On December 15, 2023, Pirates of the Caribbean celebrated its 50th anniversary at Walt Disney World Resort. To mark the occasion, we thought it was important to share a detailed history of Disney’s famous sailing along the Spanish Main. The History of Pirates of the Caribbean The Beginning The concept of a pirate adventure was … Read more
Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland has been facing a crisis for some time due to its hodge-podge identity. Once highly cohesive and charming, the land has since been updated — without any actual full updates. With plans to overhaul the land scrapped, the best parts of Tomorrowland remain only as ghostly echoes of a bygone era, and … Read more
Disney100: The Exhibition, a touring exhibit featuring hundreds of Disney artifacts, never-before-seen art, costumes, props, and more than a dozen interactive installations celebrating 100 years of the Walt Disney Company, will be coming to The Heart Of America in May 2024. Disney100: The Exhibition in Kansas City Disney100: The Exhibition will be making its third … Read more
The Walt Disney Archives shared six new Disney100 illustrations honoring the various eras of The Walt Disney Company, from the 1920s to today. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Walt Disney Archives (@waltdisneyarchives) In honor of today’s centennial celebration for The Walt Disney Company, we present a series of six all-new illustrations … Read more
Internationally-respected Disney historian Jim Korkis has passed away at the age of 72 after suffering a series of serious medical issues. Disney Historian Jim Korkis Passes Away Mark Goldhaber, the organizer of the GoFundMe created to help with Korkis’ household and medical bills, shared the news via a post on Facebook. Friends, I am heartbroken … Read more
The Journey Into Imagination attraction has gone through many changes since it opened at EPCOT on March 5, 1983. In honor of its 40th anniversary (and the 40th birthday of the lovable dragon Figment), let’s take a look at the history of this beloved attraction and its characters. Development Our story of the imagination ride … Read more
Diamond G Ranch, which is about 17 miles west of Dubois and 23 minutes from Yellowstone National Park, is now available on the real estate market. The ranch’s previous owners were Walt Disney and family, and current owner is Stephen M. Gordon, who purchased from Disney in the 1980s. Before the Disney family took over … Read more
A TikTok user recently posted a video that has sparked some debate online over Native American representation in Disneyland. User John Barbachano posted this video calling out Disney for seeing his “people put up on display at Disneyland.” The comment section is full of debate from many self-identified Native Americans who are appalled by the … Read more
Long-time Disney fans may remember Pleasure Island, an area that used to be at Downtown Disney, now Disney Springs, at Walt Disney World Resort. What used to be Pleasure Island is now The Landing and is the central part of Disney Springs. If you happen to be an avid Disney collector, you might find our … Read more
1994 wasn’t the best year for the Walt Disney Company. Frank Wells died in a heli-skiing accident on April 3. In July, Michael Eisner had a heart attack leading to quadruple bypass surgery. Jeffery Katzenberg, the head of the studios left the company to co-found Dreamworks. There were continued issues with the now renamed Disneyland … Read more
After a momentous 1989, Walt Disney World could have settled for a down year. It wouldn’t get that for a while. 1990 kicked off with the announcement of the Disney Decade, something that would become the butt of jokes for years to come. The year also started with the opening of a new hotel, and … Read more
If any year can rival 1971 or 1982 as the most seminal in the history of Walt Disney World, it would be 1989. A new theme park, water park, and entertainment district added three new, separately ticked offerings to the resort. The company also did this without neglecting their existing assets, as both Magic Kingdom … Read more
With three new ticket venues originally set to open in 1988 and delayed to 1989, one would think 1988 would have been a quiet year. However, with two hotels, a new land, a new pavilion, and a new nighttime spectacular, 1988 was a landmark year in itself. This would prove to be the pattern during … Read more
After a busy 1986, Walt Disney World saw a relatively mild 1987 as construction continued on several large projects. While the resort was expanding outside its current offerings, the existing parks and resort saw modernization, with a variety of name changes and rearrangement of shops and facilities, as well as a few smaller changes to … Read more
The Walt Disney World Resort would hit a milestone in 1986. Not only was it the resort’s 15th anniversary, celebrated in a big way, but it would also mark a change in the very fabric of what a Disney World attraction would be moving forward. EPCOT Center truly became the complete version many fans are … Read more
We recently brought you an exclusive photo and video tour of Heritage Auctions’ “Art of the Disney Theme Park” auction, which takes place April 8 – 10, 2021. We even recently perused a book showing plans for the Disney’s America theme park that was cancelled in the 1990’s. During our visit to Dallas, two more … Read more