunn learns something extraordinary about himself after being the sole survivor of a devastating train wreck.
2001:
Thanksgiving Day
Disney World's A Christmas Fantasy Parade rolls out.
Starting today (and running through January 6, 2002) Christmas decorations and
entertainment brighten the Disneyland Hotel, Disney's Paradise Pier hotel and
Disney's Grand Californian hotel. This includes visits from Santa Claus as well as strolling carolers
in Victorian dress to spreading holiday cheer and singing favorite Yuletide tunes.
The characters from Disney/Pixar's new movie Monsters, Inc. appear in
Philadelphia's 82nd Thanksgiving Day Parade. Also on hand are Mickey Mouse, Minnie and
the whole Disney family with a spectacular sneak peek at Walt Disney World's 100 Years of Magic
celebration. Plus, Channel 6's Karen Rogers broadcast live from Walt Disney World, with the magical holiday
celebration in Orlando.
"The Power of BLAST!" (featuring the original cast from the Tony Award-winning
Broadway musical, "BLAST!") opens in Disney's California Adventure. The brass-and-
percussion spectacle will be performed inside the Hyperion Theater several times a day for park guests.
2002:
Disney underwrites one hundred percent of the cost for this year's
annual Toys for Tots National Kickoff Luncheon for the organization's
corporate sponsors and military supporters, in Washington, D.C.
(Disney has been a Toys for Tots supporter since 1947.)
The Lizzie McGuire episode "She Said, He Said, She Said" debuts on
Disney Channel.
2003:
The Disney Studios in Burbank, California host the 2003 Disney Holiday Magical Faire (which features handcrafted items and a rare opportunity to visit portions of the Disney Studios).
The Wonderful World of Disney airs the television movie
"Eloise at Christmastime," starring Julie Andrews.
2004:
It is reported that Hong Kong Disneyland will open September 12, 2005.
1985:
Disney's live-action feature One Magic Christmas, starring
Mary Steenburgen and Harry Dean Stanton, is released.
Voice actor Sterling Holloway
grew up at 301 S. College Street
in Cedartown, Georgia.
The street which formed the
corner on which Holloway's
house was located is now known
as Sterling Holloway Place.
2007:
Happy Thanksgiving!
The Broadway cast of Disney's Mary Poppins performs
"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" live at the 81st Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. Also performing are Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu, and Jonas Brothers.
Hang on for the comedy that goes to infinity and beyond!
NOVEMBER 22
THIS DAY MADE
IN THE
USA
NOVEMBER 22
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1971:
Walt Disney Productions releases The Aristocats (the twentieth animated
feature in the Disney animated features canon) in the United Kingdom.
1994 Disney Legends
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Buzz: "I've set my laser from stun to kill."
Woody: "Oh, great. If anyone attacks we can blink em' to death."
-Toy Story
1994:
Disney World's All-Star Music Resort opens at 1801 West Buena Vista Drive.
It is the second phase of what will be 4 themed All-Star resorts. The All-Star Music is located on the
southern portion of the Disney World property and is divided into 5 areas: Calypso, Jazz Inn, Rock Inn,
Country Fair, and Broadway. Calypso is the first to open on this day.
Adriana Caselotti (the original voice of Snow White) is among the nine
inducted as Disney Legends. The ceremony is held at the Disney Legends Promenade
(sidewalk area in front of the Disney Studio Theatre).
In Memory of Sterling Price Holloway
(1905-1992)
2009:
Tony Award-winning actress Anika Noni Rose, the voice of Tiana in Disney’s
upcoming film The Princess and the Frog, sings the National Anthem at
Homestead-Miami Speedway during NASCAR's Championship Weekend.
2005:
Disney's stage musical Aida officially premieres in Munich, Germany at the Deutsches Theater. The cast features Ana Milva Gomes as Amneris, Bettina Monch as Aida, and Bernhard Forcher as Radames. It will play through January 15, 2006.
The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions Featuring Seu Jorge, an album by Brazilian musician Seu Jorge, is released through Hollywood Records. It is a collection of David Bowie songs (plus one original, "Team Zissou") Jorge recorded in Portuguese for the soundtrack to the film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (a comedy-drama released by Touchstone Pictures in December 2004).
2006:
Touchstone Pictures releases Déjà Vu, starring Denzel Washington as an A.T.F. Special Agent. After a ferry is bombed in New Orleans, an A.T.F. agent joins a unique investigation using experimental surveillance technology to find the bomber, but soon finds himself becoming obsessed with one of the victims. The cast includes Paula Patton, Jim Caviezel, Val Kilmer, and Adam Goldberg.
