After reviving a PC i had in the late 90s a couple of weeks ago i investigated this big box of CD-Rs standing besides it (in an unisolated attic in germany... so temperatures from about -5 °C to >35 °C), most of the CDs were burnt in a period from around '96 - 2005, many ... ehm... "off site backups" of games and other software but also personal files.
What can i say... every CD i put in the drive worked flawlessly. I think it sometimes comes down to pure dumb luck.