The Disney Look.. to the Past! (10/ 09-15)

Here you are this week's look... to the Disney Past!:

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This Week in Disney History: Oct. 9-15

Oct. 12, 1986 - The Golden Horseshoe Revue closes at Disneyland Park

Unofficially premiering four days before park opening as part of Walt and Lillian Disney's thirtieth wedding anniversary celebration, little could anyone have foreseen the 31-year stay in Frontierland that would follow. Still the longest-running show in Disneyland Park history, the revue starred saloon owner Slue Foot Sue (played by Betty Taylor for more than three decades) and a chorus of dance hall girls leading a variety show filled with skits, music and plenty of vaudevillian humor. Wally Boag, who originated the dual roles of the traveling salesman and Pecos Bill, has been cited by multiple Grammy winner (and former Main Street Magic Shop cast member) Steve Martin as his inspiration for trying comedy. The spirit of the revue lives on with Billy Hill and the Hillbillies, who have played the Golden Horseshoe stage since 1992, and the show has a distant cousin in the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground.

Oct. 9, 2003 - Mission: SPACE is officially dedicated at Epcot

Florida has been the launch site of every manned NASA mission, from the Mercury program through the Space Shuttle. So it would seem appropriate that Future World plays home to the International Space Training Center, where plans for man's most ambitious exploration yet are taking shape: the first mission to Mars. Everyone plays a role in your crew's thrilling simulator ride aboard the prototype X-2 Deep Space Shuttle. Whether you're the pilot, navigator, commander or engineer, you'll activate controls along the way that will slingshot your spacecraft around the moon, or activate the wings for a smooth landing on the Red Planet. Astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Jim Lovell and Wally Schirra were on hand for the dedication ceremony, which also featured a check-in from the crew of the International Space Station. Mission: SPACE replaced the beloved Horizons attraction, to which it pays homage in the queue - look carefully at the gravity wheel and see if you can spot its familiar icon.

Also this week in Disney history:

Oct. 9  

1942 - "The Olympic Champ" (Goofy cartoon short) debuts

1988 - "The Magical World of Disney" debuts on NBC

2003 - "Wishes," the new fireworks show, officially opens to Guests at the Magic Kingdom Park

   

Oct. 10  

1931 - "The Barnyard Broadcast" (Mickey Mouse cartoon short) debuts

1952 - "Trick or Treat" (Donald Duck cartoon short) debuts

1957 - "Zorro" premieres on television

   

Oct. 11  

1946 - "Bath Day" (Figaro cartoon short) debuts

1959 - Rainbow Caverns Mine Train closes at Disneyland Park 

1982 - Epcot leaders dedicate the American Adventure

1998 - Journey Into Imagination and Image Works close at Epcot 

2003 - The last regular performance of "Fantasy in the Sky" fireworks is held at Magic Kingdom Park

   

Oct. 12  

1995 - The 500,000,000th guest visits the Walt Disney World Resort

2003 - The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter closes at the Magic Kingdom Park.

2008 - Sun Wheel closes at Disney California Adventure (later reopened as Mickey's Fun Wheel)

2009 - George A. Kalogridis officially becomes president of the Disneyland Resort 

   

Oct. 13  

1950 - "Bee at the Beach" (Donald Duck cartoon short) debuts 

1997 - The LEGO Imagination Center opens at the Downtown Disney Marketplace (Walt Disney World)

   

Oct. 14  

1938 - "Farmyard Symphony" (Silly Symphony) debuts

1971 - 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (attraction) opens at Magic Kingdom Park 

2009 - Sum of All Thrills opens in Innoventions at Epcot 

   

Oct. 15  

1923 - Walt Disney receives a telegram from film distributor Margaret Winkler, offering to pay $1500 each for the first six of Disney's "Alice" films

1932 - "Touchdown Mickey" (Mickey Mouse cartoon short) debuts

1984 - American Journeys opens at Magic Kingdom Park

1998 - Fantasmic! debuts at the Disney-MGM Studios

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