1871 - Giuseppe Verdi's opera Aida premieres at the Khedivial Opera House in Cairo, Egypt. Commissioned by Ismail Pasha, Khedive of Egypt, production of Aida had been delayed by the Franco-Prussian War (a conflict between France and Prussia). Aida is the story of an Ethiopian princess being held captive by Egyptians. One of the Egyptian generals is desperately in love with her, and she's in love with him - but so is the daughter of the Egyptian king. The opera will be an instant success and Verdi will donate a portion of his considerable fee (150,000 francs) to the victims of the siege of Paris. The story of Aida, but not its music, was used as the basis for Disney's 1998 musical of the same name - written by Elton John and Tim Rice.

1925 - Alan Alexander Milne's "In Which We Are Introduced to Winnie-the-Pooh and Some Bees, and the Stories Begin" is published in the London Evening News. (The following year, Methuen Publishing Ltd. will put it out in book form, along with 9 more Pooh stories, under the title Winnie-the-Pooh.)

1939 - Disney staff begin the move from the old studio at Hyperion Avenue in Silver Lake to a new one in Burbank. The success of the 1937 Snow White has allowed Disney to build the new modern campus on some 51 acres of land. It is designed around the animation process, with the large animation building in the center of the campus, and adjacent buildings for the story department, the music department, the ink-and-paint departments, and the other various functions of the studio.

1942 - The cover of this day's issue of HAB"IT" (an official newsletter for men stationed at the U.S. Naval Reserve Aviation Base in Hutchinson, Kansas) features a Disney-designed insignia. This issue marks the first appearance of the station's new emblem - Jiminy Cricket in an airplane with an anchor trailing behind it.

1944 - Musician, record company executive, race car owner, and politician Mike Curb is born in Savannah, Georgia. In 1969, his group the Mike Curb Congregation will score a Top 10 hit on the Adult Contemporary charts with a version of "It's a Small World." The song will be chosen by Disneyland as the ride's official theme song and the group will be considered the official Disneyland and Disney World singers.

1949 - Walt Disney's Lilly Belle steam engine is tested at his studio. The engine is part of his new railroad layout in the garden of his home on Carolwood Drive in Holmby Hills district of Los Angeles, California.

1951 - Lux Radio Theater with the cooperation of Walt Disney Productions presents an adaptation of Alice in Wonderland with Kathryn Beaumont, Jerry Colona and Ed Wynn.

1960 - Pixar animator Glenn McQueen is born in Toronto, Ontario. He will be the supervising animator for A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, and Monsters, Inc.

1961 - NBC-TV's Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color airs the episode "The Great Cat Family."

1967 - Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color airs the holiday episode "From All of Us to All of You."

1970 - Disney's 20th animated feature The AristoCats is generally released. The story revolves around a family of aristocratic cats, and an alley cat who helps prevent a butler from kidnapping them to gain his mistress' fortune. (This film is noted for being the last to be approved by Walt Disney himself - he died in 1966 while the film was still in early production.) The all-star cast includes Phil Harris as Thomas O'Malley the orange cat, Eva Gabor as Duchess the white cat, Sterling Holloway as Roquefort the Mouse, Paul Wincell as Shun Gon the Chinese cat, Thurl Ravenscroft as Billy Boss the German cat, and Scatman Crothers as Scat Cat the panther Persian.

1971 - Disney World's Flight to the Moon attraction opens in Tomorrowland, just in time for the busy Christmas week. (It will close in the spring of 1975 and later house Alien Encounter and ultimately Stitch's Great Escape.)

1972 - NBC-TV's The Wonderful World of Disney airs "A Present for Donald."

1989 - The NBC television series The Magical World of Disney airs "A Muppet Family Christmas."

1999 - Disney World's Very Merry Christmas Parade airs on television. It is the first parade to be filmed at night and broadcast on Christmas Eve (instead of Christmas Day). Musical guests include Harry Connick Jr., N'SYNC, SheDaisy, 98 Degrees, and James Ingram.

2000 - Disney's Night Before Christmas, a 2-hour special tracking the globe-circling flight of Santa, airs on ABC-TV.

2006 - Sarah Uriarte Berry and Donny Osmond play their final performances as Belle and Gaston in Disney's Broadway hit Beauty and the Beast.

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