Will Walt Disney World's The Hall Of Presidents survive the current political divide?

When Disneyland opened in 1955, Walt Disney was already looking for ways to expand his Magic Kingdom. One concept would be Liberty Street an offshoot of Main Street U.S.A themed to life in colonial times which would feature a Hall Of Presidents. While this idea was never realized at Disneyland. It did lead to the development of the show "Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln for the 1964 New York World's Fair and would subsequently open in Disneyland's Opera House on Main Street the following year. After Walt Disney's death in 1966, His brother and longtime business partner Roy put off his retirement to ensure that Walt's "Florida Project" did not die with him and started planning what would become the Magic Kingdom Park and with the subsequent advancement of Human Audio-Animatronic figures in further Disneyland attractions such as Pirates Of The Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion and realizing that when the Florida park opened in 1971, The Bicentennial of the founding of the United States Of America would only be a few years away in 1976. It was decided Walt's original concept for Liberty Street would evolve into the more ambitious Liberty Square for the new Magic Kingdom. This area would be themed to colonial America around the time of the American Revolution. The land would feature Walt Disney World's version of the Haunted Mansion and a finally realized Hall Of Presidents featuring Audio-Animatronic figures of every United States President up to that time. The original version of The Hall of Presidents was narrated by Lawrence Dobkin. The original version of the attraction opened with a chorus of voices reciting the preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America. Much of the narration early in the show was adapted from James Algar's script for Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln.

The following scene describes the creation of the constitution in Philadelphia in 1787 told mostly through voice-overs (including the legendary voice actor Paul Frees as George Washington.) and paintings.

The next part addresses the first major tax rebellion against the US government. Thankfully, it was resolved quickly the presentation tells us.

The film portion jumps ahead 40 years to the presidency of Andrew Jackson. (each version through the years paints a way too positive view of Andrew Jackson in my opinion. Especially given his abuses of government power and the deplorable Trail of Tears he was directly responsible for.)

The show jumps ahead to 1858 with the threat of secession from the slaveholding states becoming more palpable. It then proceeds to dramatize the debates between Stephen A. Douglass (voiced by Paul Frees) and newcomer Abraham Lincoln for the United States Senate.(voiced again by Royal Dano, who voiced him in Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln.)

It is explained that Lincoln lost the election of 1858 but his passion and dignified speeches were not forgotten and two years later was elected president. The rest of the Lincoln portion of the show is largely identical to what was presented as part of the "Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln pre-show film at Disneyland. The attack on Fort Sumter leads to the bitter Civil War which would last for four years. ultimately ending with a re-united nation. (whether that is too optimistic a take is up for debate.) The show continues talking about the rapid industrial progress made over the next century. (again the pros and cons are debatable but work for the angle the show is going for.) After another treatise on the greatness of the constitution and it's freedoms. The filmed portion would end with footage of a space shuttle launching. (This same footage would be re-used in the finale of EPCOT Center's original Universe Of Energy attraction which lasted from 1982 until 1996. As well as future versions of the Hall Of Presidents.)

After this, The curtain rises on the Audio-Animatronic likenesses of the first 36 Presidents of the United States as each is mentioned by name up to Richard Nixon, all sculpted by master sculptor Blaine Gibson. After the roll call. The animatronic of Abraham Lincoln stood and gave a speech. Following his speech The Battle Hymn of the Republic plays as the curtain closes. In a way The Hall Of Presidents debuted at just the right time. within a few years the Watergate scandal and subsequent resignation of Richard Nixon would begin to undermine the American public's faith in the goodness of the office of the presidency. Despite this the show remained virtually the same though new Animatronic figures of each subsequent president through George H.W. Bush would be added to the finale all again sculpted by Blaine Gibson.

In 1993 with the election of Bill Clinton, the show underwent it's first major update. Poet, Maya Angelou would be the new narrator and the show script would focus more heavily on the injustice of slavery. Touched on in the original but given much more of a focus in the 1993 version. Also in this version was the beginning of a tradition that has since become a major liability for the show. The Bill Clinton animatronic would speak using a pre-written speech by Disney Imagineers delivered by a recording by Bill Clinton himself in addition to the existing Lincoln figure. The re-working of the script was done using actual historical consultants who at the time were advising Disney on the thankfully never realized "Disney's America" park in Virginia.

The opening speech of the show was changed from the preamble of the constitution to a famous section of the Declaration Of Independence.

