References are numbered in [brackets], which are listed here. A number after the dot gives the page in the source.

Last updated: 2023 December 20.

1987

January 9

• The Star Tours attraction opens in Tomorrowland at Disneyland. It cost US$32 million to create. [1] [9] [14] [20] [22] [23] [26.28] [479.48] [501.521] [757.40] [1300.395]

January

• The Museum of Cartoon Art, in Rye Brook, New York, exhibits The Art of Walt Disney Studio, one of the most comprehensive shows of Disney art ever displayed. [200.A49]
• Silver Screen Partners III begins raising money for filming Disney films. (US$300 million is raised through 44,000 investors.) [501.500] [1074.184]
• Eastern Airlines is dropped as official airline of Walt Disney World. New sponsor Delta Air Lines signs a 10-year contract for US$8 million. The contract is effective July 1. Delta will also pay US$2 million per year to maintain the If You Had Wings exhibit at the park. [201.34] [250] (US$40 million total [1])

January 18

• The Disney TV special Great Moments in Disney Animation airs. [228.217]

January 24

• The Disney TV movie Double Switch airs. [228.149]

January 29

• Disney announces that it is selling the Arvida real estate company, for US$400 million, to JMB Realty company. [108.248] [1378.44]
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs parade onto the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, in celebration of Disney's highest-ever first quarter (ending December 31) revenues. [108.248]

January 30

• Disney releases the Touchstone Pictures live-action feature film Outrageous Fortune to theaters in the US. It cost US$19 million to produce. [1] [23] [64.114] [65.74] [85.319] [112.484]

February 1

• The ABC TV network airs The Disney Sunday Movie, entitled You Ruined My Life. [501.627]

February 8

• The ABC TV network airs The Disney Sunday Movie, entitled The Liberators. [228.287]

February 11

• The Walt Disney Company is re-incorporated, in Delaware. [1378.179]
• The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominates Paul Newman for his role in the film The Color of Money for an Oscar Award in the category Actor. [39.655]
• The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominates Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio for her role in the film The Color of Money for an Oscar Award in the category Supporting Actress. [39.655]
• The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominates the film The Color of Money for an Oscar Award in the category Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. [39.655]
• The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominates the film The Color of Money for an Oscar Award in the category Art Direction - Set Decoration. [39.655]
  vvv advertisement vvv
  
  ^^^ advertisement ^^^
  

February 13

• NBC airs the TV special Disney's DTV Doggone Valentine. [228.139] [386.128]

February

• Disney releases the educational film Crack: The Big Lie. [1378.160]
• Bette Midler signs a contract with Disney, to star in three successive movies. [204.C19]

February 27

• Tokyo Disneyland welcomes its 40-millionth guest. [55.39]

February 28

• Disney releases the film Sleeping Beauty on laserdisc in the US, for US$37-45. [15]
• The Disney Channel airs the Disney Channel Premiere Film Strange Companions. [228.129]

March 4

• The ABC TV network airs the first episode of the Disney TV show Harry. [14] [228.229]

March 6

• Disney releases the film The Color of Money to theaters in the UK. [64.43]
• Disney releases the Touchstone Pictures live-action feature film Tin Men to theaters in the US. The film cost US$11 million to make. (Gross theater receipts in the USA: US$25 million.) [23] [64.147] [65.114] [85.319] [112.502] [501.559] [1074.206]

March 8

• The ABC TV network airs The Disney Sunday Movie, entitled Bigfoot. [1378.79]

March 12

• The Walt Disney Company names Robert J. Fitzpatrick president of Euro Disneyland. [196.D4]

March 15

• The Pickett Suite Resort hotel opens on Lake Buena Vista at Walt Disney World. [228.387]
• The ABC TV network airs The Disney Sunday Movie, entitled Young Harry Houdini. [501.628]

March

• The ABC TV network temporarily cancels the Sidekicks show. [381.532]
• In Tokyo Disneyland, the name of The Four Corners Food Faire is changed to Small World Restaurant. [501.507]

March 20

• The film Captain EO opens in Tomorrowland at Tokyo Disneyland. [55.39] [1378.117]

March 24

• Michael Eisner and French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac sign the full agreement concerning the building and operating of Euro Disney. [1] [60.10] [202.D3] [238.268] [1074.282] [1378.134] (March 27 [1])

March 25

• The TV show Down and Out with Donald Duck airs. [228.150]

