1955 - Ticket books (at a cost of $2.50) are available for the very first time at the new Disneyland theme park. They contain three A, two B, and three C tickets (D tickets won't be added until the following year).

1955 - The Mickey Mouse Club airs on ABC-TV. Today is Guest Star Day.

1956 - The Muppets make their first network television appearance on "The Steve Allen Show." (Decades later, the Muppets will become part of the Disney family.)

1959 - The Rainbow Caverns Mine Train attraction closes in Disneyland's Frontierland.

1962 - Actress Joan Cusack, the voice of Alsatia Zevo in Disney's 1992 Toy Story and Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl in the 1999 Toy Story 2, is born in New York City. Her Disney credits also include the 2005 live-action Ice Princess and the voice of Abby Mallard in the animated feature Chicken Little.

1968 - Apollo 7 (the first manned mission in the Apollo program) is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida for an eleven-day earth-orbital mission. The crew consists of Commander Wally Schirra, Command Module Pilot Donn Eisele, and Lunar Module Pilot Walter Cunningham. Around the wrist of Schirra ... is a Mickey Mouse watch!

1985 - Actress Michelle Trachtenberg, the star of Disney's 2005 Ice Princess, is born in New York City.

1986 - Animator and Disney Legend Dave Hand pases away in San Luis Obispo, California. He joined The Walt Disney Studios as its 21st animator in 1930. Hand later became production supervisor of the studio and directed Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

1987 - Part 2 of "The Journey of Natty Gann" airs on The Wonderful World of Disney.

1995 - Delos Records releases the theme park album Beauty and the Beat! - featuring Disney tunes in steelband style.

1998 - A benefit performance of the Disney stage musical Elaborate Lives: The Legend Of Aida (for the Elton John Aids Foundation) takes place at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. For holders of tickets at $1,000 a piece, John (who wrote the show's music) is on hand for a greet and meet at a pre-show VIP cocktail party/buffet at the Woodruff Arts Center.

2003 - A preview of the new Disney/Pixar feature The Incredibles airs during "The Wonderful World of Disney" on ABC-TV.

2003 - The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter at Walt Disney World's Tomorrowland closes forever at the end of this day. (It will be replaced with Stitch's Great Escape.)

2005 - Walt Disney Records releases Cheetah-Licious Christmas, a holiday album by The Cheetah Girls. The collection includes such holiday songs as "Santa Claus is Coming To Town," "Last Christmas," and "Feliz Navidad."

2006 - Disney Vacation Club announces that it is building a new timeshare resort on Walt Disney World property to meet ongoing demand for its unique vacation-ownership. Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas (part of Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge) will feature intricate African-inspired details and home-like amenities.

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