Again, opening in Philadelphia in 1787 at the constitutional convention. New voice-overs of the various historical figures. Again, The issue of slavery and the possibility of emancipation was addressed far more in this scene than in the original version. George Washington is of course elected as the first President of The United States. This version goes on to describe how the seeds of conflict were never far from the surface during the early years of the United States. The dissent of the Southern slaveholding states is put much more under the microscope. Again, the glorification of Andrew Jackson is dis-heartening. We jump ahead once again to the Lincoln-Douglass debates with virtually the same historical quotes but by new voice actors. The script continues, lifting almost exactly the same narration from the original 1971 show. this is followed again by a montage of the Civil War. The script mentions the abolition of slavery which was in my opinion sadly too overlooked in the 1971 show and it also mentions how the prejudices of the aftermath of slavery and the Civil War remain with us to this day. While some of the "Manifest Destiny" implications in the script are unfortunate, The script does talk about the immigration wave of the late 19th and early 20th centuries which diversified what it meant to be American. Again the film portion ends with the aforementioned space shuttle liftoff footage.

Once again the curtain rises on the 42 animatronic Chief Executives at the time. The roll call with "Hail To The Chief" as musical accompaniment is read. Instead of Lincoln the Bill Clinton animatronic stands and gives a short speech about an America on the brink of the next millennium.

After a short speech by the narrator. Lincoln (no longer voiced by Royal Dano) gives a new different speech presumably based on actual speeches given by the Great Emancipator. The battle hymn of the republic once again plays as the curtain drops on this version of the attraction.

This version of the attraction played until 2001. In January 2001 George W. Bush was sworn in as president after a hotly contested election with Al Gore which was ultimately decided by the United States Supreme Court. In October 2001, the attraction re-opened with an animatronic figure of Bush, who would be the final president figure done by master sculptor, Blaine Gibson. As with his predecessor the Bush figure would give a pre-recorded speech read by the actual George W. Bush. Thankfully, the speech was generic enough to not enflame former Gore supporters. It was just a month after the terrorist attacks of September 11th and it's aftermath had turned Bush (deservedly or not) into a national hero figure.

The new show was narrated by J.D. Hall reading off a slightly revised (but largely the same as the 1993 version) script by Imagineering Show Writer, Pam Fisher.

In October of 2008, Barack Obama was elected as the 44th and first African-American President in the nations history. The Hall of Presidents would undergo a major refurbishment and it's second major revision since the 1971 original. Barack Obama would record a speech from the oval office after meeting with Imagineers, Eric Jacobson, Senior Vice President, Creative Development, Kathy Rogers, Show Producer and once again Pam Fisher, Show Writer. A new script narrated by Morgan Freeman and written with the consultation of Presidential Historian, Doris Kearns Goodwin was produced. The Lincoln animatronic would now recite The Gettysburg Address halfway through the show. While a speaking part was added to the George Washington animatronic, The Obama animatronic would rise and recite the oath of office followed by a pre-approved non-partisan speech.

An extended exterior renovation was done along with new signage. The attraction was given the subtitle "A Celebration Of Liberty's Leaders."

Again, The show opens with a mass recitation of the most famous portion of the Declaration of Independence. Once again beginning with the birth of the American Dream in Philadelphia. The script emphasizes that the founding principle of the office of the presidency was for the leader to be selected by the people, that he/she would be "one of us".

Washington, the first president set the precedent of the presidency by stepping down after his second term expired. (A precedent that was broken only once in the 3 and a half terms of Franklin Delano Roosevelt which would lead to a limit of two terms being enshrined in the constitution)

Again, The continued hero-worship of Andrew Jackson is completely mis-placed in my opinion. Once again, The Lincoln- Douglass debate is covered with Royal Dano's recordings from the original show re-mastered and re-used. As with the previous versions The Civil War is covered in a montage of paintings and cannon sounds. This now leads to the Lincoln Animatronic appearing by himself reciting the Gettysburg Address. (again with the voice of Royal Dano.) In a new spin on the show, attention is paid to the presidencies of Theodore Roosevelt and his descendent Franklin three decades later. The invention of radio which brought President Roosevelt into the homes of average Americans. The show also really looks into John F. Kennedy's presidency and the ensuing Civil Rights movement of the 1960s which it had not before. Audio and video clips of Kennedy, his assasination, Ronald Reagan's speech after the loss of the space shuttle Challenger in 1986, Bill Clinton's adress after the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995 and George W. Bush's bullhorn enhanced speech at Ground Zero in the aftermath of September 11th 2001. The ubiquitous space shuttle launch footage brings the film portion to a close and the curtain once again rises on the Animatronic representations of the 44 Presidents. The Barack Obama figure was the first president figure not sculpted by Disney Legend, Blaine Gibson. The assignment instead went to Gibson protégé and sculptor Valerie Edwards. As already mentioned after the traditional roll call, The George Washington figure gives a short speech which leads to The Barack Obama figure reciting the oath of office and giving a non-partisan speech. At the time of it's opening critics took issue with how the show supposedly made the election of Obama somehow seem inevitable. I strongly disagree with that criticism. Nevertheless the irrational conservative hatred of Barack Obama started leading to guests making audible boos and hissing noises rarely if ever seen at previous versions of the attraction.

