Most Important Dates in Disney History Part 2

A few weeks ago, I examined the most significant dates in the history of The Walt Disney Company.

At the time, I focused on the 20^th century alone, which was an easy list to put together.

After all, the company’s creation and the invention of Mickey Mouse kinda stand out, don’t they?

Today, I’ll take on a slightly more challenging exercise. Here are the most important dates in Disney history this millennium.

February 8^th, 2001

As the new millennia began, Disneyland Resort did something it hadn’t managed in 45 years. It added a second park!

Yes, on this date in 2001, Disney California Adventure opened…and it was a debacle! One of the rides, Superstar Limo, didn’t last a year!

September 4^th, 2001

Disney established international roots in the 1980s and 1990s. So, this date may not seem significant unless you’re familiar with the place.

On September 4^th, 2001, Tokyo DisneySea opened. Many theme park aficionados deem it THE greatest park in the world. So, that was a big day.

July 9^th, 2003

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl wasn’t the first adaptation of a Disney ride.

I would argue that it wasn’t even the best, even in this franchise. Dead Man’s Chest is superior, in my opinion.

Still, this worked as a proof of concept, something Disney sorely needed. The other two attempts, The Haunted Mansion and The Country Bears, disappointed/failed.

Meanwhile, The Curse of the Black Pearl’s opening immediately garnered acclaim, eventually leading to a multi-billion dollar film franchise.

September 12^th, 2005

Two more significant Disney theme parks opened abroad after Tokyo DisneySea. Both are remarkable for what they represent.

In 2005, Michael Eisner prepared to hand over the keys to his successor as CEO, Bob Iger. Days before that happened, the two men appeared in China.

Both of them cut the ribbons to signify that Disney’s first theme park in China was open for business.

More than symbolically, this park broke new ground and opened the unprecedented territory to Disney.

The success of Marvel movies in China owes at least part of its credit to this moment.

January 20^th, 2006

The high school play represents a rite of passage for teenagers.

Some enterprising geniuses at Disney recognized that a musical movie based on the premise would succeed.

Boy did it ever. More than 15 years ago, the first film debuted on January 20^th. The rest is history.

To this day, the High School Musical franchise continues to pay dividends for Disney.

The horribly named but wildly popular High School Musical: The Musical: The Series just completed its second season.

Suffice to say that Olivia Rodrigo is a thing because of this show, which tells the whole story about the sustained popularity of High School Musical.

January 25^th, 2006

Some of these stories speak for themselves. Still, you have to admire Disney’s hot streak at the start of 2006.

Five days after High School Musical debuted, Disney bought another film studio by the name of Pixar. So yeah, that was good.

Some people don’t realize that Pixar had already established a presence at Disney parks. Once Disney bought Pixar, the two became inseparable, though.

March 24^th, 2006

Oh yeah, two months later, Hannah Montana premiered on Disney Channel.

Between this show and High School Musical, Disney introduced a new generation of kids to the brand.

At one point, Hannah Montana was so successful that its concert film, a theatrical release, earned $70.6 million.

In fact, the movie did so well that Disney executives held a weekend conference to discuss the best ways to capitalize on the franchise’s popularity!

March 10^th, 2009

On this date, the D23 official Disney fan club debuted. Here’s why you should join.

August 31^st, 2009

You’ll notice a recurring theme here. Disney has made five significant acquisitions during the 21^st century.

The jury’s still out on only one of them, and even it seems like a blockbuster success.

In 2009, the streak continued when Disney paid a comically low $4B for Marvel Entertainment.

I recently read an AP article from that date, and the author questioned how Disney could justify that price.

As far as cold takes go, that one’s a Hall of Famer.

September 10^th, 2009

Speaking of D23, this date reflects the opening of the first D23 Expo ever.

The Anaheim Convention Center hosted the first event of what has become one of the most essential presentations for Disney fans.

The rest is history! Even now, we’re all giddily anticipating a D23 event at Disney’s Contemporary Resort in November!

May 4^th, 2012

Speaking of that $4 billion Marvel purchase, May 4^th isn’t just a Star Wars Day.

Marvel fans know it as the date that Marvel’s The Avengers entered movie theaters and quickly claimed THE most successful box office opening weekend ever.

This film alone earned $1.5 billion in theaters, not counting home video and television revenue…or merchandise. It sold a lot of merchandise.

By the way, in culling the list to 20, I didn’t include Avengers: Endgame. So that’s another $2.8 billion in the coffer right there!

