The Disney Look... to the past! (Jan. 8-14)

Hello, everybody and welcome to this week's look to the Disney Past! This is a very special week, as we remember the LAST day of Horizon's operation!:

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This Week in Disney History: Jan. 8-14

Jan. 9, 1987 - Star Tours opens at Disneyland Park

This motion simulator attraction was set in the universe of the classic "Star Wars" saga. Star Tours offered Tomorrowland guests a whirlwind tour of the Endor moon, guided by a droid captain Rex. Although countless Ewok enthusiasts were surely disappointed that their Starspeeder never reached its destination, they did get to help destroy the Death Star. 

At the 2009 D23 Expo, Disney announced it would again partner with Lucas on a reboot of Star Tours, showcasing 3-D footage of a Starspeeder dropped into a high-speed podrace on Tattooine. The attraction is set to reopen at Disneyland Park and Disney's Hollywood Studios later this year.

Jan. 9, 1999 - Horizons is open to guests for the last time at Epcot

Horizons was one of the first attractions to open in the Future World section of Epcot that was devoted to taking guests on a trip into the future. As guests departed aboard Horizons 1, a four-passenger Omnimover vehicle, they travelled through time to experience diverse views of tomorrow, from Jules Verne's visions of Paris to kitschy 1950s sci-fi fantasies. Guests also got glimpses of a future city called Nova Cite and the desert of Mesa Verde, and finally were given the opportunity to choose their own ending to experience at the attraction. Horizons closed to make way for Mission: SPACE, which features a gravity wheel in its queue as an homage. There also is another tribute to Horizons that can be seen at Magic Kingdom Park - look for the Mesa Verde bumper sticker on a suitcase along the Space Mountain exit ramp.

Also this week in Disney history:

Jan. 8

1936 - Walt Disney is inducted into the French Legion of Honor for his contributions to animation

1999 - Touchstone Pictures releases "A Civil Action"

2004 - Disneyland Park welcomes its 500 millionth guest

Jan. 9

1937 - "Don Donald" (short) debuts with Donald Duck and a character named Donna (who later became Daisy)

1976 - Disneyana Shop opens on Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland Park

Jan. 10

1930 - Roy E. Disney (Walt's nephew and company director emeritus) is born in Los Angeles, Calif.

1932 - King Features begins syndicating Mickey and Silly Symphony comics in color

1982 - Walt Disney World Resort switches completely to passport-style admission tickets

1997 - Hollywood Pictures releases "Evita"

2001 - Disneyland Paris welcomes its 100 millionth guest

Jan. 11

1929 - The first Mickey Mouse Club meeting is held at the Fox Dome Theater in Ocean Park, Calif.

1990 - Leaders officially open International Gateway at Epcot 

2002 - Superstar Limo closes at Disney California Adventure Park

Jan. 12

1999 - Disney and the search portal Infoseek officially launch the www.Go.com network 

2001 - The Downtown Disney District officially opens at the Disneyland Resort

2003 - Disney leaders preside over the ground-breaking ceremony at Hong Kong Disneyland

Jan. 13

1930 - The first Mickey Mouse comic strip appears

1934 - "The China Shop" (Silly Symphony) debuts

2001 - "Disney's House of Mouse" debuts on ABC

2007 - "Johnny and the Sprites" debuts on Disney Channel

Jan. 14

1949 - "Pueblo Pluto" (short) debuts

1955 - "No Hunting" (Donald Duck cartoon short) debuts 

1990 - The first of two four-story dolphins are placed atop the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel

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