The Disney Look... to the Past! (February 8-14)

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:
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This Week in Disney History: February 8-14

Feb. 8, 2001 - Disney California Adventure Park opens

Filmmaking was beginning to boom in Los Angeles when Walt Disney moved there in 1923, but the city already had a multicultural style and architecture all its own. Buena Vista Street was inspired by this time in Walt’s life, and it serves as entryway to the Disneyland Resort’s second theme park - a celebration of the dreamers like Walt who changed the Golden State, and were changed by it. Hop a Red Car Trolley to Carthay Circle Theatre, a replica of the movie palace where “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” first premiered and hub to the park’s eight lands. Aviation-themed Condor Flats includes the breathtaking hang glider ride Soarin’ Over California, and rustic Grizzly Peak offers white knuckle whitewater rafting aboard Grizzly River Run. Paradise Pier’s Victorian boardwalk features bayfront thrills on California Screamin’ and the nighttime water spectacular World of Color, while Hollywood Land invites Guests to “drop in” to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. A 5-year reimagining of the park culminated in its 2012 rededication, including the debuts of Buena Vista Street and Cars Land, a 12-acre expansion inspired by Disney-Pixar’s “Cars” revved up by the high-octane Radiator Springs Racers.

Feb. 14, 1998 - Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop opens at Walt Disney World

What could be sweeter than a Valentine’s Day opening for one of the most delectable spots in the Downtown Disney Marketplace? Follow your nose to Ghirardelli by the aroma of premium chocolate wafting out the doors, or spot it at night by the glimmering rooftop marquee, an homage to the original factory and flagship store near San Francisco’s famed Fisherman’s Wharf. Founded in 1852, Ghirardelli serves chocolate in almost every form conceivable, but it’s perhaps best enjoyed as part of its sublime hot fudge sundaes, served in freshly baked waffle cones made at the location. Relax with your taste treats while enjoying table service inside and outside the shop, or use the to-go line for speedier cocoa satisfaction. The adjacent shop contains plenty of packaged chocolate assortments and souvenirs ready to take home, and you may just receive a chocolate square to snack on as you browse. In 2012, Ghirardelli brought its chocolatiering to Disney California Adventure Park, opening a new location in Pacific Wharf.

Also this week in Disney history:

Feb. 8

1952 - The Disney animated short “Lambert, the Sheepish Lion” debuts

2006 - Disney reacquires Oswald the Lucky Rabbit from NBC Universal

Feb. 9

1986 - The 3-D film “Magic Journeys” closes at Epcot

1996 - The Disney Institute learning campus opens at Walt Disney World

2009 - Disney announces a distribution and marketing deal with Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks Studios

Feb. 10

1960 - The Stagecoach Line attraction closes at Disneyland Park

Feb. 11

2000 - Walt Disney Pictures releases “The Tigger Movie”

2012 - First Lady Michelle Obama visits ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex as part of a physical fitness initiative

Feb. 12

1958 - The steel hull of Disneyland Park’s Sailing Ship Columbia is completed at a shipyard in Long Beach, Calif.

Feb. 13

1993 - Lumiere’s Kitchen (formerly Gurgi’s Munchies & Crunchies) opens at Magic Kingdom Park

2000 - Pin Trading is officially introduced at the Disneyland Resort

2004 - The Hollywood Tower Hotel marquee is lit for the first time on the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney California Adventure Park

Feb. 14

1997 - Walt Disney Pictures releases a remake of “That Darn Cat”

2009 - The American Idol Experience opens at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

2011 - “Jake and the Never Land Pirates” debuts on Disney Channel

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

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