The Disney Look... to the Past! (June 28-July 11)

Today we have a special, longer edition of our weekly feature to share with you. We hope you will enjoy it:
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This Week in Disney History: June 28-July 11

June 29, 1974 - “America Sings” opens at Disneyland Park

Get ready for a musical joyride through American history, led by one of the biggest Audio-Animatronic casts ever assembled. Sam the Eagle is your master of ceremonies for this four-act show in Tomorrowland, where animals croon American standards spanning from “Camptown Races” and “Polly Wolly Doodle” in the deep south, through “See You Later Alligator” and “Shake, Rattle and Roll” in modern times. Debuting two years before the country’s bicentennial, the feel good sing-along took place in the former Carousel of Progress theatre, with audiences seated along the outer ring rotating through each show scene. When the show ended in 1988, many of the “America Sings” characters became the cast of Splash Mountain, opened the following year. After being “Closed to Imagineer a Brand New Attraction,” Innoventions opened in this space in 1998.

July 1, 1996 - Disney’s BoardWalk opens at the Walt Disney World Resort

On the wooden boardwalks of Coney Island and Atlantic City, generations of families have enjoyed leisure, food and fun under the sun. Inspired by these seaside slices of Americana, this quarter-mile entertainment district along Crescent Lake lets Guests strol an authentic wooden boardwalk, enjoying saltwater taffy and midway games or watching jugglers and musicians perform. There’s plenty of great food at Big River Grille & Brewing Works, ESPN Club and Kouzzina by Cat Cora, plus the tasty pastry and dessert delights of BoardWalk Bakery. After dark, grownups can watch dueling pianists at Jellyrolls or groove the night away at Atlantic Dance Hall. For staying on the waterfront, Disney’s BoardWalk Inn and Villas offer deluxe accommodations to Guests and Disney Vacation Club Members. Designed by architect Robert A.M. Stern in a turn of the century style, the resorts share the Luna Park Pool, whose 200-foot, amusement park-themed water slide is the cheekily named Keister Coaster.

Also this week in Disney history:

June 28

1988 - Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa opens (look for 15th anniversary coverage in the June 27 edition of Eyes & Ears)

1995 - Main Street Athletic Club opens at Magic Kingdom Park

2003 - Disneyland Park hosts the world premiere of “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl”

June 29

1996 - Mickey’s Toontown Fair opens at Magic Kingdom Park

2007 - Disney?Pixar releases “Ratatouille”

June 30

1950 - “Motor Mania” (Goofy cartoon short) debuts 

1976 - The Kingdom Queen ferryboat joins the Walt Disney World Resort fleet 

2008 - The Innoventions Dream Home opens at Disneyland Park

July 1

1933 - The animated short “Mickey’s Gala Premiere” debuts

1966 - Primeval World opens at Disneyland Park 

1975 - WEDway PeopleMover opens at Magic Kingdom Park 

1994 - Innoventions opens at Epcot

1994 - The Lion King Celebration parade debuts at Disneyland Park 

1998 - Touchstone Pictures releases “Armageddon”

1998 - The Disney Magic cruise ship departs from Italy, bound for America

2011 - Goofy’s Sky School (formerly Mulholland Madness) opens at Disney California Adventure Park

July 2

1956 - Rainbow Caverns Mine Train debuts at Disneyland Park 

1967 - Carousel of Progress, Peoplemover, Rocket Jets and Tomorrowland Terrace open at Disneyland Park

1972 - Magic Kingdom I and II ferryboats debut at the Walt Disney World Resort

1986 - Walt Disney Pictures releases “The Great Mouse Detective”

1993 - Aladdin’s Oasis Dinner Show opens at Disneyland Park

2010 - “Captain EO” reopens in Future World at Epcot

July 3

1985 - Tinker Bell makes her first flight at the Walt Disney World Resort 

2008 - The Mark VII Monorail Red opens to Guests at the Disneyland Resort

July 4

1956 - Indian War Canoes (now Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes) open at Disneyland Park

1975 - Walt Disney Pictures releases “The Apple Dumpling Gang”

1984 - “American Journeys" (Circle-Vision 360 film) debuts at Disneyland Park

1987 - Big Thunder Mountain opens at Tokyo Disneyland Park 

1996 - The Disney-designed town of Celebration, Fla. officially opens

2001 - Disney’s Electrical Parade debuts at Disney California Adventure Park

2009 - The Hall of Presidents reopens at Magic Kingdom Park, featuring a new Audio-Animatronic figure of President Barack Obama

July 5

1988 - Maelstrom opens at the Norway pavilion at Epcot

1991 - The Rocketeer begins making flights during the “Sorcery in the Sky” show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

July 6

1925 - Walt and Roy O. Disney make a $400 deposit on a lot at Hyperion Avenue to build a new animation studio

1994 - Groundbreaking held for the Disney Institute at the Walt Disney World Resort

1994 - The original run of “Captain EO” closes at Epcot

July 7

1931 - The animated short “Mickey Steps Out” debuts

1963 - Walt Disney Pictures releases “Summer Magic”

2006 - Walt Disney Pictures’ “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” opens in theatres

2006 - Pirates of the Caribbean reopens at Magic Kingdom Park with Captain Jack Sparrow and Barbossa characters added to the attraction

July 8

1938 - The Donald Duck cartoon short “Good Scouts” debuts

1956 - The Donald Duck cartoon short “How to Have an Accident in the Home” debuts 

1985 - Michael Eisner and Florida Governor Bob Graham announce plans for the Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios)

1994 - “Legend of the Lion King” opens at Magic Kingdom Park 

1996 - The CircleVision 360 film “American Journeys” closes at Disneyland Park

1997 - “The Lion King” stage production debuts at Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis

July 9

1932 - The Silly Symphony short “The Bears and the Bees” debuts

1982 - Walt Disney Pictures releases “Tron”

July 10

1981 - Walt Disney Pictures releases “The Fox and the Hound”

1987 - Walt Disney Pictures releases “The Brave Little Toaster”

July 11

1953 - The Goofy cartoon short “How to Dance” debuts

1986 - Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour opens at Tokyo Disneyland 

1987 - The Disney Gallery debuts at Disneyland Park

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

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