By Michael Aronson – 04/16/06

April 16:

• 1964: Mr. Lincoln gets a ticket to New York an the animatronic figure finally passes inspection at the WED complex in California. After a number of false starts and problems, is approved for his premier at the New York World’s Fair.
  

April 17:

• 1961: Two more awards for Disney at the 33rd Academy Awards. ‘The Horse with the Flying Tail’ wins for best documentary feature and Haley Mills is given an Honorary Oscar for her performance in ‘Pollyana’.
  1987: The Disneyland Mark V Monorails run out of the roundhouse for the first time. This design will transport Disneyland guests for the next 20 years.
  
• April 18:
  1946: Happy Birthday Haley Mills. The star of ‘Pollyana’, ‘The Parent Trap’, ‘The Moon-Spinners’, among numerous other Disney family classic’s of the 1960’s is born on this day.
• 1983: At 7AM ‘Good Morning Mickey’ greets viewers on the first broadcast day of the Disney Channel.
• 1994: ‘Beauty and the Beast’ has it’s official Broadway Premier at the Palace Theater in New York. The show includes new songs written by Tim Rice and Alan Menken as well as the song ‘Human Again’ which was cut from the original film. This song would be reanimated and included 2001 IMAX release of the film.
• 1998: 15 years to the day that the Disney Channel premiers, the Mouses second cable channel, Toon Disney launches with 24 hours of animation. April 6:
  

April 19:

• 1997: Milt Kahl, one of Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men, passes away of complications from pneumonia. Milt was considered possibly the finest true animator of all of the Disney legends. His artwork can be seen in Disney films from ‘Snow White’ to ‘Mary Poppins’ to ‘the Rescuers’.
  

April 20:

• 1946: ‘Make Mine Music’ premiers. A ‘Fantasia’ of popular music, the film is a compilation of 10 different animated musical shorts. Disney would produce a number of similar concept films over the next few years as the Studio tries and recover from the economic setbacks brought on by the lost markets in WWII.
  

April 21:

• 1965: The New York World’s Fair opens today for its second and final season. All four Disney attractions (The Ford Motor’s Magic Skyway, The General Electric Progressland featuring the Carousel of Progress, The Illinois Pavilion featuring Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, and the Pepsi/UNICEF ‘It’s a Small World’) would be among the most popular attractions at the Fair.

April 22:

• 1868: Flora Call(1868-1938) is born today. She would later meet Elias Disney and on December 5, 2001 give birth to a son named Walt.
  
• 1964: The New York’s World’s Fair Opens. Three of the Disney Pavilions would open with the Fair. Mr. Lincoln would open a few weeks later.
  
• 1998: Roars of delight as Walt Disney Worlds fourth Theme Park - Disney’s Animal Kingdom -opens. It is the largest Park by area (almost 500 acres) and the home to 13 attractions.
  
• 2006: The United States Postal Service releases the third series of Disney stamps - ‘Disney Romance’ today. The stamps feature Mickey & Minnie, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella and the Prince, and Lady and the Tramp.