2004:
Bidding begins on e-Bay for the Disneyland Haunted
Mansion 1000th Ghost Experience. The winning bidder will
have their own personalized "tombstone" immortalized at the
classic Anaheim park attraction. The unique gravestone
marker will bear the winner's first name and a humorous
epitaph (inspired by the winner's interests or hobbies) written
and personalized by the team at Walt Disney Imagineering. (A ceremony for the
highest bidder will take place October 28.)
of the book are taken from previously published stories. The first chapter, for instance, is adapted from "The
Wrong Sort of Bees", a story published in the London Evening News last December 1925.) The book is
beautifully illustrated by E.H. Shepard. Milne had created Pooh after his 5-year-old son Christopher became
enamored with a bear cub named Winnie at the London Zoo. (Milne's series of Pooh books will become a
favorite of Walt Disney's daughters, thus inspiring Walt to bring Pooh to film in 1966. The first two chapters of
Winnie-the-Pooh will be adapted into the featurette Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree.)
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1938:
Disney's Silly Symphony cartoon Farmyard Symphony is released. In this short,
directed by Jack Cutting, a farmyard of animals go through their daily routine to the accompaniment of various
classical themes.
1945:
Disney's Uncle Remus and His Tales of Br'er Rabbit Sunday strip debuts in newspapers. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, it will continue for more than 25 years.
Cartoonist and illustrator Daniel Jan "Daan" Jippes is born in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In the mid seventies he started working for the Dutch Donald Duck magazine, where his interpretation of the ducks and Mickey Mouse drew the attention of the Disney Studios in Burbank, California. Subsequently he was hired and worked for the Disney company; initially for the comic strip and merchandising department, later for the animation department as a designer and storyboarder, contributing to such films as The Rescuers Down Under, The Prince and the Pauper,
Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. (Aside from his work at Disney, he also worked as a storyboard supervisor on Amblimation's Balto and provided covers in Disney style for the comic books of Gladstone Publishing.)
1952:
Actor/magician Harry Anderson, who appeared in such Disney TV specials as
the 1994 Circus of the Stars Goes to Disneyland, the 1988 Magic in the Magic
Kingdom, and the 1989 The Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park Grand Opening,
is born in Newport, Rhode Island. (TV fans will remember him from the hit sitcom Night Court.)
1955:
Mickey Mouse Club airs on ABC-TV. Today is Talent Round-Up Day.
1962:
The NBC-TV series Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color airs
"The Silver Fox and Sam Davenport."
1971:
Walt Disney World's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attraction (based
on the 1954 Disney film) opens at the 14-day old Magic Kingdom.
It features 12 thirty-eight passenger (39 including the operator) submarines in an 11.5 million gallon tank of water. A very close cousin to Disneyland's Submarine Voyage which opened in 1959, the two rides share many of the same elements and animatronics.
1977:
Legendary singer & actor Bing Crosby passes away in Madrid, Spain at age 74.
He was one of the narrators for Disney's 1949 animated feature The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. One
of the first multimedia stars (from 1934 to 1954) Crosby held a nearly unrivaled command of record sales, radio
ratings and motion picture grosses.
2001:
The final performance of Disney's Steps In Time is held at 6:15 p.m. at the
Hyperion Theater at Disney's California Adventure. Cast Members from all over
the resort including the entertainment department are invited to see the last show.
Winnie the Pooh turns 75!
A set of stamps featuring Walt Disney and Disney characters is released in Portugal.
Actress Rowan Blanchard is born in Los Angeles, California. Disney Channel viewers
known her as Riley Matthews on the series "Girl Meets World" (which aired from 2014 until 2017). Her
Disney credits also include the 2015 Disney Channel Original Movie Invisible Sister and the 2018 feature film
A Wrinkle in Time.
2003:
Matt Ouimet is named president of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California.
The Travel Channel airs Disneyland Resort: Behind the Scenes (narrated by
Patrick Labyorteaux) for the first time.
Buena Vista Records re-releases Hilary Duff's 2002 holiday CD Santa
Claus Lane with the bonus track - "What Christmas Should Be".
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2006:
Previews begin for Mary Poppins - a co-production between Disney and
Cameron Mackintosh - at the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York City. Already a
hit in London, the new musical will officially open on Broadway November 16.
Disney Channel airs the Halloween-themed
"Torn Between Two Hannahs" - the 17th Hannah Montana episode.
There are over 300
places to dine across
Walt Disney World Resort
... which in turn means
there are more than 350
chefs on staff!
2005:
The Disney Channel Original Movie Twitches, starring real-life sisters Tia and
Tamera Mowry, debuts. Based on a popular teen book series by H.B. Gilmour and Randi Reisfeld, Twitches
will be the #1 basic cable movie of 2005. The film features the song "Rush" - the first official single
by pop sisters Aly & AJ.
1965:
Actor, producer, & writer Steve Coogan is born in Manchester, England.
His Disney credits include the 2004 Around the World in 80 Days (as Phileas Fogg) & the 1996 The Wind
in the Willows (as Mole).
