1929 - Disney's Mickey Mouse short The Barnyard Battle is released. It is the first short to depict Mickey as a soldier and the first to place him in combat.

1930 - Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon Wild Waves is released. This 7-minute classic sees Mickey rescue Minnie from drowning.

1952 - Disney's Donald Duck cartoon Let's Stick Together, directed by Jack Hannah, is released. This short features the last appearance of a bee named Spike.

1953 - Ron Clements, an animator/director/writer whose Disney credits include Treasure Planet, Hercules, and Aladdin, is born in Sioux City, Iowa. First seeing Pinocchio at Sioux City's Orpheum Theater when he was 9 years old - Clements instantly knew that he wanted to be involved in animation. He made his feature debut as a character animator on The Rescuers (1977) and Pete's Dragon (1977). Together with John Musker, Clements wrote and directed the 1989 feature hit The Little Mermaid.

1961 - Disney's loan from the Bank of America is finally paid off. Revenue from movies can now go directly to Walt Disney Productions.

1964 - Actor Hank Azaria, who portrays Charles Danner in Disney's 1999 comedy movie Mystery, Alaska, is born in Queens, New York. (TV fans may recognize Azaria from his voice work on The Simpsons.)

1970 - Actor Jason Lee, the voice of Buddy Pine/Syndrome in the 2004 Disney/Pixar animated feature The Incredibles, is born in Huntington Beach, California. (TV fans know him as the star of "My Name Is Earl" comedy series.)

1972 - Academy Award-winning actor George Sanders, the voice of Disney's Shere Khan in The Jungle Book (and the husband of Zsa Zsa Gabor) passes away.

1988 - Mickey Mouse and Michael Eisner appear on the cover of TIME magazine. The issue features an article titled "Do You Believe In Magic?"

1989 - The second episode of The All New Mickey Mouse Club (or MMC) airs on the Disney Channel. Today is Guest Day!

1995 - Angel Florez, a member of the 1977-1978 TV series The New Mouseketeers, passes away.

2000 - Disney's live musical stage production The Lion King opens in Toronto, Canada.

2000 - The ASCAP Film and Television Awards are announced at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, California. Among the winners for Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures is "You'll Be in My Heart," written by Phil Collins from Tarzan. Among the winners for Top Box Office Films are Toy Story 2, Tarzan, and Inspector Gadget.

2003 - The 10th annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival kicks off at Walt Disney World.

2007 - Zagat Survey announces the release of its first "Walt Disney World Insider's Guide." Based on the experiences of 4,841 avid Disney-goers, the guide comprehensively rates and reviews all six of Disney's Orlando theme parks.

2007 - At Epcot, the new exhibit space in Spaceship Earth's post show, called Project Tomorrow: Inventing the Wonders of the Future, opens.

2007 - The Hannah Montana episode "You Are So Sue-able To Me" debuts on Disney Channel.

2008 - Michael Eisner, who as Disney's CEO between 1984 and 2005 oversaw its massive growth into an entertainment giant, is honored with a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

__________________

My Disney Countdown

Counting down to: Moving my Family to Clermont, FL!
I'm in Florida getting my family settled! Yeah we're going to the parks too!