This Day in Disney History

3:32

This Day in Disney History: The Disneyland Hotel...

This Day in Disney History ·

2026/10/05

On October 5, 1955, the Disneyland Hotel opened beside Disneyland in Anaheim, California, as the first hotel to carry the Disney name, built by Jack Wrather and later acquired by Disney in 1988. Alex and Jordan revisit its seven-room opening day, its family-first ideas, and its monorail and tower growth, plus the October 5, 1949 release of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

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4:05

This Day in Disney History: Mission to Mars Takes Its...

This Day in Disney History ·

2026/10/04

On October 4, 1993, Mission to Mars flew its final mission from Tomorrowland at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, ending a Disney space voyage that began with Disneyland's Rocket to the Moon in 1955 — with Mission Control host Mr. Johnson (voiced by George Walsh) and in-flight narrator Third Officer Collins (Pete Renoudet), later replaced by the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter. Plus: Alice in the Wooly West, the 34th Alice Comedy starring Margie Gay and Julius the Cat, turns 100 (released...

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3:20

This Day in Disney History: Haunted Mansion Holiday...

This Day in Disney History ·

2026/10/03

Haunted Mansion Holiday at Disneyland opened on October 3, 2001, bringing Jack Skellington and Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas into the Haunted Mansion. Alex and Jordan celebrate the 25th season of the beloved overlay in New Orleans Square, from its gingerbread house tradition to the Tokyo Disneyland version.

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3:39

This Day in Disney History: Splash Mountain...

This Day in Disney History ·

2026/10/02

Splash Mountain officially opened at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom on October 2, 1992. Alex and Jordan look back at the beloved log flume's dedication day, its Disneyland roots, and its three-decade run in Frontierland.

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3:30

This Day in Disney History: The Day Two Disney Parks...

This Day in Disney History ·

2026/10/01

Alex and Jordan celebrate October 1 — the shared birthday of Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, which opened in 1971 under Roy O. Disney after Walt Disney's death, and EPCOT Center, Walt's futurist dream park that opened in 1982 with Spaceship Earth, Future World, and World Showcase.

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4:30

This Day in Disney History: Michael Eisner Steps Down...

This Day in Disney History ·

2026/09/30

On September 30, 2005, Michael Eisner resigned as CEO of the Walt Disney Company after 21 years, ending the era of the Disney Renaissance, Disney-MGM Studios, and the ABC network acquisition — and handing the company to Bob Iger. Plus: IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth gives its final performance at Epcot in 2019 after a 20-year run, and Pepsi ends its 27-year Golden Horseshoe Revue sponsorship at Disneyland in 1982.

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3:21

This Day in Disney History: The Disney Skyliner Takes...

This Day in Disney History ·

2026/09/29

On September 29, 2019, Walt Disney World launched the Disney Skyliner, a free gondola system connecting EPCOT, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and four resorts — Disney's Riviera, Caribbean Beach, Pop Century, and Art of Animation — with nearly 300 Disney-themed cabins soaring up to sixty feet high. Plus: Downtown Disney officially becomes Disney Springs in 2015, and Remember the Titans premieres in 2000 with Denzel Washington.

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3:50

This Day in Disney History: The First Epcot Food &...

This Day in Disney History ·

2026/09/28

On September 28, 1996, EPCOT at Walt Disney World launched the very first Epcot International Food & Wine Festival — a 30-day culinary tour of World Showcase dreamed up by EPCOT executive George Kalogridis that grew into one of the world's biggest food festivals. Plus: Canada, China and France pavilions soft-open three days before EPCOT's 1982 grand opening.

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4:17

This Day in Disney History: Fun and Fancy Free — The...

This Day in Disney History ·

2026/09/27

On September 27, 1947, Disney released Fun and Fancy Free — the package film pairing Bongo with Mickey and the Beanstalk, starring Mickey, Donald, and Goofy opposite Willie the Giant, and marking the last time Walt Disney himself voiced Mickey Mouse. Plus: the 2014 closing of Disney's Hollywood Studios' Studio Backlot Tour.

