1907 - Singer-songwriter Al Rinker is born. Originally a member of the Rhythm Boys with Bing Crosby, Rinker wrote the song "Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat" for Disney's 1970 animated feature The AristoCats.

1908 - Actor/singer Dennis Morgan, who in in 1958 will host Disneyland's very first Candlelight Processional Parade, is born in Prentice, Wisconsin. (A leading man with Warner Bros. in the 1940s, Morgan appeared in such features as Christmas in Connecticut, God Is My Co-Pilot, and The Desert Song.)

1909 - Animator Ambrozi "Amby" Paliwoda is born in Cleveland, Ohio. He will work for Walt Disney Studios from 1935 to 1960. While at Disney he will help organize the Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists, Local 839 IATSE. (After leaving Disney he will work for many other studios, including Hanna-Barbera, and Filmation.) In 1985, Paliwoda will receive the Animation Guild's Golden Award - for his lifetime of work in the animation field.

1924 - Funnyman Charlie Callas, the voice of Elliott in Disney's 1977 Pete's Dragon, is born in Brooklyn, New York.

1924 - Disney Legend Sam McKim is born in North Vancouver, British Columbia. McKim will be instrumental in the design of various areas of Disneyland, as well as being the creator of the very first souvenir map of the park.

1937 - Walt Disney is interviewed on the radio by film legend Cecil B. DeMille. They discuss the upcoming Los Angeles premiere of Snow White.

1941 - Original Mouseketeer Tommy Cole - who will remain with The Mickey Mouse Club for all 4 years - is born in Burbank, California.

1955 - The Mickey Mouse Club airs on ABC-TV. Today is Guest Star Day.

1958 - Disneyland presents its first Candlelight Processional Parade. Narrated by actor Dennis Morgan (on his birthday), it is performed on Main Street and in Town Square. The event features Christmas carols and the re-telling of the birth of Jesus through the gospels.

1968 - Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day is released along with the live-action feature The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit. Disney's 2nd Pooh short, it will win an Academy Award.

1971 - :: Roy O. Disney, (one of) Walt's older brothers, business partner, and co-founder of The Walt Disney Company, passes away at the age of 78 of a cerebral hemorrhage in Burbank, California. He served as the company's chief executive officer (1929–1971) and president (1945–1971). With both Walt and Roy Disney gone, the board of directors for the first time will have to turn outside the Disney family for leadership. (Donn Tatum will become chairman of Walt Disney Productions and Card Walker president of Walt Disney Productions.)

1974 - Disney releases Winnie the Pooh & Tigger Too along with The Island at the Top of the World. It is Disney's third animated short featuring Pooh (and it will be nominated for an Oscar).

1980 - Starting on this day, classic Disney cartoons are shown at Walt Disney World's Fantasy Theater (one time home to the Mickey Mouse Revue attraction).

1988 - A ceremony is held at the Main Street Train Station to dedicate a new poster representing Delta's participation as the official airline of Walt Disney World.

1991 - The Disney Vacation Club opens at Walt Disney World.

1991 - Touchstone Pictures (a film division of The Walt Disney Company) releases Father of the Bride starring Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, Kimberly Williams, and Martin Short.

1991 - Disney's animated feature Beauty and the Beast is released in the Philippines and Mexico.

1998 - The first international production of The Lion King opens in Tokyo, Japan at the Shiki Haru Theatre. (It will become the longest-running show in Tokyo history.)

2002 - Ariel's Grotto, a restaurant located at Paradise Pier in Disney's California Adventure, opens for business.

2003 - A Mickey Mouse Celebration airs on ABC-TV.

2006 - The 89th Tournament of Roses Queen, Mary McCluggage & her Royal Court visit Disneyland Park to take part in the 9:45 a.m. performance of Disney Princess Fantasy Faire. Eighteen-year-old McCluggage, a resident of Pasadena, will reign over the 2007 New Year's Day festivities, culminating with the 118th Rose Parade themed Our Good Nature & the 93rd Rose Bowl Game.

2007 - At Disneyland, a 75-foot-tall crane hoists the first of the new Mark VII monorails from a flatbed truck onto the beam way track. The five-car burnt-burgundy train is the first of three new monorails expected to go into service at the Anaheim park starting in February 2008. Three years in the making, the all-new bullet-nosed monorails were designed by Disney, built in Rhode Island and assembled in Vancouver, Canada.

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