The Disney Look... to the Past! (08/30 - 09/05)

Here you are our weekly Disney look... to the past!:

This Week in Disney History:

 August 30 - September 5 

August 31, 1938 - Walt and Roy O. Disney secure land in Burbank, CA for a new studio

While Walt was the dreamer and innovator, his successes were inextricably linked to his older brother Roy, whose financial acumen turned those visions into reality. With the studio's early operations buoyed from Mickey Mouse cartoon to Silly Symphony short, the blockbuster box office returns of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs fiscally liberated Walt and Roy for the first time in their careers. Working out of a cramped studio on Hyperion Avenue in Los Angeles' Silver Lake district, the profits from Snow White enabled the brothers to purchase land to accommodate their rapidly expanding workforce. They made a $10,000 deposit on 51 acres in Burbank near Griffith Park, opening their new studio in December 1940 - and it remains in operation through present day. The new animation building was utilized for nearly every Disney animated production from 1941 through 1995, when Walt Disney Animation Studios moved to its current home across Riverside Drive, the Roy E. Disney Animation Building.

September 4, 2001 - Tokyo DisneySea opens

Built adjacent to Tokyo Bay, the sister park to Tokyo Disneyland fittingly honors the spirit of exploration. Nautical themes tie together seven exotic "ports of call," beginning in Mediterranean Harbor, where Venetian gondola boats cruise canals and the windows of Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta (also opened on this date) add lively energy - but the smoldering volcano Mount Prometheus across the water begs for a closer look. Gateway to Mysterious Island, it is home to the high-speed thrill ride Journey to the Center of the Earth. Escape and you can venture to the Lost River Delta, featuring the Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull, or discover the American Waterfront, whose New York Harbor features the Tower of Terror - created with a mythology separate from its California and Florida counterparts. Tokyo DisneySea will mark its tenth anniversary in 2011 with the "Be Magical!" celebration, and add the water spectacular Fantasmic! to its entertainment lineup.

Also this week in Disney history:

August 30  

1940 - The animated short "Pluto's Dream House" debuts

1995 - Leaders preside over the ground-breaking of Disney's Coronado Springs Resort

   

August 31  

1935 - The animated short "Pluto's Judgment Day" debuts

1948 - Walt outlines ideas for his "Mickey Mouse Park" in a memo. These ideas became Disneyland Park

2009 - Disney announces its purchase of Marvel Entertainment 

   

September 1  

1939 - The Donald Duck cartoon short "The Autograph Hound" debuts

2001 - River Country closes at Walt Disney World Resort

2005 - Disney Editions releases The Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson

2007 - An updated version of the Circle-Vision 360 film O Canada, starring Martin Short, officially opens at Epcot 

   

September 2  

1933 - "Puppy Love" (Mickey & Pluto cartoon short) debuts

1959 - "How to Have an Accident at Work" (Donald Duck cartoon short) debuts

1979 - Big Thunder Mountain opens at Disneyland Park

1985 - Adventure Thru Inner Space closes at Disneyland Park

1991 - Casting Center opens at the Disneyland Paris Resort 

   

September 3  

1988 - "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" debuts on television

2001 - The animated television series "Disney's The Legend of Tarzan" debuts

   

September 4  

1942 - "How to Play Baseball" (Goofy cartoon short) debuts

2001 - DisneyQuest in Chicago closes

2006 - Tower of Terror opens at Tokyo DisneySea 

   

September 5  

1927 - The very first Oswald the Luck Rabbit cartoon short, "Trolley Troubles," debuts

1930 - The Mickey Mouse animated short "The Chain Gang" debuts, featuring a dog character who would eventually become Pluto

1966 - Flying Saucers close at Disneyland Park 

1994 - 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea closes at Magic Kingdom Park

1995 - Disney Ice opens in Anaheim, CA

2001 - "The Amazing Race" debuts on CBS

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