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3:30

This Day in Disney History: Hurricane Jeanne Shuts...

This Day in Disney History ·

2026/09/26

On September 26, 2004, Hurricane Jeanne forced Walt Disney World to close all four theme parks — the third hurricane shutdown in six weeks after Charley and Frances. Plus: The Suite Life on Deck premieres on the Disney Channel in 2008 with Dylan and Cole Sprouse, Brenda Song, and Debby Ryan.

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4:31

This Day in Disney History: The Final Episode of The...

This Day in Disney History ·

2026/09/25

On September 25, 1959, the original Mickey Mouse Club aired its final episode on ABC, ending four seasons of the Mouseketeers — Annette Funicello, Bobby Burgess, Cubby O'Brien and the rest — hosted by Jimmie Dodd, after a renewal dispute between Disney and ABC ended TV's first great kids' variety show. Plus: Disney's Newsies: The Musical world-premiere opening night at Paper Mill Playhouse in 2011, with Alan Menken, Jack Feldman, and Harvey Fierstein.

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3:10

This Day in Disney History: Mickey, Donald and Goofy...

This Day in Disney History ·

2026/09/25

On September 24, 1937, Disney released Lonesome Ghosts, the 98th Mickey Mouse cartoon, starring Mickey, Donald, and Goofy as the Ajax Ghost Exterminators. With voices by Walt Disney himself, Clarence Nash, and Pinto Colvig, four bored ghosts prank-call the trio — and the molasses-and-flour ending became the blueprint for Disney's playful spooks, all the way to the 1969 Haunted Mansion.

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3:38

This Day in Disney History: Big Thunder Mountain...

This Day in Disney History ·

2026/09/23

On September 23, 1980, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad debuted at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom in Florida, Imagineer Tony Baxter's runaway mine train and the wildest ride in the wilderness. Plus: Mickey Mouse stars in Brave Little Tailor, the 1938 Academy Award-nominated cartoon.

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4:02

This Day in Disney History: Lost Crashes Onto ABC (2004)

This Day in Disney History ·

2026/09/22

On September 22, 2004, ABC premiered Lost, the J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof drama that became the most expensive TV pilot ever made, drew 18.6 million viewers, and ran six seasons. Plus: the Disney+ docuseries Magic of Disney's Animal Kingdom premieres in 2020, and a baby giraffe is born at Disney's Animal Kingdom on the very same day.

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4:30

This Day in Disney History: The Space Shuttle...

This Day in Disney History ·

2026/09/21

On September 21, 2012, thousands of guests watched the Space Shuttle Endeavour's farewell flyover above Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, riding a Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft to its final home at the California Science Center. Plus: the 1970 premiere of Monday Night Football on ABC, the opening and closing of EPCOT's IllumiNations, and the birth of Looney Tunes animator Chuck Jones.

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4:08

This Day in Disney History: Disney and James Cameron...

This Day in Disney History ·

2026/09/20

On September 20, 2011, Disney CEO Bob Iger and James Cameron announced an exclusive partnership with Lightstorm Entertainment and Fox to bring Avatar to Disney parks, leading to Pandora – The World of Avatar at Disney's Animal Kingdom with Avatar Flight of Passage and Na'vi River Journey. Plus: Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away opens in the U.S. in 2002 and the We the People All-America Parade debuts at Magic Kingdom in 1987.

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0:29

Welcome to This Day in Disney History

This Day in Disney History ·

2026/09/19

Meet Alex and Jordan and hear what the daily five-minute trip through Disneyland history is all about.

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4:40

This Day in Disney History: September 19

This Day in Disney History ·

2026/09/19

Alex and Jordan revisit September 19, 1959, when Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev was barred from visiting Disneyland, plus the 2000 home video release of The Little Mermaid II. AI Generated

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3:35

This Day in Disney History: September 18

This Day in Disney History ·

2026/09/19

Alex and Jordan look back at September 18, 1986, when Michael Jackson's Captain EO premiered at Disneyland, plus the 1987 premiere of DuckTales. AI Generated

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