2003:
The Lion King Special Edition Soundtrack is released.
It features a new song from Elton John and Tim Rice plus a remix of
"Can You Feel the Love Tonight."
The Orlando Magic open their 2003-04 training camp
at Disney's Wide World of Sports.
Mickey's PhiiharMagic, a new computer-animated 3-D film
attraction at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, opens to
guests. (An official grand opening ceremony will be held October 8th.)
1961:
Legendary trumpet player & vocalist Louis Armstrong
debuts at Disneyland as part of the Second Annual
Dixieland at Disneyland event. Also performing live at the
park on this evening - trombonist Kid Ory, Teddy Buckner, Matty
Matlock, The Young Men From New Orleans, Firehouse Five Plus Two
and the Disneyland Strawhatters. Portions are filmed for an upcoming
television episode titled Disneyland After Dark - to be broadcast
in April 1962. (Each fall from 1960 through 1970, Disneyland
will hold a Dixieland at Disneyland event with many
legendary performers.)
2005:
Disney's The Greatest Game Ever Played, starring Shia LaBeouf,
is released in theaters. LaBeouf plays 20-year-old amateur golfer and former
caddy, Francis Ouimet, who against all odds, becomes the first American, and amateur, to win the U.S. Open. Released through Touchstone Pictures, it is directed by Bill Paxton, and features Stephen Dillane, Elias Koteas, and Peter Firth.
Today is Michael Eisner's final day as CEO of Disney. (The value of
the company during Eisner's term rose from $3 billion to $60 billion.)
Haunted Mansion Holiday returns to the Disneyland Resort
for another frightening season.
Down at the Magic Kingdom in Florida, Mickey's Not-So-Scary
Halloween Party is held for the first time this season.
Epcot's 10th Annual International Food and Wine Festival begins.
1913:
Writer/producer & Disney Legend Bill Walsh is born in New York City. Walsh first
joined Walt Disney Studios in 1943, working for both the Publicity and Story departments. His Disney
credits include Mary Poppins (for which he shared an Academy Award nomination), The Love Bug, That
Darn Cat!, The Absent-Minded Professor, and Flubber. Walsh also scripted the Mickey Mouse daily comic
strip (drawn by Floyd Gottfredson) from 1944 until 1964.
1933:
The Mickey Mouse cartoon The Steeplechase, directed by Burt Gillet, is released.
Colonel Rolf Rolfe expects his horse, Thunderbolt, to win the big race. But when the horse discovers a gin
bottle and drinks it, Mickey has to costume two stable hands as a horse and ride them in the race instead!
In this day's edition of Film Pictorial, Walt Disney states "Mickey Mouse will be five
years old on Sunday. He was born on October 1, 1928. That was the date on which
his first picture started so we have allowed him to claim this day as his birthday."
(It won't be until the 1970s that the Disney Company officially claims November 18, 1928 as Mickey's birthday.)
1939:
Actor Len Carious - who portrayed Walt Disney in the 1995 TV movie A Dream Is a
Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story - is born in Canada. He is best
known for his portrayal of Sweeney Todd in the original cast of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
1962:
The NBC-TV series Walt Disney's Wonderful World
of Color airs part 1 of "Escapade in Florence."
1963:
The Babes in Toyland Exhibit, located on Disneyland's
Main Street, closes after a near 2-year run.
1971:
Walt Disney World's Preview Center, located on Buena Vista Boulevard, closes.
It featured displays of models and drawings of Disney's new Florida theme park - which will open the
following day. (The boulevard will later be renamed Hotel Plaza and the Preview Center will become the
headquarters for the Amateur Athletic Union.)
1973:
Television's Wonderful World of Disney airs the episode "Fire on Kelly Mountain" starring Larry Wilcox, Andrew Duggan, Anne Lockhart, Noam Pitlik, and Ted Hartley.
Forest fire lookout Phil Mallory (Wilcox) is bored working a tower in the Kelly Mountain region of the vast El Dorado National Forest. But when he finally gets to check out a blaze, the fire he finds almost gets the best of him.
1975:
One of Walt's "Nine Old Men," animator Les Clark retires from Walt
Disney Productions. An employee since February 1927, Clark's large body of work
includes Steamboat Willie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo,
Alice in Wonderland, and Lady and the Tramp. He is the only one of the "Nine Old Men"
whose career spanned the silent-movie era and the age of TV!
Actor, singer, musician, and composer Christopher Jackson is born in Metropolis, Illinois. He played the role of Simba on Broadway for Disney's live stage musical The Lion King. Jackson later collaborated with songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda on the Disney film Moana in which he provided the singing voice of Chief Tui. He can also be heard in episodes of The Lion Guard.
