A Look Back the Grand Opening of the American Idol Experience

Tonight, the once-time phenomenon American Idol returns to television — this time on Disney-owned ABC. Incidentally, even when the program aired on Fox, it was the inspiration for an attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios that allowed guests to not only show off their talent in front of other park goers but also compete for a chance to audition for the real show. With the big premiere tonight, we took a look through our video archives to find a few fun videos of this now extinct attraction:

Ryan Seacrest Hosts

American Idol host Ryan Seacrest helped to kick off the very first show as it opened at Hollywood Studios and we were lucky enough to be there:

 

Idol Winners Open New American Idol Experience

All seven Idol winners (up to that point) join together on stage for the opening ceremony and to support the first contestants:

Idol Winners Perform

Carrie Underwood and David Cook sing a duet at the opening ceremony:

Do you miss American Idol Experience? And are you looking forward to the new iteration? Let us know!