The Disney Look... to the Past! (January 4-10)

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: January 4-10

Jan. 9, 1987 - Star Tours opens at Disneyland Park

Combining the creative and technical wizardry of Disney and George Lucas, this first-of-its-kind motion simulator attraction was set in the thrilling universe of the classic “Star Wars” saga. Tomorrowland Guests climbed aboard a Starspeeder 3000 for a whirlwind tour of the Endor moon, but never arrive thanks to the antics of the robot captain. Instead, the Starspeeder ends up in a battle between Empire and Rebel forces, culminating in the destruction of the Death Star. The attraction was rebooted at Disneyland Park and Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2011 as Star Wars - The Adventures Continue, featuring randomly sequenced character encounters and destinations from both “Star Wars” trilogies, presented in 3-D.

Jan. 10, 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.

Also this week in Disney history:

Jan. 4

1936 - “Mickey’s Polo Team” (cartoon short) released

1989 - Sunkist Citrus House closes at Disneyland Park

1994 - The Disney Inn closes at the Walt Disney World Resort (to become Shades of Green)

1996 - Disney shareholders approve the acquisition of Capitol Cities/ABC

1999 - Disneyland Paris begins accepting the new Euro currency (aka “E-day”) in the form of credit cards, checks and travelers checks

2003 - The final performance of the Polynesian Revue takes place at Disney’s Polynesian Resort

2010 - Honey, I Shrunk the Audience closes at Disneyland Park

2012 - Blue Ribbon Bakery closes at Disneyland Park

Jan. 5

1935 - “The Tortoise and the Hare” (Silly Symphony) is released

1998 - Take Flight (longtime Tomorrowland attraction, originally named If You Had Wings) closes at Magic Kingdom Park

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

1999 - Horizons is open to Guests for the final day at Epcot

2012 - Over a dozen new songs are added to the Main Street, U.S.A. music loop at Disneyland Park

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

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

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