The Disney Look... to the Past! (January 6-12)

Hello, and welcome to a new edition of "The Disney Look... to the Past!"

We hope you will enjoy this week's look into the history of the Walt Disney World, Lands, and Company:

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This Week in Disney History: January 6-12

Jan. 7, 1992 – “Voyage of the Little Mermaid” opens at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Located in the Animation Courtyard, “Voyage of the Little Mermaid” recreates favorite scenes from the 1989 animated film, combining live performances with colorful puppets, movie clips and spectacular in-house special effects. The 15-minute stage show features many of the film’s songs, including “Part of Your World,” the Academy Award-winning “Under the Sea” and “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” sung by the larger-than-life sea witch Ursula, who stands 12 feet tall and 10 feet wide. Also this week in 2008, the Broadway version of “The Little Mermaid” officially debuted at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York City on Jan. 10.

Jan. 12, 2001 -- Downtown Disney District opens at the Disneyland Resort

Continuing the transition from theme park to world-class resort destination, Disneyland Drive (formerly West St.) was bridged to connect the Disneyland Park main entrance with the Disneyland Hotel, creating a lively pedestrian thoroughfare with more than 40 dining, shopping and entertainment destinations. Your Disneyland Resort visit no longer ends at the park turnstiles – snap blocks together and build at the LEGO Imagination Center, grab a meal at ESPN Zone, catch a flick at AMC Theatres, see your favorite band at House of Blues or just enjoy some Haagen Daas. And if you want to head back to the parks, the Disneyland Monorail station offers continuous service to Tomorrowland.

Also this week in Disney history:

Jan. 6
1950 – “Pluto’s Heart Throb” (cartoon short) debuts
1997 – Rocket Jets closes at Disneyland Park

Jan. 7
1933 – “Building a Building” (Mickey Mouse cartoon short) debuts
2008 – Disney-MGM Studios is officially renamed Disney’s Hollywood Studios

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” (animated short) debuts, featuring Donald Duck and a character named Donna (who later became Daisy)
1976 – Disneyana Shop opens on Main Street, U.S.A., at Disneyland Park
1987 – Star Tours opens at Disneyland Park
1999 – Horizons is open to Guests for the final day at Epcot

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 Go.com network
2003 – Disney leaders preside over the groundbreaking ceremony of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort

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Thank you very much for reading, and have a great day!

All the information and photos here posted are subject to the copyright of the Walt Disney Company. All rights reserved.