- February
- Disney re-releases the film Pinocchio to theatres. [23] [25] [42.1665] [228.388]
- (month unknown)
- Disney and ABC sign an agreement regarding the building and ownership of Disneyland. ABC will invest in Disneyland, guarantee bank loans for up to US$4.5 million, and receive all profits from the park's food concessions for ten years. Disney will provide ABC with 21 one-hour programs for three years, for payments of US$50,000-70,000 per show, and US$25,000-35,000 for repeat showings. Ownership of all Disney shares: 34.48 percent for ABC (for US$500,000 investment), 34.48 percent for Walt Disney Productions (for US$500,000 investment), 13.8 percent for Western printing and Lithography Co (for US$200,000 investment), 16.55 percent for Walt Disney (for US$250,000 investment). [34.222] [48.249] [56.75] [267.185] [1102.509]
- March 5
- Disney releases the Donald Duck film Donald's Diary to theaters. Daisy Duck also appears. [16] [23] [85.349] [228.147] (1953 [15])
- March 12
- Disney releases the live-action short film Stormy - The Thoroughbred with an Inferiority Complex to theaters. [23] [85.115,349] [501.525]
- March 25
- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards an Oscar (Short Subjects, Cartoons) for the film Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom. [13] [23] [38.240] [39.466]
- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards an Oscar (Short Subjects, Two Reels) for the film Bear Country. [13] [23] [38.240] [39.466]
- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards an Oscar (Documentary, Short Subjects) for the film The Alaskan Eskimo. [13] [23] [38.240] [39.466]
- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards an Oscar (Documentary, Features) for the film The Living Desert. [13] [23] [38.240] [39.466]
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- April 2
- ABC and Disney boards approve the ownership and financing deal for Disneyland. [1102.509]
- Disney and ABC hold a joint press conference, announcing their agreement for the Disney TV show. [1102.509]
- April 7
- Disney releases the Chip 'n Dale film The Lone Chipmunks to theaters. [16] [23] [85.349] [228.295]
- April
- Admiral Joe Fowler is hired to supervise construction of Disneyland. [1073.75]
- Walt Disney announces that Disneyland will open in July, 1955. [92.100] [234.100]
- April 23
- Disney releases the animated short film Two for the Record to theaters. It combines the short films After You've Gone and All the Cats Join In. They were originally released as part of the film Make Mine Music. [85.349] [501.577]
- May 1
- The Anaheim Bulletin newspappr reports news of the Disney purchase of land in Anaheim for the (Disneyland) amusement park. [939.17] [1102.501,509] [1300.142]
- May 21
- Disney releases the animated short film Pigs is Pigs to theaters. [16] [23] [85.349] [228.388] [650.84] (1953 [13])
- Disney releases the animated short film Johnny Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet to theaters. It was originally released as part of the film Make Mine Music. [85.349] [228.264]
- June 18
- Disney releases the animated short film The Martins and the Coys to theaters. It was originally released as part of the film Make Mine Music. [85.349] [228.313]
- Disney releases the animated short film Casey Bats Again to theaters. [16] [23] [85.349] [1378.123]
- (month unknown)
- The Hollywood Foreign Press Association awards a Golden Globe Award (Special Award) to Disney for the film The Living Desert. [369.66]
- Walt Disney receives an award as Best Director for his work as a whole, at the Cannes Film Festival. [369.66] (1953 [47.140])
- At the suggestion of ABC TV, Walt changes the name of Disneylandia to Disneyland. [34.223]
- Dell publishes the second "Dell Color Comics" comic book Chip 'n Dale. [113.329]
- Dell publishes the "Dell Color Comics" comic book Daisy Duck's Diary. [113.330]
- Disney completes buying 244 acres of land near Anaheim, California, as the site for a theme park. [56.61]
- Key Disney staff members begin touring major American amusement parks, learning what not to do. [20]
- Roy E. Disney, son of Roy O. Disney, begins work at Walt Disney Productions, as an assistant director. [1] [228.126] (1953 [34.252] [48.304) (apprentice film editor [48.305])
- Disney re-releases the film Fantasia to theaters. [56.216] (1953 [370.45])
- The East German government bans Mickey Mouse as "an anti-communist subversive". [97.30]
- July
- Walt Disney petitions the federal court for the dismissal of Clement Melancon's lawsuit filed in July 1953. [34.220]
