2004:
Florida's major central Florida resorts and theme parks, including Walt
Disney World, close due to Hurricane Frances. This is only Disney World's second
closing ever since its 1971 grand opening. The Disney Magic pulls into Galveston’s harbor (in
Texas) as Hurricane Frances forces the liner from its course home to Port Canaveral, Florida.
Some areas of Florida will receive over 13 inches of rain during the slow onslaught. Similar to
Hurricane Charley earlier in the month, the Florida citrus crops will be heavily damaged by Frances.
1913:
Disney Legend Masatomo Takahashi, whose vision and desire
brought a Disney park to Japan, is born in Fukushima, Japan.
1919:
Actor and director Howard Morris is born in New York City. He was the original
voice of Gopher for Disney's Winnie the Pooh features. (TV fans will know Morris for his comedic role
of Ernest T. Bass on The Andy Griffith Show and as the voice of Jughead for the animated Archie Show.)
1922:
The Laugh-O-Gram black & white silent cartoon Jack and the
Beanstalk is released. It is directed and co-animated by Walt Disney.
1942:
Disney's Goofy cartoon How To Play Baseball is released.
1997:
"The Spirit of Pocahontas," performed at the Fantasyland Theater in
Disneyland, gives its final performance after nearly a 2 1/2 year run.
Buena Vista Home Entertainment announces that it is entering the
DVD market in the U.S. and abroad, with product to
be available in the U.S. as early as Christmas.
1998:
Fifty-one Miss America contestants, led by reigning Miss America Kate Shindle,
greet fans and sign autographs at Disney World's BoardWalk. This is the only
opportunity fans have to meet all 51 contestants before they take the stage in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Firelight, a period romance film written and directed by William Nicholson and starring Sophie Marceau and Stephen Dillane, is released by Hollywood
Pictures. Set In 1830s England, debt-ridden governess Elisabeth Laurier (Marceau) consents to bear a child
with aristocrat Charles Godwin (Dillane), whose crippled wife cannot conceive. So long as Elisabeth relinquishes
any maternal claims, he will pay off her father's debts. Though the arrangement is meant to be perfunctory, a
forbidden romance blooms between them. Years later, she is hired as governess to a young girl on a remote
estate -- who turns out to be the daughter she surrendered.
1999:
The Disney Channel Original Movie P.U.N.K.S., about a group of misfit teens
who evade a corrupt scientist when they steal and attempt to return a suit that
delivers supernatural strength to its wearer, premieres.
2000:
Hundreds of Mary Poppins' fans gathered at the El Capitan Theater in
Hollywood where moviegoers are invited to sing-along with the film as lyrics
appear along the bottom. Before the film starts, the Sherman Brothers and others involved
with Mary Poppins speak about creating the film.
2001:
Disney's new theme park Tokyo DisneySea has its grand opening at
the Tokyo Disney Resort. Featuring over 20 attractions, it is Disney's second theme park in Japan and
ninth in the world. The park has a nautical theme and is broken up into 7 distinct areas. The park's two iconic
symbols are the DisneySea AquaSphere - a water fountain (located in the entrance plaza) and a gigantic volcano
- Mount Prometheus (located in the center of the park). Also on this day, Tokyo Disney Resort celebrates the
grand opening of the first hotel to be built inside a Disney Park in Japan, Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta.
2003:
Disney On Ice Presents Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc pulls into
Orlando's TD Waterhouse Centre for a 4-day engagement.
2006:
Another Tower of Terror opens ... this time at Tokyo DisneySea Park!
The attraction opens in American Waterfront, a "port of call" representing the northeastern
seaboard of the United States in the early 20th century. The Tower of Terror at Tokyo
DisneySea has no connection or tie-ins with The Twilight Zone, but is instead themed as
the Hotel Hightower, an 1890s' New York City hotel owned by eccentric billionaire Harrison Hightower III. He disappeared on December 31, 1899 while taking the elevator up to his private quarters shortly after taking a mysterious idol of a trickster spirit called Shiriki Utundu from an ancient civilization in Africa!