1982:
Pepsi-Cola's sponsorship of Disneyland's Golden Horseshoe Revue ends.
(A sponsor since July 1955, Pepsi's relation with Disney had been damaged in 1971 when Coca-
Cola signed on for co-sponsorship of other attractions.) Eastman Kodak will take up the sponsorship
of the Golden Horseshoe Revue the very next day.
1990:
The Magical World of Disney airs "Fantasia: The
Creation of a Disney Classic" on the Disney Channel.
1991:
U.S. President George Bush and his wife Barbara visit EPCOT Center.
The President speaks in the American Gardens.
1993:
General Electric's contract as sponsor of the Horizons Pavilion
at Disney World's Epcot runs out on this day. (Even though GE decides not to continue
sponsorship of Horizons, Disney will continue to operate the attraction until its closing in late 1994.)
Top of the World (also known as the Top of the World Supper Club) closes
at the Contemporary Resort Hotel at Walt Disney World. It featured celebrity
entertainers, dancing, dinner, a lounge, and Sunday brunch.
(It will become the California Grill in May of 1995.)
The Dapper Dans (the popular Disney barbershop harmony group) are
heard on a TV episode of The Simpsons. A clip includes the Dapper Dans (Shelby Grimm
- lead, Mike Economou - tenor, Jim Campbell - bass, Dan Jordan - baritone) singing "Baby On Board"
(which they arranged and co-wrote with Jeff Martin).
Animator Carlo Vinci passes away at age 87 in California. Working for just a short time at Disney, he went on to have a career at Hanna-Barbera cartoon studios where he animated Mighty Mouse, Yogi Bear and Flintstones.
1999:
Reedy Creek Energy Services, Incorporated (originally known as Reedy Creek
Utilities Company, Incorporated) is merged into the Walt Disney World
Company. It provides electric power to the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which specifically
covers Walt Disney World outside of Orlando, Florida, by supplementing the public power grid.
2004:
Bob Iger, Disney’s President and Chief Operating Officer, speaks
at the Merrill Lynch 2004 Media and Entertainment Conference.
2006:
Today marks the final day
of Disneyland's 50th anniversary celebration.
"Dream Along With Mickey" - a new live musical stage
show debuts at Disney World. Part of the Year of a Million
Dreams celebration, it will be performed daily on the Castle Forecourt
stage in the Magic Kingdom. The show stars not only Mickey and the
gang, but such characters as Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White,
Captain Hook, and Peter Pan.
Christy Carlson Romano appears at the Disney Store in New York
City to sign her new semi-autobiographical novel "Grace's Turn".
1928:
A second recording session for Steamboat Willie takes place in New
York with conductor Carl Edouarde and a 15-piece band. The first session
on September 15 had been a disaster as the musicians couldn't play in time with the animated
film. This time Walt is prepared to deal with the problem of synchronization. Ub Iwerks has made a special print of
the film with an animated bouncing ball - on both the sound track and the film. The ball rises and falls to the accent
of the beat, thus creating a visual signal and a soft audio click. Instead of being projected above the band, Iwerks'
print is projected directly down onto Edouarde's printed score. The session takes place in just three hours and is a
complete success! (The cartoon short will debut November 18.)
George Sherman, head of the Publications Department at the
Disney Studios, is born. After a stint in the U.S. Army, Sherman went to work at
Disney handling publicity for foreign markets. In the mid-1950s he left the studio to briefly
edit and publish the Baywood Press in Northern California, but returned to Disney becoming
head of the Publications Dept. where he was involved with its licensees both domestic and
foreign. In 1962 he established the Disney Studio Program, producing comic book stories
for the foreign market. Sherman provided editorial support to the Program plus authored
(and co-authored) the text for several illustrated children books adapting contemporary
Disney films, such as Babes in Toyland and The Absent-Minded Professor. (Sadly Sherman
passed away at age 45 in August 1974 after an extended illness.)
 | ||||
"The day before the brand-new
Haunted Mansion opened at Walt
Disney World in 1971, the first
custodial crew cleaned out all
the cobwebs. The Imagineers had
to go back in and reapply all the
cobwebs!" - Wayne Culver
(a fixture of Disney's clean team
in Orlando and Anaheim for 39
years)
1970:
The Disney theatrical feature Dad, Can I Borrow the Car? is released.
