Post by Dave on Jul 24, 2014 10:28:31 GMT -5
1966: The New Orleans Square area opened at Disneyland, California, with a ceremony presided over by Walt Disney and the real mayor of New Orleans, Victor Schiro. The 3-acre site, the first new themed "land" added to Disneyland after its 1955 opening, cost $18 million to build. New Orleans Square (not a square so much as an intricate series of "streets") was the only land in the Magic Kingdom to debut without a single attraction. Although filled with shops and restaurants like the One of a Kind shop and Mademoiselle Antoinette's Parfumerie, the Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion attractions didn’t open until 1967 and 1969. Taking part in this day's dedication is the Firehouse Five Plus Two, the Dixieland jazz band led by animator Ward Kimball, and Disneyland Ambassador Connie Swanson. Sadly, due to his failing health, this will turn out to be Walt's last major public appearance in the park.
1989: The Town Square Café, open since 1971 and located on Disney World's Main Street USA, re-opened as Tony's Town Square Café. Originally an open-air dining courtyard, the revised eatery was fully enclosed and themed after the proprietor of the Italian restaurant in Disney's 1955 film Lady and the Tramp.
1991: The 100th Disney Store opens - in Daytona Beach, Florida.
2009: Disney's Christmas Train (promoting a new version of A Christmas Carol – scheduled for a November release) pulled into Chicago's Union Station. The 15th stop for Disney's "A Christmas Carol Train Tour," it traveled over 16,000 miles throughout the country and stopped at 40 cities and 36 states along the way, all to promote the new movie starring Jim Carrey.
The concept for Disney's Hollywood Studios (originally called Disney-MGM Studios) came from an idea to have a movie pavilion at Epcot. Once Imagineers realized that the range of possibilities were larger than just one attraction, the idea for a 3rd theme park was born.
During planning for Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, Imagineers wanted to choose one of the world's greatest bands around which to build the back story for the attraction. They decided Aerosmith would be the perfect fit. But initially Imagineers were unable to reach singer Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry. Why? Because they were vacationing with their families at the Disney-MGM Studios.
Disneyland premiered its first fireworks presentation in 1956. The show was actually created by hand – with employees touching off the fuses with a flare. A few years later, technology enabled fireworks to be launched electronically and synchronized with a soundtrack.
