1997 introduced the all-new Disney Christmas Celebration, “A Magical Walt Disney World Christmas”, with the 25th Anniversary Cinderella Castle Cake front and center, but not mentioned specifically. For the first time, the show was not hosted by Joan Lunden and was not promoted as a live telecast. It was hosted by Melissa Joan Hart and Ben Savage with special guests: The Backstreet Boys, The Harlem Globetrotters, and the voices behind our favorite Disney characters including Ernie Sabella, Paige O’Hara, and Jodi Benson.
Features Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Parade from Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, The Hercules Parade from Disney MGM Studios, a visit to Downtown Disney with Downtown Julie Brown, and a sneak peek at Disney’s biggest theme park ever, The Animal Kingdom. Ben Savage takes a ride on the Tower of Terror; Melissa Joan Hart checks out the “annual” Goosebumps Christmas party at MGM Studios. We get an early look at Animal Kingdom’s Discovery Island when Ernie Sabella performs Hakuna Ma Tata. After a snowball battle at Blizzard Beach, Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde looks inside Disney Animal Kingdom, Safari Village. We check in with Stuart Scott at the ESPN Sports Center desk for an update on the Harlem Globetrotters vs Santa’s Mighty Elves at Disney’s Wide World of Sports. We get our first look at the Disney Magic, the first cruise ship designed by Disney Imagineers. After Downtown Julie Brown brings us the latest from Downtown Disney, we get a look at the Osborne Lights on Residential Street at Disney MGM Studios.
