April 12 - Pluto’s Kid Brother, Euro Disney Resort, Characters in Flight, Carl Barks, Walt Disney and More!

Apr 12, 1946

Pluto’s Kid Brother is Released

Pluto’s kid brother (called “K.B.” in this short not “Pluto Junior” as another younger brother of his was called in the 1942 cartoon of the same name) stretches brotherly love to the limit in this hilarious short, in which Pluto’s rambunctious, perpetually panting, leash-evading sibling gets into all manner of difficulties despite Pluto’s best custodial efforts. When Pluto discovers that Butch the Bulldog has inveigled K.B. to sneak into a meat market and purloin some sausages, he arrives to right the situation just as the burglar alarm begins bleating. The brothers manage to evade a menacing dogcatcher, but Butch meets a less happy fate.

1961

Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space, when he makes a 108-minute orbital flight in his Vostok spacecraft. (Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard will become the first American in space less than a month later.) Today there is a plaque commemorating Gagarin's milestone flight in Epcot's Mission: SPACE.

1964

At the soon-to-be-open World's Fair in New York, Walt Disney, Henry Ford Jr., and Robert Moses (president of the New York World's Fair Corporation) visit the Ford Pavilion. The three are photographed by the press riding the "Magic Skyway."

1992

The Euro Disney Resort, featuring the Euro Disneyland park, opens in France, east of Paris. Inaugural ceremonies are broadcast to the entire continent by five national networks. 

 

Although 500,000 visitors are expected, only 50,000 are admitted because of protests from French people who fear their culture will be damaged by Euro Disney. Power cables are vandalized by some French citizens, which black out the road signs to Disneyland on the motorway.

 

Euro Disney also premieres its 5 hotels (Hotel Cheyenne, Santa Fe, Newport Bay Club, Hotel New York and Disneyland Hotel) and a campground (Davy Crockett Ranch) located several miles away from the main resort area.

1993

One year after its opening, Euro Disneyland welcomes its 10.5-millionth guest.

1995

In Florida, the Polynesian's Papeete Bay Verandah, opened since 1971, becomes the 'Ohana restaurant - featuring the world's largest fire pit.

1997

Carl Barks - the genius behind the creation of Scrooge McDuck and the cartoonist who drew the comic book version of Donald Duck - celebrates his 96th birthday at a special weekend event at Walt Disney World.

2007

Hilton Hotels Corp. breaks ground for a resort development adjacent to Walt Disney World Resort.

2009

Disney World's newest attraction Characters in Flight, a tethered helium filled balloon ride (operated by Aerophile - a company specializing in tethered helium balloons) continues its "soft opening" at Downtown Disney. The balloon, which can hold up to 30 guests (depending on weather conditions), rises 400 feet above Disney World for a breathtaking view.