1927 - Disney's Alice Comedy Alice's Auto Race, featuring Margie Gay, is released.

1928 - Poet, educator, author, actress and activist Maya Angelou, one of the original voices of Walt Disney World's The Hall of Presidents attraction, is born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri.

1932 - Comedic actress Estelle Harris - the voice of Mrs. Potato Head in Disney's Toy Story 2 and Mrs. Turtle in the TV series House of Mouse - is born in New York City. Her long list of voice credits include the pet sitter, Mrs. Boogins in the animated Teacher's Pet and Mrs. Lipsky in Kim Possible. Harris has also guest starred on such live-action Disney Channel shows as Phil of the Future and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. (TV fans know her as Estelle Costanza, George's mom, on Seinfeld.)

1944 - Actor Craig T. Nelson, the voice of Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible in the 2004 Disney-Pixar animated feature The Incredibles, is born in Spokane, Washington. (TV fans will know Nelson as the star of the sitcom Coach.)

1952 - Man's Best Friend, a Disney short directed by Jack Kinney, is released. The cartoon features Goofy as the owner of a new puppy.

1956 - The Disneyland series airs episode 46 - "Where Do The Stories Come From?" Along with actor Kirk Douglas & animators Ward Kimball and Ollie Johnston, Walt Disney answers viewers questions about the stories from his films.

1956 - Joanna Miller, Walt Disney's granddaughter, is born in Monterey County, California.

1960 - Disney animator and technical genius Ub Iwerks wins an Oscar (Scientific or Technical, Class III) for the design of an optical printer for special effects at the 32nd Annual Academy Awards held at the RKO Pantages Theater, Los Angeles. An optical printer is simply a camera and one or more projectors operating in tandem, which makes it possible to photograph a photograph. Common optical effects include fade outs & fade ins, dissolves, slow motion, fast motion, and matte work.

1990 - Rock 'n' Roll Beach Club, a rock-themed dance club, opens in Disney World's Pleasure Island. It replaces XZFR Rockin' Rollerdrome, a short lived club where guests could strap on skates and dance to rock music.

1999 - Chart-topping acts Britney Spears and 98 Degrees hip-hop down Main Street, U.S.A. during the 14th annual Walt Disney World Happy Easter Parade. The event is broadcast on ABC-TV.

2001 - It is reported that actor Christopher Walken has closed a deal to play the lead human in the largely animatronic film The Country Bears for the Walt Disney Company. (He will go on to play the role of Reed Thimple.)

2003 - The Lizzie McGuire episode "Grand Ole Grandma" debuts on Disney Channel.

2006 - Western Way, the new rear entrance to Disney World from the new Western Beltway expressway opens in Florida. The 4-lane, divided boulevard gives Disney a western entrance for the first time, allowing tourists coming in via Interstate 75 to enter Central Florida on Florida's Turnpike and the Western Beltway (State Road 429), without ever entering Orlando or driving on Interstate 4.

2006 - Walt Disney Records releases Disneymania 4 - the follow up to the platinum-selling Disneymania CDs, and Disney's Karaoke Series: Disneymania Volume 2.

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