March 27

• The ABC TV network airs the last episode of the Disney TV show Harry. [228.229]
• The ABC TV network airs the show Waco & Rhinehart as a pilot for a series. [501.590]

March 28

• The first Disney Store opens, in the Glendale Galleria, California. [14] [22] [209.30] [232.84] [238.243] [228.132] (May 28 [11])
• The Port of Entry shop opens in World Showcase Plaza in EPCOT Center. [228.397]

March 29

• The ABC TV network airs The Disney Sunday Movie, entitled Double Agent. [228.149]

March 30

• The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards an Oscar (Best Actor) to Paul Newman for his role in the film The Color of Money. [38.693] [39.655] (1988 [23])

April 9

• The Disney Traders shop opens in World Showcase Plaza in EPCOT Center. [228.132]

April 10

• Disney releases the film Flight of the Navigator to theaters in the UK. [64.59]
• Disney releases the animated film The Gummi Bears: Faster Than a Speeding Tummi to theaters in England. [228.221]

April 12

• The ABC TV network airs The Disney Sunday Movie, entitled Bride of Boogedy. It is a sequel to the film Mr. Boogedy. [232.93] [1378.98]

April

• The monorail at Disneyland is now called "Disneyland Monorail", and uses new Mark V trains. [1300.292] (1986 [228.338])

April 19

• Team Mickey's Athletic Club shop opens at the Walt Disney World Village in Walt Disney World. [501.540]

April 22

• The NBC TV network airs the pilot Our Planet Tonight. [228.376]

April 24

• Disney releases the film Tough Guys to theaters in the UK. [64.147]

April 26

• The syndicated TV show Today's Business is cancelled, after losing close to US$5 million in seven months. [1] [501.561]
• The Fox TV networks airs the preview of the series Down and Out in Beverly Hills. [1] [14] [228.150]

May 1

• Warner Brothers agrees to distribute Disney and Touchstone films outside of the US. [197.38]

May 5

• Disneyland debuts "Disney Dollars", a creation of Jack Lindquist. Mickey Mouse and Sleeping Beauty's Castle are on the $1 bill, Goofy and the Mark Twain Riverboat are on the $5 bill. [26.28] [232.85] [245.68] [228.130] [399.2] [757.40] [1288.22] [1300.131] [1360.10] [1362.851]

May 6

• The City Council of Burbank, California, approves a Walt Disney Company proposed development of a theme park, studio attraction, hotel, and shopping mall on a 40-acre site in the city. Disney is granted two six-month options to purchase the property for US$1 million. [198.D4]

May 16

• ABC airs the last episode of The Wuzzles. [228.141] (September 5 [383.568])

May 17

• The Mickey's Christmas Chalet shop in Disneyland closes. [228.325] [1300.280]

May 19

• The Disney Channel premieres the Disney Channel Premiere film Anne of Avonlea: The Continuing Story of Anne of Green Gables, part one of four. [15] [1378.36]

May 22

• The NBC TV network airs the TV special Disney's Golden Anniversary of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. [228.140,207] (Disney's Golden Anniversary of Snow White [386.128])
• Disney releases the Touchstone Pictures live-action feature film Ernest Goes To Camp to theaters in the US. [23] [64.57] [370.284,319] [112.458] [228.167]

May 27

• The NBC TV network airs An All New Adventure of Disney's Sport Goofy, Featuring Sport Goofy in Soccermania. Several Mickey Mouse and Goofy cartoons are shown, and the Goofy cartoon Sport Goofy in Soccermania debuts. [1378.23]

May 29

• The Briar Rose Cottage shop opens in Fantasyland in Disneyland. This spot was formerly Mickey's Christmas Chalet. [1300.83] [1378.98]

June 1

• The If You Had Wings attraction in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World closes. [228.250]

June 5

• Buena Vista premieres the live-action feature film Benji the Hunted in Dallas, Texas. The film was not made by Disney, but picked up by Buena Vista and Walt Disney Pictures for release in the US. [23] [370.284,318] [112.444] [1378.71]

June 6

• The If You Could Fly attraction opens in Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, sponsored by Delta Air Lines. [228.250]

June 8

• Canada's Maclean's news magazine includes Mickey Mouse on the cover as part of main article on "Hollywood Hits 100". [1356.32]

June 11

• The Disney Gallery opens in New Orleans Square at Disneyland. [26.28] [20] [228.130]

June 15

• Redonda issues a set of postage stamps celebrating the 50th anniversary of the release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. [399.2]
• Sierra Leone issues ten postage stamps depicting Disney characters in Canada. [656.978]

