Walt Disney World's River Country (a water park adjacent to Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground) opens. Inspired by Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, it is Disney's first attempt at a themed water park. Positioned on the shore of Bay Lake near Discovery Island, River Country is filled with rocks and manmade boulders and features water slides and an inner tube river. River Country will close in November 2001, due in part to Florida Laws prohibiting the use of natural bodies of water for water park use, but its success will later lead to Disney's Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach.
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A bronze statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse, called the Partners Statue, is installed at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney Word. It is identical to the statue created by artist/sculptor Blaine Gibson first installed at Disneyland back in November 1993. A former Disney animator and Imagineer, Gibson took one year to create the sculpture and based his depiction of Walt on a bust he originally created in the 1960s.
Mickey's Birthdayland opens in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World with a special ribbon-cutting ceremony. Located between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, guests can also arrive via the Walt Disney World Railroad. Mickey's Birthdayland was built to honor the mouse's 60th birthday. (At the end of Mickey's 60th Birthday celebration on April 22 1990, Mickey's Birthdayland will close and reopen in May 1990 as Mickey's Starland. Mickey's Starland will later be updated and turned into Mickey's Toontown Fair in October 1996. Mickey's Toontown Fair will ultimately close in February of 2011 to make way for the expansion of Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland.
The Main Street Electric Parade kicks off at Disneyland for the very first time. The Magic Kingdom park received its own version which debuted June 11, 1977, and was performed nightly through 1991. It returned 1999-2001, and again for a third time in 2010. The Main Street Electrical Parade has glistened its way through the streets of almost every Magic Kingdom across the globe and brightened the hearts of millions worldwide. It was inspired by the Electrical Water Pageant, created by Bob Jani, which floats over the Seven Seas Lagoon and features both real and mythical sea creatures presented upon lighted barges.
Disneyland debuts Tom Sawyer Island & the Rafts to Tom Sawyer Island in Frontierland. Tom Sawyer Island (today known as Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island) is an artificial island surrounded by the Rivers of America and inspired by the works of Mark Twain. Guests visit the island by traveling on a motorized raft which is piloted by a Disneyland Cast Member.
The Club 33 restaurant (for members-only) opens at 33 Royal Street, in New Orleans Square at Disneyland. It is comprised of two dining rooms and several adjoining areas, all of which hold a wide array of magnificent antiques and original works of art. A secret feature of the theme park, the entrance of the private club is located next to the Blue Bayou Restaurant at "33 Royal Street" with the entrance recognizable by an ornate address plate with the number 33 engraved on it.
The first urban monorail system in the U.S., the Disneyland-Alweg Monorail System, begins operation in California's Disneyland. The two Mark I trains run on a .8 mile track around Tomorrowland. Walt Disney and U.S. Vice president Nixon and their families are on hand for the dedication of the "Highway in the Sky." (In June 1961, the Monorail will become a true transportation link instead of just a sightseeing ride. With an extended 2 1/2 mile track, Disneyland Hotel guests will be able to board the Monorail at the hotel and begin their park visit in Tomorrowland.)
Disney's 8-minute Mickey Mouse cartoon The Delivery Boy, directed by Burt Gillett, is released. Mickey delivers a wagon full of musical instruments when he stops to sing and dance with Minnie.
Walt and Lillian Disney arrive in London, England at Paddington Station. Staying at Grosvenor House Hotel, they are on their honeymoon... although they have been married for 10 years!
Walt Disney World's version of the Main Street Electrical Parade debuts. Created by Bob Jani and project director Ron Miziker, it features floats and live performers covered in thousands of electronically-controlled lights and a synchronized soundtrack triggered by radio control along key areas of the parade route. The Main Street Electrical Parade's underlying theme song is entitled "Baroque Hoedown," based on an original version first created in 1967 by early synthesizer pioneers Jean-Jacques Perrey and Gershon Kingsley. Originally appearing at Disneyland in 1972, WDW's parade will run through September 1992 when it is replaced with Spectromagic, and then return to the park again in May 1999.
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