Disneyland's 25th anniversary
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad opens at Magic Kingdom.
An overview of Disney-related events that occurred in 1980.
Theatrical releases
Feature films
- February 8 - Midnight Madness
- March 7 - Lady and the Tramp (re-issue)
- April 17 - The Watcher in the Woods (New York City, New York)
- May 23 - Mary Poppins (re-issue)
- June 25
- October 10 - Song of the South (re-issue)
- December 6 - Popeye (co-production with Paramount) premiered in Los Angeles, California.
- December 12 - Popeye (co-production with Paramount)
- December 19 - The Aristocats (re-issue)
Shorts
- June 25 - Mickey Mouse Disco
- September 14 - Foods and Fun: A Nutrition Adventure
- September 17 - The Atom: A Closer Look
Character debuts
- June 25 - Pete Stancheck, Davy Johns, Paco, Prindle, Quinn, Shepard, Melissa
- November 15 - Cumulus Isobar
Theme parks and reosrts
- February - The Fort Wilderness Railroad closes at Walt Disney World Resort.
- June 7 - 18-year-old Gerardo Gonzales dies in an accident on the PeopleMover in Tomorrowland at Disneyland.
- July 17 - Disneyland and Disneyland Resort celebrates its 25th anniversary.
- September 14 - Mickey Mouse Revue closes in Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom to be moved to Tokyo Disneyland.
- November 15 - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad opens in Frontierland at the Magic Kingdom.
Events
- November 27 - The Mickey Mouse balloon makes its tenth appearance in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Home video releases
VHS releases
- March 4
- The Adventures of Chip 'n' Dale (All tapes were rental only until September)
- Bedknobs and Broomsticks
- The Black Hole
- Escape to Witch Mountain
- Kids is Kids
- On Vacation with Mickey Mouse and Friends
- Pete's Dragon
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
- September 2 - Fall 1980 trailer reel (featuring 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Pete's Dragon)
- December 30 - Mary Poppins
Laserdisc releases
People
Births
- January 2 - Georgie Kidder (voice actress)
- January 4
- Erin Cahill (actress)
- Greg Cipes (actor, voice actor, singer, musician, and composer)
- June Diane Raphael (actress, comedian, and screenwriter)
- January 8
- Sam Riley (actor and singer)
- Rachel Nichols (actress and model)
- January 16 - Lin-Manuel Miranda (actor, writer, composer, and rapper)
- January 17 - Zooey Deschanel (actress, model, singer-songwriter, and musician)
- January 18 - Jason Segel (actor, screenwriter, comedian, composer, puppeteer, musician, and singer)
- January 30
- Josh Kelley (singer-songwriter and actor)
- Wilmer Valderrama (actor, voice actor, singer, dancer, and producer)
- January 31 - James Adomian (actor, voice actor, comedian, and impressionist)
- February 11 - Matthew Lawrence (actor)
- February 12 - Christina Ricci (actress)
- February 17 - Jason Ritter (actor and voice actor)
- February 20 - Yuichi Nakamura (Japanese voice actor and YouTuber)
- February 21 - Justin Roiland (animator and writer)
- March 9 - Matthew Gray Gubler (actor, producer, and model)
- March 30 - Winter Ave Zoli (actress and model)
- March 31
- Kate Micucci (actress, voice actress, singer-songwriter, comedian, and artist)
- Maaya Sakamoto (singer-songwriter, actress, and voice actress)
- April 8 - Katee Sackhoff (actress)
- April 26 - Channing Tatum (actor, film producer, dancer, model, and former male stripper)
- May 2 - Ellie Kemper (actress, voice actress, comedian, and screenwriter)
- May 24 - Sabrina Alberghetti (screenwriter, storyboard artist, and author)
- May 27 - Ben Feldman (actor and voice actor)
- May 31 - Andy Hurley (drummer)
- June 10 - Jessica DiCicco (actress, voice actress, and singer)
- June 18 - Kevin Bishop (actor, comedian, and writer)
- June 23 - Melissa Rauch (actress, voice actress, and comedian)
- June 25 - Shannon Lucio (actress)
- June 26 - Jason Schwartzman (actor and musician)
- July 3 - Olivia Munn (actress, model, and presenter)
- July 6 - Eva Green (actress and model)
- July 10 - Jessica Simpson (singer-songwriter, actress, and model)
- July 17 - Philip Lawrence (songwriter, record producer, and voice actor)
- July 18 - Kristen Bell (actress, singer, and producer)