June

• The ABC TV network resumes airing the Sidekicks show, on Saturday nights at 8:30. [381.636]

June 19

• The Disney Channel airs the Disney Channel Premiere Film Not Quite Human. [228.129,362]
• Buena Vista generally releases the film Benji the Hunted to theaters. [1378.71]

June 23

• A US Federal District Court dismisses a lawsuit by Matthew Gentry against the Walt Disney Company, Eastman Kodak, and Michael Jackson. Gentry claimed copyright infringement violation of a work he had created. [205.D21]

June 24

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer releases the film Spaceballs to theaters in the USA. "Someone says "Did I miss something? When did we get to Disneyland?". [1160]

June 26

• The CBS TV network airs Mickey and Nora, a pilot for a series. [228.319]

June 27

• The ABC TV network airs the final Sidekicks show. [381.636] [501.499]

(month unknown)

• The Gold Prize at the Moscow International Film Festival is won for the film The Journey of Natty Gann. [23]
• Disney re-releases the film Cinderella to theaters. (Theater revenue is US$34 million.) [17] [25] [85.298] [745.93] [1378.137]
• Disney releases the film Flight of the Navigator on videocassette. [228.188]
• Disney releases the film The Color of Money on videocassette. [228.98]
• Disney releases the 16-mm film The Walt Disney Story. [23]
• Disney creates the Disney Legends awards program. Fred MacMurray is the first to be awarded. He acted in seven Disney films. [250.28] [228.131,302]
• Disney releases the film Outrageous Fortune on videocassette. [228.377]
• Work begins on Splash Mountain at Disneyland, based on the 1946 Disney film Song of the South. [1]
• Disney re-releases the film The Aristocats to theaters. [17] [25] [86.53] [1378.40]
• Disney begins featuring its television advertisements after great sports events, where the star runs up to a camera and says "I'm going to Disneyland!". [14]
• Snow White receives a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. [42.1985]
• The films Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day and Winnie the Pooh and a day for Eeyore are released on laserdisc in the US, for US$25. [15]
• The films Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree and Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too are released on laserdisc in the US, for US$25. [15]
• Disney releases the Disney Sing Along Songs film compilation Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah / Heigh Ho on laserdisc in the US, for US$25. [15]
• Engineers at the Walt Disney Company and Pixar begin creating CAPS (Computer Animation and Production System). [94.59]
• Disney releases the film The Littlest Outlaw on videocassette. [190.20] [228.293]
• Disney releases the film Bon Voyage on videocassette. [228.62]
• In Disneyland, the name of the Davy Crockett Frontier Arcade shop changes to Davy Crockett's Pioneer Mercantile. [1300.127] [1378.175,176]
• A hot-air balloon shaped like Mickey Mouse dubbed "Ear Force One" debuts. [228.155]
• Disney releases the film Emil and the Detectives on videocassette. [228.161]
• Disney releases the film Ernest Goes to Camp on videocassette. [228.167]
• Disney releases the film Gunfight at Sandoval on videocassette. [228.222]
• Disney renames the educational film Hans Christian Andersen's The Ugly Duckling to An Introduction to Hans Christian Andersen. [228.227]
• Disney releases the film Miracle of the White Stallions on videocassette. [228.334]
• Disney releases the film Monkeys, Go Home! on videocassette. [228.338]
• Disney releases the film Mosby's Marauders on videocassette. [228.342]
• Disney releases the animated short film The Reluctant Dragon on videocassette. [228.412]
• Disney releases the film Ride a Wild Pony on videocassette. [501.471]
• Disney releases the film Ruthless People on videocassette. [501.480]
• Marty Sklar is named president of Walt Disney Imagineering. [501.503]
• Disney releases the film Smith! on videocassette. [501.508]
• The Disney Channel airs Snow White Live, broadcasting the stage show performed in 1979. [501.509]
• Disney releases the film The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men on videocassette. [501.525]
• Disney releases the film Tin Men on videocassette in the US. [501.559]
• Disney releases the film Tough Guys on videocassette in the US. [501.566]
• Disney releases the film The Undergrads on videocassette. [501.580]
• Cost of a single-day ticket to Disneyland passes $20. [1300.320]
• Disney releases the film An Introduction to Aesop. Previously released as Aesop's Hare and the Tortoise. [1378.11]