- Excavation of the Disneyland park site begins. The first orange tree is removed. [4] [23] [26] [40.233] [48.253] (July 12 [1102.524] [1300.142]) (July 16 [222.27] [450.19] [1300.142]) (August [267.189] [328.213])
- July 16
- Disney releases the Donald Duck film Dragon Around. Chip and Dale also appear. [16] [23] [15] [85.349] [228.150]
- Disney releases the animated short film Casey at the Bat to theaters. It was originally part of the film Make Mine Music. [85.349] [1378.123]
- August 13
- Disney releases the animated short film Little Toot to theaters. It was originally released as part of the film Melody Time. [85.349] [228.292]
- Disney releases the Donald Duck film Grin and Bear It to theaters. Humphrey Bear also appears. Ranger J. Audubon Woodlore makes his debut appearance. [16] [23] [85.349] [97.120] [228.220]
- August 17
- Disney releases the animated short film Willie the Operatic Whale to theaters. It was originally released as The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met, part of the film Make Mine Music. [23] [85.349] [501.614]
- Buena Vista releases Disney's True-Life Adventure feature film The Vanishing Prairie to theaters in the US. The film cost US$400,000 to make. (The film is initially banned in New York by the state censorship board, because of a scene of a buffalo giving birth.) [13] [23] [113.251] [370.117] [431.30] (August 16 [501.585])
- September 17
- Disney releases the animated short film Once Upon a Wintertime to theaters. It was previously released as part of the film Melody Time. [85.349] [228.370]
- October 15
- Disney releases the animated short film Social Lion to theaters. [16] [23] [85.349] [501.511]
- October 27
- The ABC TV network airs the first Disneyland TV show, on Wednesday night, 7:30 to 8:30. The first episode is titled The Disneyland Story. Approximately 30.8 million American viewers watch the show. [1] [5] [6] [13] [19] [22] [23] [26] [34.223] [40.233] [59.50] [48.255] [83.696] [84.897] [96.84] [113.288] [226.18] [228.134,137] [328.210] [370.393] [381.314] [387.182] [431.30] [911.106] [1073.75] [1300.135] (October 17 [50.139] [176.22])
- November 3
- The ABC TV network airs the Disneyland TV show, featuring the film Alice in Wonderland. [370.393] [1378.20]
- November 10
- The ABC TV network airs the Disneyland TV show, featuring the films Prairie, and Seal Island. [228.399] [370.393]
- November 12
- Disney releases the Donald Duck film The Flying Squirrel to theaters [23] [85.349] [228.189] (The Flying Squirrels [16])
- November 16
- Disney acquires the movie rights to eleven of L. Frank Baum's Oz books, not including The Wizard of Oz. [491.47] [501.468]
- November 17
- The ABC TV network airs the Disneyland TV show, featuring The Donald Duck Story. [228.145] [370.393]
- November 24
- The ABC TV network airs the Disneyland TV show, featuring the film So Dear to My Heart. [370.393]
- December 1
- The ABC TV network airs the Disneyland TV show, featuring A Story of Dogs. The show is a look at the making of Lady and the Tramp, plus a group of Pluto films. [370.393] [501.525]
- December 8
- The ABC TV network airs the Disneyland TV show, featuring the documentary, Operation Undersea about the making of the film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. [23] [48.255] [228.374] [370.393]
- December 15
- The ABC TV network airs the Disneyland TV show, featuring the first "Davy Crockett" episode, Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter. [48.257] [57.48] [59.50] [83.697] [84.898] [113.288] [370.393] [1102.514] [1378.175]
- December 22
- The ABC TV network airs the Disneyland TV show, entitled the 1954 Christmas Show. [228.399] [370.393]
- December 23
- Disney releases the Donald Duck film Grand Canyonscope to theaters. Ranger J. Audubon Woodlore also appears. [16] [23] [85.349] [228.215]
- Buena Vista releases Disney's live-action feature film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea to theaters. It cost US$4.2 million to make. The film is based on the novel by Jules Verne. [6] [7] [13] [22] [23] [34.228] [113.251] [190.25] [230.30] [370.119] [431.30] [501.575]
- December 24
- Disney releases the second People and Places film, Siam, to theaters. [13] [23] [85.349] [501.498]
- December 27
- Time magazine features Walt Disney and his animated characters on its cover. [431] [1390.35]
- December 29
- The ABC TV network airs the Disneyland TV show, featuring the films Beaver Valley and Cameras in Africa. [370.393] [1378.66]
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