Disney Book Opening
Cori Riska
We were advised by the cast member we spoke to when we went in shopping on the first day to get there about fifteen minutes before opening. As an adult, I would only be chosen to open the store if no children were there, which is fine, and since it was term time, it was very unlikely that there would be any children. The cast member said that most days in term time, nobody shows up.
I was still a little bit nervous, so Joe and I got to the Blackpool Disney Store at 8 30am. There was no one around, which was a good sign, and it was lovely to look through the window and see the store with nobody inside.
The resort represents the largest foreign investment project in Shanghai, and one of the largest foreign investments in the history of China. The opening of Shanghai Disney Resort will mark a key milestone in the development of tourism in Shanghai, changing the landscape of the industry and delighting guests for generations to come.
After one full year of rigorous construction demands and a total investment of $17 million, the gates of Disneyland opened for its first guests on Sunday, July 17, 1955, 14h EDT. A special 'International Press Preview' event was held, which was only open to invited guests.
The highly anticipated Opening Day festivities, including the dedication and a parade, were covered by ABC with a 90 minute live special, 'Dateline Disneyland', broadcasted between 7h30 and 9h p.m. EDT and hosted by television personalities Art Linkletter, Ronald Reagan and Bob Cummings.
The event did not go smoothly. The park was overcrowded as the by-invitation-only affair was plagued with counterfeit tickets. Only 11,000 people were expected to show up, but by mid-afternoon, over 28,000 ticket holders were heading for the Disneyland, causing unprecedented traffic jams.
Southern California was suffering from a record heat wave with temperatures of over a 100 degrees Fahrenheit. A plumbers' strike left many of the park's drinking fountains dry. Rides broke down shortly after opening and restaurants and refreshment stands ran out of food and drink. A gas leak in Fantasyland caused Adventureland, Frontierland, and Fantasyland to close for the afternoon.
Walt and his staff immediately took the necessary measures to deal with the problems of low ride capacity, congested walkways, traffic jams and slow food service. The press was invited back for a private "second day" to experience the true Disneyland.
Today, more than 55 years later, Disneyland has become a cultural phenomenon. Even though Walt Disney left us tome time ago, his legacy still lives on in the magical world he created. Disneyland truly proved to be a source of joy and inspiration to you, me and all of us!
The logo almost always features a fairytale castle directly inspired by Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle and the Magic Kingdom's Cinderella Castle, which has undergone several changes since its introduction in 1985. The design of the stylized Magic Kingdom was based on the symbol used during Disneyland's 30th anniversary during the same year. Some films feature variations of the logo with different lighting and color settings to better match the film's theme and tone.
The main production logo most often features various arrangements of "When You Wish Upon a Star" from the 1940 animated feature Pinocchio as a fanfare. Various Walt Disney Television logos have been modified versions of the castle logo.
On a dark purple/blue gradient backdrop, a shower of light descends from the top of the screen, forming a stylized, segmented castle which is a white/purple gradient with only 6 flags. The segments seem to be spaced farther apart by the time the light reaches the bottom. Through the main gate of the castle, a white ball of light forms then extends out to form the words "Walt Disney" in the familiar corporate "Disney" logo font. The word "PICTURES" fades in underneath, and a white semi-circular line is drawn over the castle to the bottom left. This version was used until 1989.
This logo first appeared in 1985 with the film Return to Oz, although this version was rather incomplete and silent. The full version with sound would later appear that same year in The Black Cauldron. It was also seen on many mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s prints of classic Disney movies with the RKO logo or the Buena Vista logo cut how ever since the late 1990s they restored the RKO logos and Buena Vista logos.
This logo uses a computer-generated facsimile of the castle and lacks the beam of light or segmenting, instead zooming out from the castle gates. Instead of "When You Wish Upon a Star", this production logo utilizes an original fanfare composed by Randy Newman.
In 2000, Disney introduced a new variant of the logo, in which the background is black and a glowing orange beam appeared on the screen and illuminates the words Walt Disney Pictures. The light then shines the glowing arch, revealing the castle and fades out in the end (the closing logo is still).
