Walt Disney World Inside Out Celebrates Walt Disney World’s 25th Anniversary

In 1996, Walt Disney World Inside Out aired a special hour-long episode dedicated to kicking off the 25th Anniversary celebration of the Walt Disney World Resort. Hosted by JD Roth and Brianne Leary, with appearances by George Foreman, the episode captured the excitement and scale of the 15-month “Remember the Magic” celebration.

Celebrating 25 Years of Disney Magic

The show aired on The Disney Channel and spotlighted new attractions, resorts, and entertainment debuting across the resort. JD and Brianne took viewers through the latest and upcoming additions, including:

• The Walt Disney World Boardwalk Resort
• Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort (opened in 1997)
• The Disney Institute
• A major expansion of Downtown Disney

A New Era at Downtown Disney

Downtown Disney saw an explosion of growth during this time. Highlights featured in the Inside Out special included:

• Rainforest Café’s arrival
• The expanded World of Disney store
• The construction of Disney’s West Side, which would soon house:
• • AMC Theaters
  • House of Blues
  • Wolfgang Puck’s Café
  • Bongos Cuban Café
  • Virgin Records Megastore
  • Cirque Du Soleil’s La Nouba

Attractions, Entertainment, and a Castle Cake

New attractions featured during the episode included:

• Test Track at Epcot
• Mickey’s Toontown Fair at Magic Kingdom
• Hunchback of Notre Dame: A Musical Adventure at Disney-MGM Studios
• IllumiNations 25 with its moving “Circle of Life” sky show finale
• At Magic Kingdom, the new Remember the Magic Parade brought a fresh layer of celebration, but Cinderella Castle stole the show. For the 25th Anniversary, the iconic castle was transformed into a giant pink birthday cake, complete with frosting, sprinkles, and 26 decorative candles—earning mixed reactions from guests but becoming an unforgettable part of Disney Parks history.

Building Toward the Future

The Inside Out special also teased big projects that were underway for the coming years, including:

• Disney Cruise Line’s first two ships
• Disney’s Wide World of Sports (opened in 1997)
• The development of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, which opened in 1998

A Nostalgic Time Capsule

For Disney fans, the 1996 Inside Out 25th Anniversary Special is a time capsule of the resort’s growth. It reflects the shift from a three-park destination to the entertainment empire we know today.

For more Disney anniversaries. 

• Disneyland. 10th. 25th. 30th. 35th. 40th. 50th. 50th-anniversary media event. 60th featuring Elton John.
• Walt Disney World. 10th. 15th. 20th. 25th Party, 25th Witching you Were here, Remembering the Magic 25th.