October 30^th, 2012

$4 billion is a lucky number for Disney. On this date in 2012, Disney bought the Star Wars franchise. Perhaps you’ve heard of it.

All that purchase did was allow Disney to release five new movies, multiple Disney+ series (including The Mandalorian), and introduce the world to Baby Yoda.

I think that decision worked out okay.

November 27^th, 2013

If you’ve ever heard anybody belt out Let It Go at karaoke, this date represents the start of it.

In November of 2013, guests headed to Arendelle and met Princesses Anna and Elsa for the first time. Yes, Frozen fever started back then.

Remember how I didn’t pick Endgame? I narrowed the list down to Pirates of the Caribbean, The Avengers, Frozen, and it. Something had to give!

I certainly wasn’t leaving off two Princesses who later became queens!

March 31^st, 2014

Theme park fans will remember this date well. At a minimum, they’ll remember the year that it happened.

Walt Disney World unveiled MyMagic+ at this point, thereby changing the way that fans experience the parks.

Yup, this was the date when Magic Bands became a thing! Disney had performed extensive testing before then. However, this was the official launch date.

June 16^th, 2016

In Bob Iger’s autobiography, he discusses this date in such conflicted terms.

Hours before Disney executives celebrated the grand opening of Shanghai Disneyland, they received tragic news about a shooting at an Orlando nightclub.

Some cast members died during the exchange, and Disney later learned that the murderer had targeted Disney Springs first.

As such, the debut of Shanghai Disneyland proved a somewhat muted affair for the American Disney executives there.

However, the people of Shanghai have embraced the park for all its splendor.

Meanwhile, Disney theme park fans have jealously eyed two of the attractions. Fortunately, Tron Lightcycle Power Run will arrive soon enough.

May 17^th, 2017

Quick, what’s the best part of Disney’s Animal Kingdom?

Okay, I’ll happily accept “the animals” as an answer. Still, I suspect that most of you answered with Pandora – The World of Avatar.

In May of 2017, Imagineers unveiled their staggering achievement, a themed land that brought an entire fictional planet to life.

Even more impressively, bioluminescence ensures that Pandora grows even more beautiful at night.

August 8^th, 2017

Okay, this one’s a bit dry to non-techies, but it’s vital to Disney’s future.

In August of 2017, Disney increased its stake in what was then known as BAMTech.

This streaming media technology provides the under-the-hood infrastructure for your favorite Disney apps.

In fact, BAMTech was so effective that when a former client, the WWE, had to switch providers, customers grew livid.

The new technology wasn’t even near the quality of BAMTech, which eventually caused the WWE to fold its network into Peacock.

Meanwhile, Disney has created a three-pronged streaming media business plan that has secured its future.

In its own way, BAMTech is every bit as essential to Disney as Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars.

March 20^th, 2019

Some of these stories bleed together. To wit, Disney acquired most of Fox’s assets on this date in 2019.

Disney had announced the potential transaction much earlier, but other bidders jumped in. They recognized a steal when they saw it.

Ultimately, Disney had to pay $71.3 billion for this one, way more than the $54 billion it had expected.

As such, the jury is still out a bit. However, the early results are highly possible.

Specifically, The Simpsons has become an integral part of Disney’s new identity as a streaming company.

Meanwhile, films like Ford v. Ferrari and Free Guy have shown that Disney can monetize Fox’s assets effectively.

May 31^st, 2019

Disney fans deserve a lot of credit for not turning certain things into competitions.

For example, in May of 2019, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opened. At the time, most agreed that Pandora represented the pinnacle of Imagineering.

When the Star Wars themed land debuted, nobody really wasted time arguing whether it was better than the Avatar section. It was irrelevant.

Instead, what mattered to Disney guests was that Walt Disney World gave them two spectacular new reasons to visit in a two-year period.

Even today, Disney’s still working to improve the Star Wars experience, as demonstrated by the impending arrival of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.

November 12^th, 2019  

Many of the stories I’ve listed here led to this moment. On November 12^th, Disney unveiled its linchpin product for the next generation.

Disney+ debuted and immediately destroyed all reasonable expectations. Some analysts believed the company would need multiple years to reach 30 million subscribers.

During the first month, Disney+ gained 24 million! In less than two years, it has already reached 116 million subscribers.

Disney initially projected it’d need until the end of 2024 to reach 60-90 million! I…like its chances.

In future years, we’ll look back at November 12^th, 2019, as the date when Disney stepped into the future and redefined itself as a media company.

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