Click the link below to check out a trailer to this awesome documentary.
The Pixar Story, a documentary produced, written & directed by Leslie Iwerks (granddaughter of Disney Legend Ub Iwerks), premieres at the San Diego Comic-Con. Narrated by Stacy Keach, it is a look at the first years of Pixar Animation Studios. Click the link below to check out a trailer to this awesome documentary.
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Disney's animated Alice in Wonderland has its world premierein England, at London's Leicester Square Theatre. It will be released in the U.S. two days later. Based on Lewis Carroll's books "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking-Glass," it is the thirteenth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. The film will be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture. Attending the premiere is Walt Disney and Kathryn Beaumont, dressed as Alice. Click the link below to check out the trailer for the movie. The Disney Institute, a resort located at Walt Disney World, officially closes after 7 years in operation. A vacation and learning center opened since 1996, it was a pet project of Disney CEO Michael Eisner who saw it as a way for families to learn and play together. Although the Disney Institute as a program still exists today, the actual resort was later developed into a Disney Vacation Club property named the Saratoga Springs Resort.
The New Orleans Square area opens at Disneyland, California, with a ceremony presided over by Walt Disney and the real mayor of New Orleans, Victor Schiro. The 3-acre site, the first new themed "land" added to Disneyland after its 1955 opening, has cost $18 million to build. New Orleans Square (not a square so much as an intricate series of "streets") is the only land in the Magic Kingdom to debut without a single attraction. Although filled with shops and restaurants like the One of a Kind shop and Mademoiselle Antoinette's Parfumerie, the Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion attractions won't open until 1967 and 1969. Taking part in this day's dedication is he Firehouse Five Plus Two, the Dixieland jazz band led by animator Ward Kimball, and Disneyland Ambassador Connie Swanson. (Sadly, due to his failing health, this will turn out to be Walt's last major public appearance in the park.)
The Tower of Terror attraction opens on Sunset Boulevard at Disney World's Disney-MGM Studios. A simulated freefall thrill ride, it is themed after the popular television series The Twilight Zone, hosted and created by Rod Serling. (The television anthology series originally ran for 156 episodes between 1959-1964.) The Disney attraction takes place in the fictional Hollywood Tower Hotel (itself inspired by the Hollywood Tower, a real structure built in 1929 and named an historic landmark by the US Department of the Interior). The story of the hotel is adapted from elements of the television series, including the hotel being struck by lightning on October 31, 1939 and mysteriously transporting an elevator cart full of passengers to the Twilight Zone!
Construction officially begins on Disneyland. Amazingly it will be built in less than a year. Construction crews worked frantically to meet the tight schedule and completed the project on time. Disneyland was formally opened a year later, on July 18, 1955, to glowing reviews. Unlike other amusement parks of the day, Disneyland was developed and constructed to be instantly recognizable as an extension of the Disney brand and the Disney philosophy.
The Tomorrowland Boats (later named the Phantom Boats) debuts in Disneyland's Tomorrowland Lagoon. The attraction features 14 brightly painted gas-powered fiberglass boats. (Poor mechanical design will cause the ride to be the park's first permanent attraction to close.) Disney fans, railroaders, members of the Disney family, local government officials and press gather in Griffith Park in Los Angeles, for the official dedication of Walt Disney's Carolwood Barn. (Disney had a miniature railroad in his backyard on Carolwood Drive and this exact barn where he could monitor and control the 2,615 feet of track that made up his railroad. The barn also served as a workshop and a place for Walt to relax.)
Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln opens to the public (the day after its official dedication) at the new and specially constructed Opera House on Main Street USA at Disneyland. Named after the World's Fair attraction, it is presented by Lincoln Savings and Loan Association. Click the link below to check out the attraction. |