This was of course a precursor for what was to come. On a wave of populist resentment and underlying racial prejudices. Former Real Estate mogul and reality Television host Donald Trump to nearly everyone's shock (including Disney's) was elected the 45th President. On January 17th of 2017 the Attraction once again closed for renovation. Audio, lighting and projection equipment were replaced but that was rather trivial under the then-current situation. The script was again largely re-written. Though originally supposed to open on June 29th 2017, the re-opening was delayed until December 18th 2017 at which point Trump was already pushing constitutional limits into really uncomfortable places. The Trump animatronic was mocked on late night comedy shows for it's not exactly accurate representation of the President's face. (There was in fact an online rumor that Imagineering had already sculpted a Hilary Clinton figure but were taken by surprise by Trump's victory which forced them to hastily re-design the sculpt to look like Trump. Once again, Trump's actual voice recorded the Oath of Office as well as a non-partisan (Or at least non-partisan by Trump standards) speech.

The new show does away with the by then ubiquitous recitation of the Declaration of Independence. Again the scripts first part again emphasizes George Washington and his presidency. Thankfully, Andrew Jackson isn't exactly given the "hero" treatment that previous versions have been guilty of. We then again jump into the era of Lincoln and the Civil War and actually gives more background on Lincoln's early years. Lincoln's animatronic appears and recites the Gettysburg Address. (Though sadly not in the voice of Royal Dano.) The War and slavery end. Westward expansion and Immigration are emphasized. Teddy Roosevelt is once again thoroughly explored and the script(ironically for a show with Donald Trump) talk about class inequality culminating in the Great Depression in 1929 and the ascension of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and goes into World War II in a depth not previously seen in earlier versions. References to the space race are also explored in a way not done before. Audio clips of each president from Dwight D. Eisenhower through Barack Obama are heard and for the first time ever the ubiquitous space shuttle launch footage does not end the filmed presentation. The rest is pretty much standard with the roll call and then Washington and then Trump taking the oath of office and then his pre-approved speech. As the first Trump administration dragged on and it became more and more obvious that Trump had open contempt for the principles that defined this nation and embodied in the Hall of Presidents. Needless to say at the time I did not envy the jobs of Cast Members working the attraction at the time.

After the insurrection of January 6th 2021. It looked as though Donald Trump would just be a bad memory. Joe Biden became President and was added to the attraction on August third of 2021. The content of the show remained largely the same but whoever was in charge of the script at WDI was smart enough just to have him recite the oath of office hopefully mitigating some of the damage.

Of course Trump would inexplicably return to the White House in January 2025. For many months there was speculation that the attraction would not re-open due to the divisiveness and outright criminality of the second Trump Administration. (I even joked that it would be wiser to re-build EPCOT's long since demolished and much-missed Horizons attraction from scratch than re-open the Hall with Trump.) Nevertheless the attraction re-opened with a far more accurate -looking animatronic sculpt of Trump but again mercifully reducing his speech to just the oath of office. I do think the attraction's days are numbered. First with the obvious reason that Trump is a wanna-be dictator fascist who is shredding the country's founding principles on a daily basis. but also because in recent years Disney has been going out of it's way to remove anything potentially controversial from it's parks such as the recent "Sensitivity" changes to Jungle Cruise and Pirates of The Caribbean and the removal of the "black-widow Bride" concept from Disneyland's Haunted Mansion Attic scene with more changes to Mansion rumored to be on the way. The complete re-building of Splash Mountain into Tiana's Bayou Adventure which I have covered elsewhere and of course the upcoming near-obliteration of Frontierland, removing the Rivers Of America, Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Belle steamboat. As for the Hall Of Presidents I am not really a fan of replacing original classic attractions that came from Walt Disney's own ideas. However, with the current political climate, I am reluctantly willing to concede that it's time has probably come.