1998:
The Hollywood & Vine Cafeteria of the Stars opens in the Disney-MGM Studios
theme park at WDW. Set in the in classic Hollywood style of the 1930’s and ‘40’s, the sit-down
restaurant is located on Vine Street off Hollywood Boulevard.
1962:
Thanksgiving Day
A helium-filled Donald Duck balloon returns
to Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
on this rainy day in New York City.
Heavy rains during the parade cause the rim of
Donald Duck's hat to fill with water and dump 50 gallons
on a few unlucky parade watchers!
1984:
Thanksgiving Day
A giant balloon of Donald Duck,
to help celebrate his 50th birthday,
is featured in Macy's Thanksgiving
Day Parade in New York City.
Although a cold day, the crowds
number a million packing
streets and curbsides 10 deep
along the parade route!
1997:
The eleventh episode of Disney's Recess, "Rainy Days/The Great Can Drive"
premieres on ABC-TV. The holiday segment "The Great Can Drive" centers on Mikey who wants to
participate in the Thanksgiving can drive competition against the unbeatable Ashleys.
Actress Joanna Moore, who played more than eighty television and film roles, passes at age 63 in California. She portrayed Desiree de la Roche in Disney's 1963 Son of Flubber.
2012:
Happy Thanksgiving!
The 86th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade kicks off at 9AM in
New York City. Kermit the Frog, Buzz Lightyear and Sailor Mickey return to the skies over
Manhattan to help ring in the holiday season.
Down in Florida, the Disney Thanksgiving Parade of Bands takes place at
Disney's Hollywood Studios.
Visual development artist, designer, story man and Disney Legend Mel Shaw
passes away at the age of 97 in California. Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Shaw was
recruited by Walt Disney in 1937. He worked on such early classics as Fantasia, Bambi, and The Wind in the Willows (which later became a segment in The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad). He left the studio in 1941
but returned 33 years later to help influence the look and story for such beloved and modern-day Disney films as
The Rescuers, The Fox and the Hound, The Great Mouse Detective, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King.
(During his break from Disney, Shaw helped design and create the original Howdy Doody marionette
puppet for NBC-TV!)
Walt Disney's Donald Duck Vol. 2: "A Christmas For Shacktown" (Vol. 2)
is published by Fantagraphics. The second volume of Fantagraphics’ reprinting of Carl Barks’s
classic Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge work, the book focuses on the early 1950s, universally considered
one of Barks's very peak periods.
selected Disney film credits:
Christmas at Walt Disney World (1978) - Narrator
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) - Winnie the Pooh
Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (1974) - Winnie the Pooh
The AristoCats (1970) - Roquefort
Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968) - Winnie the Pooh
The Jungle Book (1967) - Kaa the Snake
Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966) - Winnie the Pooh
Goliath II (1960) - Narrator
Ben and Me (1953) - Amos the Mouse
The Little House (1952) - Narrator
Alice in Wonderland (1951) - Cheshire Cat
The Three Caballeros (1944) - Prof. Holloway
Bambi (1942) - Adult Flower
1973:
Happy Thanksgiving!
Cold, sunny skies greets New York City for
the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Herald Square's lineup includes a giant balloon of Mickey
Mouse. The parade is celebrating the 50th anniversary
of Walt Disney cartoons! Back on the ground, Mickey, Pluto and Goofy march along Disney's Circus Wagon float. Disney
is also represented with the Alice in Wonderland float, Captain Hook's ship, and the Disney World castle float.
November 22
2013:
The Snow and Ice Sculpture Festival in Bruges, Belgium, opens. A yearly tradition, this
season's exhibits include spectacular ice sculptures themed around Disney’s "Frozen."
The comedy-drama Delivery Man, produced by DreamWorks Pictures and Reliance Entertainment, and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, is released by Touchstone Pictures. Amiable slacker David Wozniak (Vince Vaughn) drives a delivery truck for his family's company and is content with a life of mediocrity. However, when he learns that he is the biological father of more
than 500 offspring and many of them are suing to learn his identity, he decides to hold himself accountable.
Starting on this day, Frozen has a five-day limited release at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood (where the film premiered on November 19). Produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures, it will go into wide release November 27.