Yin Yang Yo!, an animated series for Toon Disney and Jetix, premieres. Tween rabbits, Yin and Yang, must put aside their sibling rivalry to learn the lost martial art form “woo foo” from grumpy panda Master Yo, who was forced out of retirement to train and guide the brother and sister to help them save the world from comical evil doers.
"Welcome one and all to a world where Imagination and Adventure set sail. Tokyo DisneySea is dedicated
to the spirit of exploration that lives in each of us. Here we charter a course for Adventure, Romance,
Discovery and Fun and journey to exotic and fanciful Ports of Call. May Tokyo DisneySea inspire the
hearts and mind of all of us who share the water planet, Earth."
-Michael Eisner's DisneySea dedication This Day in Disney History 2001
1937:
The first formal story conference for Disney's next scheduled feature
Bambi takes place. Director David Hand announces that animation
will begin on December 1. (Months later Walt will postpone work on
Bambi and instead begin production on Pinocchio.)
In 1976, Disney aired a
patriotic TV special entitled America on Parade, hosted by legendary comedian
Red Skelton.
2007:
It is reported that the Boca Raton-based Florida Atlantic University recently received
a Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund award. (The Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund distributed
$1.5 million in 2007 - and has given out more than $11 million since Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park
opened.) Atlantic University will use the fund to help with sea turtle recovery efforts and to increase understanding
of these animals through public education.
Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams, a direct-to-video animated musical film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Disneytoon Studios, is released. The film features 2 new stories about Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty (1959) and Princess Jasmine from
Aladdin (1992). Narrated by Susanne Blakeslee, Erin Torpey supplies the speaking voice of Princess Aurora, and Linda Larkin-Vasquez as Princess Jasmine
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1968:
Film & television actor and director Phill Lewis is born in Uganda, East Africa. Fans of
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and its sequel The Suite Life on Deck know Lewis for his comedic role of Mr. Moseby,
the hotel/ship manager. He has also appeared on episodes of Disney Channel's Lizzie McGuire, That's So Raven,
Wizards of Waverly Place, Hannah Montana, and Jessie. His voice credits include Special Agent Oso and Phineas and Ferb. Lewis has also appeared on such ABC series as Boy Meets World, Dharma & Greg, 8 Simple Rules, and
Brothers & Sisters. His long list of directing credits include episodes of The Suite Life on Deck, A.N.T. Farm, Jessie,
Good Luck Charlie, and Melissa & Joey.
John William DiMaggio, a voice actor and comedian, is born in North Plainfield, New
Jersey. Known for his gruff baritone voice, his vast credits include such Disney films and television shows as Kim Possible (as Dr. Drakken & Motor Ed), Dave the Barbarian (as Gagnar), American Dragon: Jake Long (as Fu Dog), Fish Hooks (as Jocktopus), Wreck-it Ralph (as Beard Papa), Zootopia (as Jerry Jumbeaux Jr, Woolter, Jesse, Pig Reporter, & Moose), and Gravity Falls (as Manly Dan, Harry Claymore & Love God).
SEPTEMBER 4
THIS DAY MADE
IN THE
USA
SEPTEMBER 4
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America on Parade was also an
actual parade that ran in the
parks to commemorate the
United States Bicentennial.
Tokyo DisneySea opens
1918:
Postal employee Walt Disney (who is a substitute mail carrier) is walking through the
West Adams Street lobby of the Federal Building in Chicago when he hears a
deafening blast that shakes the ground. Someone has planted a bomb. More than 75 are injured and
four are killed - including a co-worker of Walt's named William Wheeler. The force of the blast also kills a horse on
the street, damages a streetcar and shatters windows on nearby buildings.
"I was in the post office. I just got though sorting my mail, or finishing my route. I was walking out ... going out a certain
entrance ... when it was bombed. I was right in the lobby when, FOOOOOM, this thing went off. Here comes the dust shooting out
and everything. That was the way I went out every night. I missed that darn thing by about three minutes." -Walt Disney
2009:
Disney World hosts the very first Mickey's Not So Scary
Halloween Party of the 2009 season at the Magic Kingdom.
Disney's Miramax Films release the comedy Extract,
starring Jason Bateman and Ben Affleck.