1890:
Dwight D. Eisenhower, the thirty-fourth United States President, is born in Denison, Texas. As President, he oversaw the cease-fire of the Korean War, launched the
Space Race, enlarged the Social Security program, and began the Interstate Highway System.
An "I Like Ike" animated television commercial was produced by Roy Disney and Citizens for
Eisenhower-Nixon for the 1952 Presidential Election. It was the only political commercial Disney
ever produced and was credited with softening Eisenhower's image. On the morning after Disney's
"Man in Space" television airing, President Eisenhower called Disney to compliment him on the
show and to request a copy that could be shown to top space-related officials in the Pentagon!
In December 1962 "Ike" and his wife and grandchildren visited Disneyland (only one of five former
U.S. presidents to ever visit the theme park). Eisenhower presented the Freedoms Foundations
coveted George Washington award to Walt Disney for promoting the American way of life in Palm Springs, California in 1963. Visit Ike and all the U.S. Chief Executives at Disney World's
The Hall of Presidents.
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1986:
Sleeping Beauty becomes the sixth "Walt Disney Classic" to be released on video.
It is also the first title to be released in VHS Hi-Fi.
Character actor Keenan Wynn passes away at age 70 in Brentwood, California.
Son of vaudeville comedian Ed Wynn, Keenan was famous for playing Disney villains in such feature films as
Son of Flubber (1963), Snowball Express (1972), Herbie Rides Again (1974), and The Shaggy D.A. (1976).
OCTOBER 14
THIS DAY MADE IN THE USA
OCTOBER 14
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"I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, and long words Bother me." -Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh published
T-Rex opens
E-Ticket attraction
2009:
Walt Disney World opens the new Epcot attraction "Sum of All Thrills" (the first ride
in Innoventions pavilion in which a businesses sponsors an educational attraction).
Sponsored by Raytheon, guests can design their own ride and then experience it on a giant robotic arm simulator.
1989:
Actress Mia Wasikowska, Alice in Disney's 2010 Alice in Wonderland, is born in
Canberra, Australia.
1949:
The Disney short The Greener Yard, directed by Jack Hannah, is released.
Bootle Beetle tells his grandson about how he barely made it out of Donald Duck's yard alive!
2010:
Duffy the Disney Bear makes his grand entrance with Mickey Mouse at Epcot.
First hand-sewn by Minnie Mouse as a gift to Mickey, Duffy, dressed like a sailor, was designed to be Mickey’s
companion during his travels. The character has been popular with guests at Tokyo DisneySea theme park.
October Preview Month
1984:
Jason Davis, best known for his voice acting work on Disney's animated
television series Recess, is born in Utah.
1926:
Alan Alexander Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh (the first volume of stories
about Winnie-the-Pooh) is published by Methuen & Co. Ltd. in London,
England. The book focuses on the adventures of a teddy bear named Pooh and his friends
Piglet - a small toy pig, Eeyore - a toy donkey, Owl - a live owl, and Rabbit - a live rabbit. (Portions
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October 14
1980:
Actor Benjamin John Whishaw, who portrayed Michael Banks in Disney's 2018
feature Mary Poppins Returns, is born in Clifton, Bedfordshire, England.
1997:
The soundtrack to Disney's 1989 hit animated film The Little Mermaid is re-released.
2017:
The second season of Elena of Avalor kicks off with the episode "The Jewel of Maru"
on Disney Channel. A spin-off of Sofia the First, the computer-animated adventure television series will
move to Disney Junior in 2018.
1964:
Voice actor David Kaye is born David V. Hope in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.
He supplied various voices for the series Star Wars: The Clone Wars (distributed by Disney-ABC since 2013).
Kaye is also the voice of the Newsreel Announcer in the 2009 animated feature Up.
2019:
The computer-animated children's television series Mickey and the Roadster Racers airs the first episode of season 3 under the new title Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures.
A spin-off of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, the series first debuted on Disney Junior in the U.S. on January 15, 2017.
2016:
Evolution (stylized as EVOLution), the second studio album by singer Sabrina Carpenter, is released on Disney's Hollywood Records.
2014:
Actress Elizabeth Peña, the voice of Mirage (Syndrome's seductive right-hand woman and accomplice) in the 2004 Disney-Pixar animated feature The Incredibles, passes away at age 55 in California. She also appeared in Touchstone's 1986 film Down and Out in Beverly Hills
and two episodes of ABC's Modern Family.
1983:
Character actor Paul Fix passes away at age 82 in California. Best known for his role on the Western series The Rifleman (1958-1963), he appeared on two episodes of The Magical World of Disney television show. Fix portrayed Vern Padgett in "Secrets of Pirates Inn" (1969) and Cap'n Pierre in "Bayou Boy" (1971). Appearing in more than a hundred movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career, his credits included episodes of Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Star Trek, and Barnaby Jones.
2022:
Actor Robbie Coltrane passes away at age 72 in Scotland. First gaining worldwide recognition as Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter film series (2001–2011), Disney fans knew him as the voice of Lord Dingwall in the 2012 animated Disney/Pixar film Brave. He also played the Duke in The Adventures of Huck Finn, a 1993 live-action comedy-drama produced by Walt Disney Pictures.