- July 20 - Gisele Bündchen (model, actress, and producer)
- August 19 - Daniel Ross (actor, voice actor, and producer)
- August 23 - Trevor Wright (actor)
- August 26 - Chris Pine (actor)
- September 9 - Michelle Williams (actress)
- September 13 - Ben Savage (actor, comedian, and screenwriter)
- September 29 - Zachary Levi (actor, voice actor, comedian, director, and singer)
- October 3 - Daniel DeSanto (actor and voice actor)
- October 4 - Nick Mohammed (comedian, actor, and writer)
- October 8 - Nick Cannon (actor, comedian, rapper, entrepreneur, record producer, and radio and television personality)
- October 14 - Ben Whishaw (actor)
- October 17
- Angel Parker (actress)
- Justin Shenkarow (actor and voice actor)
- October 18 - Natasha Rothwell (actress, voice actress, comedian, and writer)
- November 10 - Niketa Calame (actress and voice actress)
- November 12 - Ryan Gosling (actor, director, producer, screenwriter, writer, and musician)
- November 13 - Monique Coleman (actress, dancer, singer, philanthropist, and entrepreneur)
- December 3 - Jenna Dewan (actress, dancer, and businesswoman)
- December 5 - Jessica Paré (actress, voice actress, and singer)
- December 9 - Simon Helberg (actor, voice actor, comedian, and musician)
- December 18 - Christina Aguilera (singer and actress)
- December 19 - Jake Gyllenhaal (actor and producer)
- December 26 - David Lowery (director, producer, and screenwriter)
- December 30 - Eliza Dushku (actress)
Deaths
- February 1 - Jack Bailey (actor, voice actor, and game show host)
- April 15 - Raymond Bailey (actor)
- May 31 - Sonny Burke (musical arranger, composer, Big Band leader, and producer)
- July 24 - Peter Sellers (actor, comedian, and singer)
- November 15 - Bill Lee (playback singer)
- December 8 - John Lennon (musician)
- December 20 - Ben Sharpsteen (animator, director, and producer)
Artists joined
- Andreas Deja - Supervising Animator on The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King.
- Mark Henn - Supervising Animator on The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King.
- Mark Dindal - Director on The Emperor's New Groove and Chicken Little. Effects Animator on The Fox and the Hound, The Little Mermaid, and Aladdin.
- Barry Temple - Animator for Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, and Mulan.
- Ruben Procopio - Animator/Sculptor who worked on The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King.
- Sandra Borgmeyer - Animator for The Black Cauldron and The Great Mouse Detective.
- Retta Davidson - Coordinating Animator/Animation Teacher with Eric Larson and Walt Stanchfield, who worked on The Fox and the Hound, Mickey's Christmas Carol, The Black Cauldron, and The Great Mouse Detective.
- Karen Keller - Layout Artist on The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Hercules.
- Tia Kratter - Background Designer for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin.
- Donald A. Towns - Background Designer/Art Director on The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin.
- Brian Sebern - Background Designer for The Fox and the Hound, The Great Mouse Detective, and The Little Mermaid.
- Tony Anselmo - Current voice actor for Donald Duck and animator on The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast.
- Gail Frank - Assistant Animator on The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King.
- Peter Gullerud - Visual Development Artist/Assistant Animator on The Little Mermaid and Aladdin.
- Mike McKinney - Assistant Animator on The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King.
- David Pacheco - Assistant Animator on The Fox and the Hound, The Great Mouse Detective, and The Little Mermaid.
- Natasha Selfridge - Assistant Animator on Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King.
- Toby Shelton - Storyboard Artist/Character Designer/Director for DuckTales, The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and The Return of Jafar. Also worked as an Assistant Animator on Mickey's Christmas Carol, The Black Cauldron, and The Great Mouse Detective.
- Peggy Tonkonogy - Assistant Animator on The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King.
1980
