1888 - Screen and stage actor Claud Allister, whose Disney voice credits include The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (as Rat) and The Reluctant Dragon (as Sir Giles), is born in London, England.

1912 - Van France, Disney Legend & founder of the University of Disneyland training center (now called the Disney University) is born in Seattle, Washington. (His progressive concepts in guest services will provide the foundation for training every new Disneyland Cast Member starting with Disneyland's opening in 1955.)

1914 - During the Great War, Canadian officer Harry Colebourn boards the S.S. Manitou (which is headed for England) along with a small cub bear he has named Winnie. His regiment will ultimately be sent to the battlefields of France and Colebourn will leave Winnie with the London Zoo. (It is not uncommon for soldiers to have pet mascots.)

1934 - A story meeting takes place for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Among the topics discussed - the bed building sequence, Snow White teaching the dwarfs how to say their prayers, and title cards being used to show the passage of time.

1942 - Actor Steve Susskind, whose voice credits include Monsters Inc. and The Emperor's New Groove, is born in Springfield, Massachusetts.

1955 - Disney's second TV series The Mickey Mouse Club is launched on ABC. It is a daily series featuring the talents of 24 kids known as the Mouseketeers (though over the next 4 years the show will have a regular but ever-changing cast of preteens). The Mickey Mouse Club also features cartoons, educational segments, singing, dancing, serialized adventures, and special guest stars. Led by adult leader Jimmy Dodd, and Disney animator Roy Williams, the show airs during the late afternoon/pre-dinner hour, primarily aimed at a pre-teen audience. (The Mouseketeers have already made their first TV appearance on the ABC broadcast of Disneyland's opening in July 1955.) Today is Fun With Music Day.

1956 - The Disneyland television series airs episode 51 - part 1 of "Rob Roy."

1958 - The TV series Walt Disney Presents (formely known as Disneyland) kicks off its 5th season with episode 100 - "The Nine Lives of El***o Baca." Elfego Baca is a miniseries (starring Robert Loggia) developed by producer Walt Disney in hopes of matching the earlier success of the Davy Crockett programs. It is based on a legendary real-life marshal-lawyer who lived during the mid-1800s.

1967 - Vaudeville actor, newspaper cartoonist, Disney voice actor and Disney Legend Pinto Colvig loses his battle with lung cancer at age 75. He is best known as the voices of Disney's Goofy, Practical Pig - the pig who built the "house of bricks" in the Disney short Three Little Pigs, both Sleepy and Grumpy in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and the barks for Pluto the dog! He also was the original Bozo the Clown - a part he played for 10 years starting in 1946. Colvig was also one of the pioneers in advocating warning labels about cancer risk on cigarette packages in the USA.

1971 - Peter Pan's Flight opens at Walt Disney World, on the park's third day in business. Based on the 1953 animated film, guests board vessels (attached to rails above) and "soar" over the skies of London.

1973 - Actress Neve Campbell, the voice of Adult Kiara in Disney's 1998 The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, is born in Ontario, Canada. Scream film fans know Campbell from her role of Sidney Prescott, while fans of TV's Party of Five recall her as Julia.

1993 - Expo Robotics (located in Epcot's CommuniCore West) closes.

1996 - The World of Disney (the world's largest Disney store) opens at Walt Disney World's Village Marketplace in Florida.

1996 - Epcot's new IllumiNations 25 officially debuts to the public (although it has been entertaining guests since September).

1996 - The Flying Fish Cafe opens at the Boardwalk Resort at Walt Disney World.

1996 - Walt Disney Records releases Mouse House: Disney's Dance Mixes.

1997 - The Epcot Space Celebration, a 5-day event co-sponsored by NASA, blasts off at Disney World.

1998 - Disneyland's Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes closes forever.

1998 - Epcot's Discovery Center closes.

2000 - Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas is released on DVD and home video as is Disney's 1949 The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.

2001 - The Disneyland Resort hosts the 'Nightmare Before Christmas Enchanted Evening' to celebrate the Haunted Mansion Holiday. Jack Skellington from the film Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas descends upon the Haunted Mansion attraction to bring his vision of the holidays to life.

2002 - A new shoppping venue, Le Bat en Rouge, opens in Disneyland's New Orlean Square.

2005 - Ten of the original Mouseketeers gather in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland to sing, dance, and share memories. They are joined by 1,000 honorary Mouseketeers, who help them unveil the world's largest pair of Mouseketeer ears on the anniverary of The Mickey Mouse Club.

2006 - Walt Disney Records' releases The Little Mermaid 2-Disc Special Edition Soundtrack and Disney's Karaoke Series: The Little Mermaid.

2006 - Buena Vista Home Entertainment releases The Little Mermaid 2-Disc Platinum Edition DVD.

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