The Firebird sequence depicts the eruption of the volcano Mount Saint Helens in 1980.
The first feature length animated film to be presented in IMAX. IMAX had to agree to Disney's terms and conditions to gain the exclusive first showings of the film. These included a limited engagement of 4 months and 50% of the box office receipts. It was for this reason that, when Fantasia 2000 (1999) had its first run, not all IMAX cinemas showed it as not all of them were prepared to accept Disney's terms. The California Science Center in Los Angeles was one such venue who refused to meet these terms so Disney built a purpose-built IMAX theatre for the 4 month run, costing them $4 million, and demolished it afterwards.
9 years in the making.
The Broadway ending sequence of "Rhapsody in Blue" contained so many different colors (over 200) that the CAPS system had trouble rendering it, causing delays in the production of Tarzan (1999).
George Gershwin himself features in the "Rhapsody in Blue" segment. He's the slender man seen playing the piano through his apartment window above Rachel and her piano lessons.
Eric Goldberg: The animator seen "assisting" James Earl Jones in the intro to "Carnival of the Animals" is the director of that segment and of "Rhapsody in Blue".