On The Red Carpet was on set as the cast gathered for a photo, some cake and a chance to celebrate with their crew members.
"We love our crew so much. It's kinda surreal for me, I mean 16,000 episodes!," said Kristina Wagner (Felicia Scorpio).
"I've been on the show 33 years. I'm 63 and the show is 63 years old. So it's over half my life," added Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos).
"We still have jobs," said Jane Elliot (Tracy Quartermaine). "I was 30 when I came here. I'm no longer 30."
"Every decade of my life besides the teens, I've been here. That's kinda crazy," added Lynn Herring (Lucy Coe).
Newer cast member Tabyana Ali, who plays Trina Robinson, understands the magnitude of this moment.
"It's a generational show. 16-thousand is incredible. No other show has ever done that," she said.
"General Hospital" debuted in 1963. It's currently the longest scripted American drama and the longest-running soap opera in production. It's won 18 Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama series and over 100 Daytime Emmys collectively.
It's given soap fans so many memorable moments, including Luke and Laura's wedding, the Ice Princess saga, BJ's heart transplant, the Cesar Faison of it all, so many Nurse's Ball moments and of course all the Quartermaine family drama (like Tracy withholding Edward's heart medication and Jason's accident that caused him to lose his memory and rebrand himself as Jason Morgan).
Laura Wright, who plays Carly Spencer, added one more to the list.
"I have the videotape of... Frisco leaving and Felicia (Wagner) crying on the dock and I would watch it and sob over and over," she said as she looked at Wagner.
The 16-thousandth episode is actually episode one for Dean Geyer. He's joining the cast as Tristan Roberts, a character named for the late Tristan Rogers (Robert Scorpio).
"What a first day. This is literally my first day, first scenes. I mean, I can't believe it," Geyer said. "Everybody seems to be friends here and outside and I can't wait to sort of get to that point."
The veteran cast members are sure to welcome him in with open arms.
"It really is a family, and it's not just with us, but with the fans. Like, we're in their living room five days a week. They raise their kids and grandkids watching us. So it's a special, special medium," said Wright.
"General Hospital" airs weekdays on ABC and streams on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.
The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of this ABC station.