Directed by Ward Kimball, the live-action short (which uses avant-garde film techniques) looks at American
car culture from the late 1960s. It is narrated by Kurt Russell. (It will later air on television on The Wonderful
World of Disney.)
Actor & comedian Tony Hale is born in West Point, New York. Best known for his role in the Fox comedy series Arrested Development, Hale is the voice of Forky in Pixar's Toy Story 4.
"On this eve of Walt Disney World's opening day, may I thank all of you for your spirit - your
cooperation and the fine job all you have done in getting ready for our opening."
-Roy O. Disney (September 30, 1971)
10
2008:
Walt Disney Records unveils "Nightmare Revisited" featuring brand new covers of the
Danny Elfman original soundtrack of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas.
SEPTEMBER 30
THIS DAY MADE
IN THE
USA
SEPTEMBER 30
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1994:
Touchstone Pictures releases the comedy-drama Ed Wood in a limited amount of
cities. Directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp, the film will be widely
released October 7.
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WDW Preview Center closes
Les Clark retires
"The day before, the whole company was so busy getting ready and it went down to the wire. I remember being at
the Contemporary around five or six in the evening and the sod hadn’t been laid. And several of us cast members
went out and helped. And people were calling out, ‘Remember to put the green side up!’ It was really just the
Disney family total immersion and you did whatever you could if someone needed help." -Debbie Dane, WDW's first
ambassador & former Preview Center hostess
1966:
Latin-American Development and Management Corporation, Ayefour Corporation (a
pun on Interstate 4), Tomahawk Properties, Incorporated, Reedy Creek Ranch,
Incorporated, and Bay Lake Properties, Incorporated, all Florida corporations, are
merged into Compass East Corporation. These companies were responsible for buying up the land
that will become the Walt Disney World Resort.
1967:
The '67 Edition of Dixieland at
Disneyland takes place between 8pm
and 2am. The seventh presentation of "the world's
greatest jazz artists," groups appear throughout the
Magic Kingdom at various locations.
This evening's entertainment includes:
-Trumpet great Louis Armstrong and his band at the Tomorrowland Stage
-Guitarist Eddie Condon and his group at the Tomorrowland Terrace
-Doc Souchon and his New Orleans All-Stars at the French Market in
Frontierland
-Resident trumpeter Teddy Buckner and his band at the Plaza Gardens
on Main Street
-The Firehouse Five Plus Two led by animator Ward Kimball at the
Golden Horseshoe in Frontierland
-The Young Men from New Orleans on the Mark Twain Riverboat
2001:
Alias, a new action television series created by J. J. Abrams, debuts on ABC. Starring
Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow, a double agent for the CIA, Alias is co-produced by Touchstone Television and Bad Robot Productions and is primarily shot at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. The series will run for 5 seasons.
2010:
The Walt Disney Company launches Disney Magic of Healthy Living; a national
multimedia initiative designed to partner with parents in their quest to raise healthy,
happy kids. Highlights of Disney Magic of Healthy Living will include a year-long series of inspirational
television public service announcements featuring Mrs. Obama and Disney Channel stars, two new web sites
(Disney.com/healthyfun and Family.com/healthymagic), and a national essay contest calling on kids to write about
ideas for living a healthy life.
2011:
Walt Disney World hosts the 16th Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. The 45-day
outdoor festival (running through November 13) serves up authentic cuisine; wine, beer and inventive new cocktails;
entertainment; and cultural exhibits of more than 25 international regions. Singer Taylor Dayne kicks off the Eat to
the Beat concert series with the first of a 3-day engagement at the America Gardens Theatre.
Jessie, a half-hour live-action comedy series,
premieres on Disney Channel. Jessie Prescott, played by
Debby Ryan, is a small-town girl who leaves behind her Texas roots
for a job in New York City as a nanny for a wealthy family. The cast
includes Peyton List as diva Emma Ross, Cameron Boyce as
Luke Ross, Karan Brar as Ravi Ross, Skai Jackson as Zuri Ross,
and Kevin Chamberlin as butler Bertram. Jessie is created by
Pamela Eells O'Connell, who had had previous experience
with the "nanny" sitcom formula, starting her career as a writer on
the series Charles in Charge and serving as co-executive producer
on The Nanny, before working with Debby Ryan on The Suite
Life on Deck. (The series will run through October 2015.)
