This Day in Disney History

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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