July 1

• Disney releases the Touchstone Pictures live-action feature film Adventures in Babysitting to theaters in the US. (North American theater gross receipts: US$34.3 million.) [23] [65.9] [370.284,319] [112.440] [537.72] [1378.8]

July 4

• The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad attraction opens in Westernland at Tokyo Disneyland. [55.39] [1378.78]

July 10

• Disney releases the animated film The Brave Little Toaster to theaters. The animation was created by Hyperion Pictures. [15] [1175.23] (1988 [11])

July 11

• The Disney Gallery opens in New Orleans Square at Disneyland. The Art of Disneyland 1953-1986 is the first exhibition. [26.73] [1248.11] [1300.132]

July 12

• The TV show Cameo by Night airs on NBC. [1378.112]

July

• The second Disney Store opens, on Pier 39, in San Francisco, California. [238.243]

July 17

• Disney re-releases the film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to theaters. (North American theater gross receipts: US$46.4 million.) [11] [23] [25] [85.298] [177.73] [203.B21] [501.509] [537.72]

July 20

• Stromboli's Wagon shop opens in Tokyo Disneyland. [55.39]

July 25

• The Fox TV network airs the first episode of Down and Out in Beverly Hills. [228.150]

July 28

• At the SIGGRAPH convention in Anaheim, California, Disney shows the computer-generated short film Oilspot and Lipstick. John Lasseter chairs the panel session Traditions and the Future of Character Animation, examining the past, present, and future of Disney animation. [85.300] [228.366] [1175.3]

July 31

• Disney releases the film Tin Men to theaters in the UK. [64.147] [65.114]

August 5

• Disney releases the Touchstone Pictures live-action feature film Stakeout to theaters in the US. [23] [65.106] [85.319] [112.497] [501.520]

August 6

• The TV series The Ellen Burstyn Show returns to TV. [228.160]

August 14

• Buena Vista releases the Touchstone Pictures live-action feature film Can't Buy Me Love to theaters in the US. [65.25] [370.284,319] [112.449] [1378.115]

August

• Disney releases the film Goofy's Hygiene Game for educational use. [228.214]
• Disney releases the film AIDS: What Do We Tell Our Children?. [1378.13]

September 2

• The Westward Ho Trading Company shop opens in Frontierland at Disneyland. Former name was Frontier Trading Post. [501.603] [1300.180,442]

September 7

• The NBC TV network debuts the Win, Lose, or Draw TV show. [501.614]

September 9

• Grenada issues sixty postage stamps depicting scenes from films Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan. [653.421]

September 11

• Disney releases the film Outrageous Fortune to theaters in the UK. [65.74]

September 12

• The last episode of The Ellen Burstyn Show airs. [228.160]
• The Fox TV networks airs the last episode of Down and Out in Beverly Hills. [228.150]

September 13

• The Disney Channel premieres the College Bowl '87 game show. [1378.146]

September

• Disney releases the educational film Courtesy is Caring. [1378.158]
• Disney releases the film Time for Table Manners for educational use. [501.559]
• Disney releases the "Mickey's Field Trip" series educational film The Police Station. [228.396]
• Disney releases the "Mickey's Field Trip" series educational film The Fire Station. [228.185]
• Disney releases the "Mickey's Field Trip" series educational film The Hospital. [228.242]
• Disney releases an updated version of the film I'm No Fool in Water for educational use. [228.251]
• Disney releases the educational film The Children of Japan: Learning the New, Remembering the Old. [1378.133]

September 16

• The CBS TV network debuts the Disney-produced show The Oldest Rookie. [14] [228.367] [381.348]

September 18

• A US Federal Judge rules that the Disney/Hasbro "Wuzzle" characters do not infringe the copyright of Engrav-It's "What" characters. [208.A35]
• A two-hour syndicated TV special DuckTales airs. This is the debut of the first daily animated series from the Walt Disney Studios. [228.152] [1175.3]

September 19

• The State Fair event is first held at Disneyland. [1300.398]

September 20

• The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awards an Emmy Award (Outstanding Comedy Series) to the TV show The Golden Girls. [41.373] [59.305]
• The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awards an Emmy Award (Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series) to Rue McClanahan for her role in the TV show The Golden Girls. [59.305]
• The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awards an Emmy Award (Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series) to Terry Hughes, for the TV show The Golden Girls. [59.305]

September 21

• The first of 65 episodes of DuckTales begin airing on 121 TV stations, reaching 83% of TV households. (Within a few months, it is the top-ranked afternoon kids' show in syndication.) [1] [85.299] [228.152] [260.D8]

