While Walt is in New York, animator Ub Iwerks informs Roy O. Disney that he wishes to leave the Disney Company as soon as possible. Roy is stunned, but offers Ub $5,000 for his 20% share of the company. Unbeknownst to Roy at this time, is the fact that Iwerks has been lured away by film distributor Pat Powers. Powers wants Iwerks to start an animation studio of his own. Meanwhile Walt is in New York actually confronting Powers over royalty money for Mickey shorts due to the Disney Studios. During this period he made several significant contributions to the art of animation photography, notably the multiplane camera, which created a three-dimensional effect on screen. His character Flip the Frog will eventually fail and he will later return to Disney.
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Some 7.7 million viewers watch the premiere of Disney Channel's original movie High School Musical. Upon its release, it became the most successful film that Disney Channel Original Movie ever produced. It is the first Disney Channel Original Movie to have a theatrical sequel.
The Disney Dream is officially christened at Port Canaveral, Florida. The special ceremony includes a helicopter hoisting a 16-foot "champagne bottle" across the bow of the new ship and a performance by Academy Award and Grammy Award winner Jennifer Hudson (whose career began as a performer on the Disney Wonder ship in 2003). Some 3,000 people witness the Disney Dream ceremony in-person while countless others watch its broadcast live over the Internet. The 4,000-passenger Disney Dream sails its maiden voyage out of Port Canaveral on January 26.
At Disneyland Paris, the Carnival Castle is officially unveiled in honor of the park's 5th anniversary year. The theme is inspired by Disney's current animated feature, The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom welcomes a new female calf when Kendi, an 11-year-old white rhino, gave birth to her third baby after the 16-month gestation period. The baby, which has not yet been named, is the eighth white rhino born at Disney’s Animal Kingdom; her mother, Kendi, was the first.
Summer, a Silly Symphony short, is released. Directed by Ub Iwerks, it is the second "4 seasons Symphony. In the logical sequel to Springtime (1929), a new set of insects (mostly) dances to a new set of tunes, while doing summer activities. The insects include dung beetles, dragonflies, butterflies, a walking stick, bees, and various other beetles and flies. Click the link below to check out the short. The third new Future World pavilion to be added to the original roster, The Living Seas opens at Disney World's EPCOT. The Living Seas main environment strecthes 203 feet in diameter with walls 48 feet high. Sponsored by United Technologies, the pavilion features "Animated Atlas of the World," a short film explaining the geological and meteorological aspects of the ocean. It also includes a 5.7 million gallon aquarium, home to one of the largest inland marine environments in the world. The amazing environment contains nearly 3,500 individual specimens comprising approximately 65 different species of Caribbean reef fish. The pavilion also houses the Coral Reef Restaurant which allows dining guests to view The Living Seas through giant 8 inch thick acrylic window.
Disney rolls out a high tech Fast Pass+ at the Magic Kingdom in Florida. Fast Pass+ allows reservations on up to 3 rides a day at the popular Disney World park. Guests who stay on property can reserve rides 2 months or even longer in advance. Disney hopes this will end the mad race to Fast Pass machines when the park opens. There are plans to add it to other parks in the coming weeks.
Disney's Donald Duck cartoon Donald's Lucky Day is released. Directed by Jack King, mail carrier Donald has to deliver an ominously ticking package and he must avoid a number of bad luck omens because it's Friday the 13th! Click the link below to check out the short. John Alan Lasseter, Academy Award-winning director, writer, producer and chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, is born in Hollywood, California. Originally Lasseter started as a Disneyland Castmember where he was a Jungle Cruise skipper. Lasseter obtained his first a job as an animator at Walt Disney Feature Animation. A co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios, he is also the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering.
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