Today, WDWNT is debuting a new weekly Disney history column, aptly named “This Week in Disney History.”  In this space, we take a look at several important events of this week in the history of The Walt Disney Company. We will not endeavor to cover everything, and what we highlight might not even be the most important happenings of the week, but instead we hope to give you some interesting tidbits to broaden your knowledge of Disney history.

This Week in Disney History: February 12th-February 18th

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• On February 12th, 2009, Carrie Underwood and David Cook , former American Idol winners, held a concert at the ‘American Idol Experience’ at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in honor of the grand opening of the attraction which would take place on February 14th.
• On February 13, 2016, Walt Disney Animation’s Zootopia premiered at the Brussels Animation Film Festival in Belgium. The movie was not released to the U.S. until March 4th, 2016. Also, on February 13, 2009, Disney debuted their new tv channel called DisneyXD along with the website DisneyXD.com. They hoped to use this new channel as a means of making shows for boys ages 6-14. The channel is still very popular in 2017.
• On February 14th, 2013, Walt Disney World celebrated Valentine’s Day by having 50 pre-selected couples to renew their wedding vows at Cinderella Castle while Snow White, Cinderella, Auroa, and their princes were performing on stage with Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
• On February 15th, 1899, the wife of Walt Disney, Lillian Marie Bounds, was born. They were married on July 13th, 1925. Also, on February 15th, 1950, Walt Disney Animation’s Cinderella premiered in theaters.
• On February 16th, 2012, Disney Cruise Line’s newest ship, The Disney Fantasy, set sail from Cape Canaveral on its maiden voyage.
• On February 17th, 1998, construction for the ‘Rock n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith’ at Disney’s MGM Studios began.
• Finally, on February 18th, 1960, the VII Winter Olympic Games began at Squaw Valley, California. This event is significant in Disney history because Walt Disney orchestrated the opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics. Walt’s official title for the Olympics was ‘Head of Pageantry for the Games’.

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” -Walt Disney

Ben Drummond