October 2

• The Walt Disney Company debuts Disney Dollars in EPCOT Center at Walt Disney World. The same $1 and $5 bills are used as in Disneyland. [245.68] [400.1]

October 12

• Mattel signs a licensing agreement with Disney, to design and make a line of infant and preschool toys featuring Disney characters. [207.D26]
• ABC-TV airs the Disney TV special Funny, You Don't Look 200. [228.199]

October

• Disney releases the film Lady and the Tramp on videocassette. Two million orders are received before it begins shipping. (In total, 3.2 million copies are sold.) [1] [11] [14] [23] [56.81] [228.280] [313.B6]

October 30

• NBC airs the TV special Disney's DTV Monster Hits. [386.128] (November 27 [228.139])

November 1

• The ABC TV network airs The Disney Sunday Movie, entitled The Return of the Shaggy Dog. [17] [501.467]

November 6

• Buena Vista releases the Touchstone Pictures live-action feature film Hello Again to theaters in the US. [65.44] [85.319] [112.466] [228.230]

November 7

• Disney releases the film Ruthless People to theaters in the UK. [64.124]

November

• The third Disney Store opens, in Orange County, California. [238.243]

November 16

• Grenada issues ten postage stamps depicting various Disney characters in tales by Hans Christian Andersen. [653.421]
• Grenada Grenadines issues ten postage stamps depicting various Disney characters in tales by Hans Christian Andersen. [653.456]

November 17

• Disney releases the film Lady and the Tramp on laserdisc in the US, for US$37-45. [15]
• Disney releases the film Sleeping Beauty on laserdisc in the US, for US$37-45. [15]

November 18

• Sears, Roebuck & Company agrees to a ten-year alliance to market products based on Disney characters. [199.D5]

November 23

• Mongolia issues eleven postage stamps depicting scenes from The Brave Little Toaster and The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. [655.873]

November 25

• Disney releases the Touchstone Pictures live-action feature film Three Men and a Baby to theaters in the US. Disney paid US$1 million for the rights to the French film Trois Hommes et un Couffin, and US$11 million to produce the film. (North American theater gross receipts: US$167.7 million; worldwide: US$227 million.) [1] [14] [65.111] [85.319] [112.501] [501.554] [552.42] [579.50] [745.94] [1074.206]

November 26

• Tokyo Disneyland welcomes its 50-millionth guest. [55.39] [61.2]

November 27

• The NBC TV network airs the one-hour special Walt Disney World Celebrity Circus. [386.426] [501.595]

November 29

• The ABC TV network airs The Disney Sunday Movie, entitled Student Exchange, part one. [501.528]

December 5

• The Disney Channel airs the Disney Channel Premiere Film The Christmas Visitor. [1378.135]

December 6

• The ABC TV network airs The Disney Sunday Movie, entitled Student Exchange, part two. [501.528]

December 7

• Dominica issues ten postage stamps depicting Disney theme parks and trains, marking the 60th anniversary of Mickey Mouse. [648.753]

December 9

• The Gambia issues ten postage stamps marking the 60th anniversary of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, depicting Disney characters and historic locomotives. [653.37]
• Sierra Leone issues ten postage stamps marking the 5th anniversary of Tokyo Disneyland. [656.979]

December 15

• The film Magic Journeys opens in the Fantasyland Theater in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. [228.304]

December

• Western Publishing Group makes a five-year deal with Disney to be the primary US publisher of Disney books under US$5. [498.133]

December 20

• The Disney Channel airs the final College Bowl '87 game show. [1378.146]

December 23

• Disney pre-releases the Touchstone Pictures live-action feature film Good Morning, Vietnam in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, in order to generate publicity before a general release. [1] [17] [34.279] [65.42] [66.91] [85.319] [112.463] [228.210]

December

• Disney releases the film Miracle Down Under on videocassette. It was originally shown on the Disney Channel under the name The Christmas Visitor. [228.91,334]

Year

• Total new Disney animation created for television for the year: 36 hours. [260.D8]
• North American theater market share by ticket revenue: Disney is #2 with 14%. [451.60]
• Total attendance at the Tokyo Disneyland park during the year: 11.6 million. [476.152] [479.48]

1919-1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929	1930	1931	1932	1933
1934	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939	1940	1941	1942	1943
1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949	1950	1951	1952	1953
1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959	1960	1961	1962	1963
1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973
1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983
1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993
1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
2004	2005	2006	2007-2008	2009	2010-2011	2012-end