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Xavier Atencio born
Imagineer Xavier Atencio, a layout artist, character stylist, and lyricist oftened
credited as simply X Atencio, is born in Walsenburg, Colorado. First joining Disney Studios
in 1938, he worked on such productions as Pinocchio, Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom, and Mary Poppins. In
1965 Atencio joined WED Enterprises where he helped design the Disneyland Railroad's Primeval World diorama
segment and wrote the script for both Adventure Thru Inner Space and Pirates of the Caribbean - for which he
also penned the lyrics to the theme song, "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)." Atencio also wrote the script for the
Haunted Mansion attraction, including the lyrics to its theme song, "Grim Grinning Ghosts (The Screaming Song)."
He also contributed to such Epcot attractions as Spaceship Earth and World of Motion. Retired since 1984,
Atencio was named a Disney Legened in 1996.
"I was waiting in the hall for the elevator, and Walt came by and waited for the elvator too. So I said "Hi Walt," and he said "Hi X, how are you doing?" I thought, He knows me, he knows who I am!" -X Atencio on first meeting Walt Disney
The 2001 Official Disneyana Convention takes place at the Disneyland Resort. The 5-day
event is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to acquire unusual Disney collectibles and meet legendary Disney personalities.
Disney's touring production of Aida opens at the Arizona State University's
Gammage Auditorium in Tempe, Arizona. (The show will run through the 15th.)
DisneyQuest Chicago, an indoor interactive theme park, closes its doors due to low
attendance. DisneyQuest first opened on June 19, 1998, as part of a major expansion of the Downtown Disney entertainment district at Walt Disney World. The first DisneyQuest outside of a resort was opened in Chicago, Illinois,
on June 16, 1999 (with plans for more locations worldwide). The Disney World location will close in July 2017. The DisneyQuest project is designed as a way for the Disney brand to reach populations that may not have the chance to travel to its various theme park destinations.
"In 1983, Tokyo Disneyland became our first Disney theme park outside the United States. It went on to become our most successful of
all. Of course, it was very closely modelled after our first park, Disneyland. Today we return to Tokyo to dedicate a very different park, a completely new and completely different one but it shares with all our parks that it takes us to worlds of imagination that might otherwise only be encountered in dreams. This ability to make dreams real is the legacy of our founders, my uncle Walt and father Roy Disney, so I
am very excited to see this legacy live on at Tokyo DisneySea." -Roy Disney
Opening day attractions include:
Mediterranean Harbor - the entrance "port-of-call" and themed as an Italian port city, featuring The Fortress Explorations; a meticulously themed, large-scale interactive play area
Mysterious Island - a "port-of-call" within Mount Prometheus, the giant volcano that is the park's centerpiece,
featuring The 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea & The Journey to the Center of the Earth attractions
Mermaid Lagoon - home to the characters of The Little Mermaid, featuring The Flounder's Flying Fish Coaster roller coaster & Jumpin' Jellyfish
Arabian Coast - themed after Aladdin, featuring The Sinbad's Seven Voyages storybook boat ride, The Magic Lamp Theater & The Caravan Carousel attraction (the first two-story carousel for a Disney park)
Lost River Delta - located in the rear of the park, featuring The Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull
Port Discovery - sometimes called the "Tomorrowland" of Tokyo DisneySea, featuring The Storm Rider simulator ride and Aquatopia; a hydro-glider water vehicle ride
American Waterfront - representing the northeastern seaboard of the U.S. in the early 20th century, featuring The
S.S. Columbia ocean liner & The Dockside Stage
2011:
The Disneyland Half Marathon takes place in Anaheim. Humberto Rojas, a 27-year-old from
Fountain Valley, California, leads the record field of nearly 15,000 registered runners crossing the finish line
first with a time of 1:08:14. Finishing just behind Rojas is Jesse Kleinjan, 27, of Chicago, Illinois, with a time of
1:12:13 and Juan Arjona, 19, of Moreno Valley, California, finishing third with a time of 1:12:54.
Rachel Booth, 30, Mandeville, Louisiana, repeats as the women’s champion with a time of 1:18:01.
Comedian/actor Drew Carey, host of the popular game show The Price is Right, runs in the event, setting a
personal record of 1:50:46. He did it while recovering from a separated clavicle that occurred while training
several weeks ago.