The Walt Disney World Employee Bulletin distributed on this day
features these words of encouragement:
Tomorrow…we raise the curtain for the beginning of the October Preview Month of the Magic Kingdom in Walt
Disney World. Planning began in 1965. Now…$400 million and six years later and untold gallons of blood, sweat
and tears, the public will visit this most ambitious creation in the history of the Disney organization…It will be a
great and memorable day…for all of us. This does not mean that it won’t have its frantic…hectic…confusing
moments. If your costume doesn’t fit…a tram breaks down, and other things don’t happen like they should, don’t
get up tight. That, as they say….is show business.
"Everything here at EPCOT Center reminds us of the vision of the man who conceived this amazing place as an
exploration of community. Walt Disney once said, "The greatest moments in life are not concerned with selfish
achievements, but rather with the things we do for the people." And he was absolutely right. That creed brings us
together in this extraordinary place, sharing this extraordinary day. We celebrate the American spirit, the
greatest natural resource of this, the greatest Nation in the entire world. We celebrate it in front of this tableau
of American heroes: our 575 Points of Light. We've honored them for showing "the better angels of our nature,"
for volunteering to help others in their own communities."
Later in the day the President speaks at a luncheon in the Grand Harbor Ballroom at the Yacht and Beach
Club Resort in Walt Disney World. The private event is for participants in the Daily Points of Light Celebration.
1980:
The Caribbean island country of Grenada issues a series of Snow White postage
stamps, each with a different scene from the classic Disney film.
2012:
"Magic is Coming" the Season Two special for ABC's Once Upon a Time airs.
Hosted and narrated by Giancarlo Esposito, the special recaps the first season.
This is followed by the second season premiere of ABC-TV's Once Upon a Time
with the episode "Broken."
The second season of the ABC-TV drama series Revenge debuts with the
episode "Destiny."
September 30
1997:
Disney Cruise Line begins taking reservations for the Disney Magic cruise ship.
Disney's very first ship will launch the following summer.
"Tomorrow…we raise the curtain for the beginning of the October Preview Month of the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World." -WDW Employee Bulletin
1988:
Touchstone Pictures releases the comedy Heartbreak Hotel, written and directed by Chris Columbus, and starring David Keith and Tuesday Weld. Set in 1972, the story deals with one of the many "legends" involving Elvis Presley and his fictional kidnapping, and subsequent redemption
from decadence.
2007:
Season 4 of ABC-TV's Desperate Housewives begins with the episode "Now You Know."
2019:
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil premieres at El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. A dark fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and starring Angelina Jolie, it is a sequel to the 2014 film
Maleficent. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is scheduled to be released on October 18, 2019.
IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth runs for the last time at Epcot. First known as IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth: 2000 when it debuted in October 1999 as part of the Walt Disney World Millennium Celebration,
the popular nighttime show utilized fireworks, pyrotechnics, water fountains, fire effects, lasers, searchlights, and a large rotating globe with curved LED screens to create a visual production on the park's World Showcase Lagoon. The show told the story of Earth and was divided into three movements titled "Chaos," "Order," and "Meaning", emphasizing the idea of humanity as a single unified tribe on this planet. Jim Cummings (the voice of Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Darkwing Duck as well as other characters) provided the narration at the beginning of Reflections of Earth. It will be replaced with a fireworks show called Epcot Forever (an interim replacement until its long-term replacement, HarmonioUS, premieres in 2020).
The Main Street Electrical Parade, a nighttime parade, gives its final performance at Disneyland after a limited engagement.
2017:
The cast of the re-imagined "Club Mickey Mouse" visits Walt Disney World for the first time and kicks off the afternoon parade at Magic Kingdom.
1989:
Arcata d’Antigiani Shop in Italy in World Showcase at Epcot closes. Opened since the
park's debut in 1982, it will become Delizie Italiane.
2020:
Disney Channel, along with their sister channels Disney XD and Disney Junior, close
in the UK (after 25 years airing) due to the launch of Disney+.
2009:
The ABC sitcom The Middle (produced by Warner Bros. Television and Blackie and Blondie Productions) debuts. About a lower middle class family living in Indiana and facing the day-to-day struggles of home life, work, and raising children, the series features Everybody Loves Raymond actress Patricia Heaton and Scrubs actor Neil Flynn. (The show will run for 9 seasons.)
2018:
Actress Melissa Joan Hart celebrates son Tucker Wilkerson's 6th birthday on the Mater's Junkyard Jamboree ride in Cars Land at Disney California Adventure while on a visit to the Disneyland Resort.
1959:
Actor Taylor Holmes passes away at age 81 in California. Appearing in over 100 Broadway plays in his five-decade career, he voiced King Stefan in Sleeping Beauty (his final role).
1969:
Actor and body builder Mark Smith is born in London, England. His Disney credits include Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
