Disneyland Resort Celebrates Mickey's Birthday

The Disneyland Resort is about to celebrate its 60th anniversary, and for the next nine months, Disneyland Resort Annual Passholders are invited to a special series entitled “Wednesdays with Walt.” They will get a look back on the history of Disney through this wondrous time capsule, while also looking forward to many more years of magic.

On Wednesday, November 12, there was a special tribute to Mickey Mouse. Rick Dempsey from Disney Character Voices (DCV) and Bret Iwan, the voice of Mickey himself, were on hand for the event. Rick shared the work he does with DCV, while Bret shared his background and how he came to voice the iconic mouse.

Over the past 86 years, Mickey Mouse has been voiced by only four people. The first was, of course, Walt Disney. Sound effects guru Jimmy MacDonald followed in 1947, though Walt did vice Mickey a few times here and there. Wayne Allwine took over from Jimmy in 1977, and continued to voice Mickey until his death in May 2009.

Bret Iwan was working as a Halmark greeting card designer in Kansas City when a friend from Pixar encouraged him to audition for the role of Mickey’s voice. Iwan also happens to love trains, and grew up drawing and voicing the iconic character for fun. He admitted that he sent his résumé to The Walt Disney Company when he was 6 years old, even offering to refill people’s coffee just to get a chance to work for Disney. He was turned down several times, but Bret never gave up on his dream, and was named the official voice of Mickey Mouse in 2009.

After Bret and Rick answered some questions from the audience, we were treated to several Mickey Mouse shorts. The first short was “Steamboat Willie,” in which Mickey made his first appearance in a cartoon with sound. That was followed by “The Band Concert,” “Clock Cleaners,” “Lonesome Ghosts,” “Brave Little Tailor,” and my personal favorite “Mickey’s Trailer.” It was great to see some of the classic Mickey cartoons again! After the screening, we were given a Rice Krispie treat as a thank you. (You can also see a few Mickey Mouse shorts at the Main Street Cinema. They play continuously throughout the day.)

So if you have a chance, and are a Disneyland Resort Annual Passholder, stop by the Main Street Opera House everyWednesday, except Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, through July 22, 2015 for a very special treat. Three screenings will occur per event, and wristbands will be available at 12:00pm. 45-minute shows are currently scheduled at 5:00pm,6:00pm, and 7:00pm. 65-minute shows are currently scheduled at 4:30pm, 6:00pm, and 7:30pm. How will you know the difference between the shows? Simply follow “Disneyland Annual Passholders” on Facebook, as the topic of the show will be revealed every Tuesday.

Additional information can also be found at https://disneyland.disney.go.com/news/passholder-wednesdays-with-walt/.