The Disney Look... to the Past! (May 18-24)

Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of the weekly feature known as "The Disney Look... to the Past!"
Enjoy reading all of the following interesting facts about the Walt Disney Parks, Resorts, Movies, and more:
_________________________________________________________________________

This week in Disney history: May 18-24


May 23, 1983 – A renovated Fantasyland opens at Disneyland Park

Fantasy reigned throughout Disneyland Park this year, as a whole new version of “the happiest kingdom of them all” was unveiled after an extensive refurbishment. The new land cast aside its old, Renaissance-themed façades of tournament tents and banners, and became the Fantasyland of Walt Disney’s imagination: a quaint, Bavarian fairy-tale village, where the denizens of Disney’s classic animated features lived and thrived. Old classics like Snow White’s Adventures and Peter Pan Flight remained, but with new technology, slightly altered names (they were now Snow White’s Scary Adventures and Peter Pan’s Flight), and brand-new facades that stressed the distinct cultural origins of each characters’ story. A new adventure fresh from Tokyo Disneyland, Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, also joined the group. The whole park celebrated the new Fantasyland with the aptly titled “Flights of Fantasy” parade. Magic Kingdom Park at the Walt Disney World Resort is undergoing its own transformation, with New Fantasyland opening in phases this year.

May 19, 2000 – Walt Disney Pictures releases “Dinosaur”
Orphaned before birth because of a vicious Carnotaurus attack, Aladar was raised by a family of lemurs and grew to become a friendly, compassionate 3 ton Iguanadon. After surviving the destruction of his island home by a meteor shower, he swims to safety and meets members of his own kind for the first time. Meteor showers continue to threaten their existence, and Aladar gets unexpectedly thrust into bravely leading his friends in a race against time to the safety of their nesting grounds. Along the way, they must overcome obstacles and defend themselves against predators. Combining computer animation with live backgrounds, shot in exotic locales such as Angel Falls in Venezuela, “Dinosaur” was the 39th animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. Shortly after the film’s opening, Dinosaur became the new name of the Countdown to Extinction attraction at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, starring Aladar as the friendly dino Guests try to find on a wild off-road journey back in time.

Also this week in Disney history:

May 18

1951 – “Plutopia” (Pluto cartoon short) debuts

1995 – Disney acquires a 25 percent interest in the California Angels Major League Baseball team

2003 – Disney-Pixar’s “Finding Nemo” premieres at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles

2009 – Wayne Allwine, Disney Legend and voice of Mickey Mouse, dies at age 62

May 19

1934 – “Gulliver Mickey” (Mickey Mouse cartoon short) debuts

1960 – “Pollyanna,” Hayley Mills’ first film for the Walt Disney Studios, is released

1971 – Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes open at Disneyland Park

1984 – Pvt. Donald Duck received an honorable discharge from the United States Army (after being drafted in a 1942 short)

2007 – The world premiere of “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” is held at Disneyland Park

May 20

1973 – Tom Sawyer Island, the Plaza Swan Boats and the Richard F. Irvine riverboat open at Magic Kingdom Park

1996 – Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf opens at the Walt Disney World Resort

2011 – Star Tours – The Adventures Continue opens at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

May 21

1948 – The animated short “Donald’s Dream Voice” debuts

2001 – The world premiere of Touchstone Pictures’ “Pearl Harbor” is held in Hawaii

May 22

1998 – DisneyQuest soft opens to Guests at the Downtown Disney Area at the Walt Disney World Resort

1998 – Rocket Rods, “Honey, I Shrunk the Audience,” Astro Orbitor and Redd Rockett’s Pizza Port open as part of a renovated Tomorrowland at Disneyland Park

May 23

1922 – Walt Disney incorporates Laugh-O-Gram Films, his first cartoon company, in Kansas City

1997 – Light Magic debuts at Disneyland Park

2001 – The Magic Carpets of Aladdin opens at Magic Kingdom Park

May 24

1968 – President Lyndon B. Johnson presents a Congressional Gold Medal to Lillian Disney, commemorating Walt Disney’s “distinguished public service and outstanding contributions to the United States and to the world”

2004 – Toontown Online, a new Internet multiplayer game from Disney Interactive, debuts

_________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for reading, and have a great rest of your week!

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