This logo begins with a glowing star shining in the night sky, while the shiniest star in the right of the sky represents The Second Star to the Right from Peter Pan. The view then heads down to what appears to be the Magic Kingdom, complete with a yacht (which is actually Roy E. Disney's Pyewacket) sailing down a river towards the sea and a train going down a railway track. It then flies over the top of a castle that bears design elements of both Sleeping Beauty Castle and Cinderella Castle, with a flag bearing the Disney family crest, as fireworks go off. Eventually, it settles in front of the castle, in which the glowing arch (like Tinker Bell) flies over it, and the title appears at the bottom.
Mike Gabriel conceived, storyboarded, did all development pieces, directed, and art directed the opening castle logo sequence of this logo[1], with animation produced by New Zealand-based visual effects studio Weta Digital (now known as Wētā FX).
In 2011, a new version of the logo was produced based on the 2009 home media logo, which the "Walt Disney Pictures" branding being shortened to "Disney", with the text being much larger and the color scheme being brighter and more pronounced. It was first shown in The Muppets and used until the Launchpad season 2 shorts on September 29, 2023, although the closing variant made its surprise appearance in the remastered 4K print of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on October 10, 2023. This logo was rendered by Cameron Smith and Cyrese Parrish based on Wētā FX's original work.
During the Disney/Pixar film presentation at the 2022 D23 Expo, Disney introduced a new logo to represent the company's 100th anniversary. The logo made its debut on trailers of The Little Mermaid, Elemental, and YouTube version trailer of Hocus Pocus 2, Disenchanted, while the complete logo was shown at the D23 Expo and was unveiled to the public in the D23 Day 1 Recap on Disney+. The first film to utilize this new logo is Strange World, which is then followed by the short 2007 Walt Disney Animation Studios logo. Also, the first Disney+ Original to utilize this new logo is Encanto at the Hollywood Bowl. It is currently being used in tandem with the previous logo until the new print logo introduced in early-mid 2023. As of April 7, 2023, the 2011 print logo remains in place on posters (e.g The Little Mermaid). It also began appearing on some films made by non-Disney branded divisions, starting with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny - released in the UK on June 28, 2023 and on June 30 in the US - for Lucasfilm as the Disney logo appears on the film's poster more recently. It also used in Pixar films, starting with Elemental in 2023. It is currently unknown whenever other non-Disney branded films from Marvel Studios and 20th Century Studios began to follow suit to use the Disney logo at the beginning of the aforementioned films.
Like the previous logos, the 2022 logo uses a new rendition of When You Wish Upon a Star as the main theme, composed by Christophe Beck, which is heavily influenced by John Debney 2016 rendition of the theme. Also, unlike the previous logo, this logo was completely animated under The Walt Disney Studios division, which mainly animated with Industrial Light & Magic.
This logo plays similarly as the anniversary logo, except the castle is now in its normal coloration from the start upon its reveal, the "100" text is removed, and "Disney" is now made with more translucent material.
It is currently unknown whenever the new Disney castle opening would plaster the original logos (e.g. 1985 logo) for future re-releases (including 4K releases) on Blu-ray or via Disney+/iTunes/Apple TV.
Since the late '90s, other variations of the standard Walt Disney Pictures logo were released. Most movies have their own variation of the logo, with the standard "Walt Disney Pictures", later as simply "Disney", written in Walt Disney's famous handwriting font and the castle featured in a setting that represents a particular movie. By 2014 and onward, these variations were also featured in trailers.
Movie variant (Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year): The 1990 logo starts off normally, but after the flash (which completely surrounds the entire castle for a second), it begins to snow all around the logo. After the arc is drawn over the castle, the logo fades out in the background, which in turn fades into the opening scene.
Movie variant: The 1990 logo freezes for a few seconds before the arc is drawn, Once the logo is done, it fades into an image of Mars. The arc of the logo is aligned with the surface of the planet.
After the flash that displays the "Walt Disney" text, the logo becomes featured in front of a space cluster background. Deems Taylor's narration from Fantasia starts to be heard soon before the logo disappears. Some distorted CGI squares can be seen floating in space. After the logo disappears, these squares are revealed to be screens displaying flashbacks from Fantasia.
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