Tag: Hall of Presidents

  • Disney Closes Hall of Presidents to Add Biden Animatronic

    Disney Closes Hall of Presidents to Add Biden Animatronic

    The night before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, Disney closed The Hall of Presidents attraction at Magic Kingdom in preperation for a new addition.

    The Hall of Presidents is a show that “tells the dramatic story of the nation’s founding” using animatronics of U.S. presidents, according to Disney.

    The Disney World website was updated late Tuesday with a notice on the attraction’s page that reads, “The Hall of Presidents is currently closed for refurbishment,” as you can see in the picture below:

    By Wednesday, a sign placed outside the entrance read, “The Hall of Presidents is currently being prepared to welcome the new president.”

    Disney confirmed that an animatronic of Biden is being added to the lineup of other lifelike replicas of past U.S. presidents.

    Every sitting president since Bill Clinton has had a speaking role in the attraction. In early 2017, Disney closed the attraction for several months to add a Donald Trump animatronic and make other changes.

    Recently, there have been renewed calls for Disney to close The Hall of Presidents permanently or replace it with something less “political.”

    Fans have suggested replacements such as the Muppets taking over and doing something similar to their “Great Moments in American History” live show.

    The Hall of Presidents is one of the longest running attractions at Disney World, opening with Magic Kingdom in 1971. It only exists at Disney World; Disneyland in California has an attraction called “The Disneyland Story Presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.”

  • Guest Removed From Hall of Presidents Show After Chanting “Lock Him Up!”

    Guest Removed From Hall of Presidents Show After Chanting “Lock Him Up!”

    A revised Hall of Presidents at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom just reopened less than two weeks ago and as expected it has been met with mixed reactions. Wednesday, a guest identified as Jay Malsky filmed himself yelling “Lock him up” throughout the Trump’s speech at the Disney World Hall of Presidents.

    The outburst directed at Trump was caught on video Tuesday and has social media buzzing.

    In the video above a robotic representation of Donald Trump was set to give a speech on stage in front of 44 other animatronic presidential audio figures. All of the presidents are introduced before Donald Trump begins to speak. He can barely even get his name out before Malsky starts chanting “Lock him up!” repeatedly without pause. The disruption obviously frustrated the other guest trying to enjoy the attraction.

    Many guests try shushing him while others start yelling back at him. The cast member inside the attraction got on the loudspeaker to remind everyone to “please stay seated throughout the duration of the show”. The best part is when one guest can be heard yelling, “He’s not real!”

    It continues for close to a minute before Malsky is escorted out of the building.

    Malsky also tweeted his own outburst:

    Though it was rare, it should be noted that similar outbursts also occurred when President Obama headed the stage.

    Since the attraction opened Disney’s security and Orange County Sheriff’s officers have been stationed at the attraction and it looks like this would be the reason why.

    Trumps addition to the attraction has been the center of controversy since his inauguration with petitions circulating and calls for Disney boycotts. Like it or not, it’s called the Hall of Presidents and he is there to stay. People have a right to protest, but this clearly isn’t the place to do it. Regardless of your opinion on it, an attraction in the middle of the Magic Kingdom isn’t the place for politics and you could always just skip that attraction.

    The Hall of Presidents carries a legacy and passion for American history that has been part of Disney Parks for more than 50 years. It’s meant to honor more than 200 years of the American story. The epic theatrical production was envisioned by Walt Disney himself to honor the country by honoring the presidents of the United States.

  • BREAKING VIDEO: Trump Has Speaking Role in Hall of Presidents Debut

    BREAKING VIDEO: Trump Has Speaking Role in Hall of Presidents Debut

    After months of speculation Donald Trump finally makes his presidential debut in the Hall of Presidents.  He is standing front and slightly off-center on the stage next to a seated Abraham Lincoln and his animatronic figure indeed has a speaking role.

    “Above all, to be American is to be an optimist, to believe that we can always do better, and that the best days of our great nation are still ahead of us,” the Trump figure says. Check out the video at the bottom to see and hear the new addition for yourself.

    The first part of his speech was a re-recording of the presidential oath of office. Then, with hands moving he spoke about the spirit of the American people and the U.S. Constitution.

    Trump’s speech concludes, “It’s a privilege to serve as the President of the United States, to stand here among so many great leaders of our past, and to work on behalf of the American people.”

    The hall has been closed since mid-January, two months after Trump won the presidential election. Following a year-long transformation, The Hall of Presidents will officially reopen at Magic Kingdom Park on Tuesday, December 19, with enhancements that will bring the story of the American presidency to life as never before. The epic theatrical production was envisioned by Walt Disney himself to honor the country by honoring the presidents of the United States.

    This endeavor began with a single animated figure of President Abraham Lincoln that was developed for the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair. In 1971, advances in technology made it possible for Imagineers to make Walt Disney’s vision a reality by including every chief executive who ever served the United States of America.

    Get a first look here with the video below.

    The history of innovation at The Hall of Presidents continues to this day. In addition to updating the show’s content, Imagineers have incorporated the latest in theatrical design and Audio-Animatronics technology. Landmark moments in history come alive on a panoramic 180-degree screen that transports guests across more than 200 years of the American story. High-impact projection, sound, lighting and other enhancements take guests into rare and indelible moments in history that helped define a nation.

    As has been the tradition with every new president since the attraction debuted, an Audio-Animatronics figure of President Donald J. Trump has been added to the show and features the latest advances in technology that enable smoother and more lifelike movements. President Trump personally recorded remarks exclusively for The Hall of Presidents, just as each sitting president has done for the attraction since the early 1990s.

  • RUMOR: Donald Trump’s Hall of Presidents Debut at Disney World to be Before Christmas

    RUMOR: Donald Trump’s Hall of Presidents Debut at Disney World to be Before Christmas

    Reports at Disney World have surfaced stating that Donald Trump’s expected debut in he newly refurbished Hall of Presidents may happen before Christmas. The Hall of Presidents was set to reopen on June 29, but has remained closed since January 17.

    In past years, the Disney theme park attraction would close for a short period of time to include the newest president. However, Trump’s inclusion has taken much longer than expected, especially as he was elected over a year ago.

    The Hall of Presidents is expected to open by Christmas of this year according to WDWMagic sources . We should point out that relying on unnamed sources surrounding this particular attraction has been in the fake news category in the past, but if you consider that back in June, Disney did say in a tweet that the attraction would open by “late 2017,” then this date does make a lot of sense.

    Perhaps the biggest controversy surrounding the attraction came from a report from Vice, which, cited an anonymous source at Disney who stated that there was an internal struggle amongst Imagineers on whether or not to completely retool the attraction so that the 45th president wouldn’t have a speaking role.

    Only time will tell if these current reports prove true or if Disney plans to keep it on the back burned a little longer.

    Below is a look at the most recent version of the attraction before it closed in it’s entirety.