Tokyo DisneySea's 10th anniversary celebration "Be Magical!" begins.
It will run through Spring 2012.
6th Annual Disneyland Half Marathon
September 04
Tokyo DisneySea
2013:
Epcot reopens its Fountain View, formerly a quick-service spot for ice cream, as the
park's home for Starbucks coffee and other products. Fountain View is the second Starbucks
location at Walt Disney World Resort.
2014:
The first-ever reunion of the original Pioneer Hall Players takes
place to help celebrate the ongoing 40th anniversary of
the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort.
The original cast were college students back in June 1974 when
the show first premiered!
1978:
Actor Wes Bentley is born in Jonesboro, Arkansas. He played the role of widowed lumber mill
owner Jack Magary in Disney's 2016 re-imaging of Pete's Dragon.
1981:
Singer-songwriter Beyoncé is born Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter in Houston, Texas. She along with her former band Destiny's Child (Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams) and her younger
sister Solange Knowles sung the theme song to the Disney Channel television series The Proud Family. She also
posed as Alice in "Where Wonderland is Your Destiny" in the Disney Dream Portrait Series. Beyoncé is the voice for Nala (Simba's childhood best friend and future love-interest) in the 2019 version of The Lion King.
2019:
Walt Disney World reopens to the public on this morning, resuming a mostly normal schedule of operations, as Hurricane Dorian churns in the Atlantic, roughly 95 miles
east of Daytona Beach, Florida.
“The Walt Disney Company stands with the people of The Bahamas affected by Hurricane Dorian. We hope our $1 million donation will provide much-needed relief and help our neighbors, colleagues, and all those impacted by this devastating storm begin the long process of recovery as they work to put their lives and communities back together." -Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger
1974:
James Monroe Iglehart, a stage actor and singer, is born in Hayward, California. Iglehart
is perhaps best known for his Tony Award-winning performance as the Genie in the original Broadway production of Aladdin. He also played Phil in a 2009 off-Broadway production of Hercules, and lent his voice to episodes of Tangled: The Series.
2020:
Mulan, an action drama film produced by Walt Disney Pictures, is released on Disney+. A live-action adaptation of Disney's 1998 animated film of the same name (based on the Chinese folklore "The Ballad of Mulan"), it had premiered in Hollywood last March. Originally scheduled to be a wide theatrical release, Mulan was delayed multiple times due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. (It will have a traditional theatrical release in countries without Disney+, where theaters have re-opened.) Mulan stars Liu Yifei in the title role, alongside Donnie Yen, Jason Scott Lee, Yoson An, Gong Li, and Jet Li in supporting roles. It is directed by Niki Caro, with screenplay by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Lauren Hynek, and Elizabeth Martin. With a production budget of $200 million, it is the most expensive film ever made by a female director.
Walt Disney Records releases Mulan: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. Harry Gregson-Williams has composed the film's score. Although featuring all new music, a new version of the song "Reflection" (from the 1998 animated version) is featured.
Walt Disney Records also releases Disney Junior Music: Elena of Avalor - A Royal Celebration.
Disney+ also debuts a new series titled Earth to Ned. Ned, a blue-skinned alien and his lieutenant Cornelius, who were sent to scout Earth for an eventual invasion, instead become obsessed with our popular culture. Now, they host a talk show and interview real-life celebrities. Created by the Jim Henson Company, this evenings guests are Andy Richter and Gillian Jacobs.
1904:
Background artist & water colorist Irv Wyner is born. Most associated with the theatrical Looney Tunes animated shorts, he worked for Disney and Disneyland in the late 1950s / early 1960s. He contributed to 3 episodes of Disney's weekly series; "Magic Highway U.S.A.," "The Liberty Story," and "Our Friend the Atom."
1951:
Cartoonist, animator, and historian of comics Scott Shaw is born in Queens, New York.
Best known for his award-winning comic book work, Shaw also worked on Disney's animated direct-to-DVD Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas and Mulan 2, and the live-action Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2.
2018:
Actor & comedian Bill Daily passes away at age 91 in New Mexico. Best known for his television role of Major Roger Healey on I Dream of Jeannie, he had a minor role in Disney's 1971 comedy The Barefoot Executive.
