Fact for the Day
"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)
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1913 - 
Writer/producer & Disney Legend Bill Walsh - known for his work on classic Disney live-action films like Mary Poppins (for which he shared an Academy Award nomination), The Love Bug, That Darn Cat!, and Flubber - is born in New York City.
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 was 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's print is projected directly down onto Edouarde's printed score. The session takes place in just three hours and is a complete success!
1933 - The
Mickey Mouse cartoon The Steeplechase, directed by Burt Gillet, is released.
1939 - 
Actor Len Carious - who portrays
Walt Disney in the 1995 TV movie A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story - is born in Canada.
1961 - Legendary trumpet player & vocalist Louis Armstrong performs at Disneyland for the shooting of an upcoming television episode - Disneyland After Dark (to be broadcast in April 1962).
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.
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 Wold of Disney.)
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.
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!
1982 - Pepsi-Cola's sponsorhip 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 sponsorhip 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 speak at a luncheon in the Grand Harbor Ballroom at the Yacht and Beach Club Resort in
Walt Disney World. The event is for participants in the Daily Points of Light Celebration.
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.)
1993 - 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.)
1993 - 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).
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.
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."
2003 - The Orlando Magic open their 2003-04 training camp at Disney's Wide World of Sports.
2003 - Mickey's PhilharMagic, 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.)
2004 - Bob Iger, Disney's President and Chief Operating Officer, speaks at the Merrill Lynch 2004 Media and Entertainment Conference.
2005 - Disney's The Greatest Game Ever Played, starring Shia LaBeouf, is released in theaters.
2005 - Haunted Mansion Holiday returns to the Disneyland Resort for another frightening season.
2005 - Down at the Magic Kingdom in Florida,
Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is held for the first time this season.
2005 - 
Epcot's 10th Annual International Food and Wine Festival begins.
2006 - Today marks the final day of Disneyland's 50th anniversary celebration.
2006 - "Dream Along With
Mickey" - a new live show debuts at Disney World. It is part of the Year of a Million Dreams celebration and will be performed daily at the Castle Forecourt stage in the Magic Kingdom.
2006 - Christy Carlson Romano appears at the Disney Store in New York City to sign her new semi-autobiographical novel "Grace's Turn".