2017:
Walt Disney Pictures releases Coco, an animated musical fantasy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios, to U.S. theaters. Based on the Mexican holiday of Día de los Muertos, the film tells the story of a 12-year-old boy named Miguel Rivera who is accidentally transported to the land of the dead, where he seeks the help of his musician great-great-grandfather to return him to his family among the living. The voice cast includes Anthony Gonzalez (Miguel), Benjamin Bratt (Ernesto de la Cruz), Gael Garcia Bernal (Hector), Edward James Olmos (Chicharron), Gabriel Iglesias (head clerk), Cheech Marin (Corrections Officer), Alfonso Arau (Papa Julio), and Sofia Espinosa (Mama). Based on an original idea by Lee Unkrich,
it is directed by him and co-directed by Adrian Molina. The film's score is composed by Michael Giacchino, with songs by Germaine Franco, Adrian Molina, Robert Lopez, and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. (Coco will gross over $807 million worldwide, becoming the11th highest-grossing film of 2017.)
Released along with Coco, is the Disney short Olaf's Frozen Adventure. When the kingdom of Arendelle empties out for the holiday season, Anna and Elsa realize that they have no family traditions of their own. So Olaf sets out on a merry mission to bring home the very best traditions and save Christmas.
1956:
Actor Richard Kind is born in Trenton, New Jersey. His Disney & Pixar voice credits
include A Bug's Life, Santa Buddies, Toy Story 3, Cars 2, Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups, and Inside Out.
(Kind is best known for his roles in the sitcoms Mad About You and Spin City.)
1967:
Actor Mark Ruffalo is born in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He gained international recognition for his role as Bruce Banner / Hulk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with The Avengers (2012). He reprised the role in Iron Man 3 (2013), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Captain Marvel (2019) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
Actress Scarlett Johansson is born Scarlett Ingrid Johansson in New York City.
Best known for portraying Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow in such films as Iron Man 2 (2010), The Avengers (2012), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2015), and Captain Marvel (2019), her credits also include The Horse Whisperer (1998) and The
Jungle Book (2106) as the voice of Kaa.
2015:
The animated television film The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar debuts on Disney Junior. Set in the African Savanna, the film follows Kion as he assembles the members of the "Lion Guard'. Throughout the film, the diverse team of young animals learn how to utilize each of their unique abilities to solve problems and accomplish tasks to maintain balance within the Circle of Life, while also introducing viewers to the
vast array of animals that populate the prodigious African landscape. The voice cast includes James Earl Jones,
Rob Lowe, Gabrielle Union, and Ernie Sabella. The Lion Guard will begin airing as a TV series on January 15, 2016.
1940:
Disney's Goofy cartoon Goofy's Glider is released. Goofy has a hard time getting his
homemade glider airborne!
2019:
Frozen II, a computer-animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, is released to theaters. The 58th film produced by the studio, it is the sequel to the 2013 Frozen and features the return of directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, producer Peter Del Vecho, songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, and composer Christopher Beck. Three years after the events of the first film, Elsa starts to hear a strange sound from the north calling her. Together with her sister Anna, Kristoff, Olaf the snowman, and Sven the reindeer, they embark on a new journey beyond their homeland of Arendelle in order to discover the origin of Elsa's magical powers and save their kingdom. Veteran voice cast Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Santino Fontana, Ciarán Hinds, and Alan Tudyk return as their previous characters, and are joined by newcomers Sterling K. Brown, Evan Rachel Wood, Alfred Molina, Martha Plimpton, Jason Ritter, Rachel Matthews, and Jeremy Sisto.
Exit Form, the debut album from singer Alejandro Aranda (also known as Scarypoolparty) is released on Hollywood Records. He was a runner-up on the seventeenth season of American Idol.
1959:
Voice actor & writer Eddie Frierson is born in Akron, Ohio. Doing voicework for many anime series and movies since the 1980s, his Disney credits include Chicken Little, Frozen, Incredibles 2, The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph, and Zootopia.
1986:
Benjamin Sherman Crothers, known professionally as Scatman Crothers, passes away in California at age 76. An actor and musician, he supplied the voice for Scat Cat in Disney's 1970 animated film The Aristocats. Probably best known for playing Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show Chico and the Man, Crothers also appeared in such feature films as The Shining, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Twilight Zone: The Movie. He was also a prolific voice-over actor who provided the voices of Meadowlark Lemon in the Harlem Globetrotters animated TV series, Jazz the Autobot in The Transformers and The Transformers: The Movie (1986), and the title character in Hong Kong Phooey.
