While some of us are obsessing about the impact that today’s primaries may have on the upcoming presidential race … The Imagineers are already looking ahead. Nine months ahead, to be exact. To that period immediately after the U.S. has selected its next Commander-in-Chief. Which means that it will then be time for WDI to once again revisit “The Hall of Presidents.”
And this time around, Walt Disney Imagineering is determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past. In particular that whole let’s-get-the-new-president-to-record-a-speech-that-we-can-then-insert-into-this-show idea.
On paper, this seemed to be a terrific promotional gimmick for that 36-year-old attraction. Throw a banner over the entrance to “The Hall of Presidents” that then invites WDW visitors to come see a robotic version of our newest Chief Executive speak.
Disney Legend Blaine Gibson sculpts a bust of President George W. Bush.
Copyright 2001 Disney. All Rights Reserved
But what the Imagineers hadn’t counted on was the Monica Lewinsky scandal and/or that George W. Bush would wind up with the lowest presidential approval rating in history. And given that it really takes away from the dignity of the “Hall of Presidents” presentation when audience members boo the AA version of the President whenever he begins to speak … Well, that’s why WDI is now looking to return things to the way they used to be at this Liberty Square attraction.
Which means that an Audio Animatronic version of our next president will be added to this attraction sometime in 2009. More importantly, that this new Commander-in-Chief will be mentioned as part of that show’s roll call sequence. But beyond that … Given how poorly those speaking versions of the Bill Clinton & George Bush AA figures have been received … The next president’s appearance in this Magic Kingdom show? Well, it’s strictly going to be a non-speaking role.
Mind you, one of the other reasons that the Imagineers are now planning on cutting this speech is that they’re looking to shave a few minutes off of “The Hall of President” ‘s running time. Cutting “THOP” back from its current 22 1/2 minutes to something much closer to 15 minutes. So that Disney World could then (in theory, anyway) go from running two shows an hour through this 700-seat theater to running three shows an hour. Thereby significantly increasing the hourly capacity of this Liberty Square attraction.
Copyright 2001 Disney. All Rights Reserved
Now before all of you “Hall of Presidents” fans (all three of you) get irate … Let me stress that this isn’t just a case of take away. The way I hear it, the Imagineers are actually planning on adding something new to this Magic Kingdom classic. To be specific, creating a moment in this show where that AA version of Abraham Lincoln would then stand up and recite the Gettysburg Address.
Okay. To be fair, this new Gettysburg Address sequence that WDI is now considering adding to “The Hall of Presidents” ? It isn’t exactly new. This scene was actually created for that revised version of “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln” which opened at Disneyland back in July of 2001. So what we’re really talking about here is an artful bit of recycling on Imagineering’s part. Freshening up this tired old WDW show by sending a relatively new chunk of an Anaheim-based attraction back east.
That said … Walt Disney World has set aside a fairly large amount of money for this upcoming redo of “The Hall of President.” Though — to be truthful — a lot of this dough will be dedicated toward making this 36-year-old show building that much more wheelchair & electric convenience vehicle – friendly.
Copyright 1995 Disney. All Rights Reserved
These improvements will include reconfiguring the entrance of this Liberty Square attraction so that its current doorway / turnstile set-up will then be wide enough to allow a guest riding on an ECV to roll right into the lobby and then proceed straight into that theater. And then — to better accommodate all of these WDW visitors who are now traveling in wheelchairs and/or riding on electric convenience vehicles — WDI is planning on ripping out the back two rows of that Magic Kingdom theater to create additional handicap seating.
But as to whether these changes will then actually convince any WDW visitors to come give “The Hall of Presidents” another try … I’m reminded of the joke that you hear as you exit another Magic Kingdom attraction, “The Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management.” Where Iago — having just avoided death at the hands of Uh-Oa, the tiki goddess of disaster — yawns and stretches his wings before saying:
“Boy, I’m tired! I think I’ll head over to the Hall of Presidents and take a nap.”
Sadly, that’s how far too many WDW visitors now view this Liberty Square show. As this great air-conditioned spot where you can then catch a few Zzzs while visiting the Magic Kingdom.
So is there anything that can be done to actually improve this attraction? Or is “The Hall of President” forever doomed to be the theme park equivalent of a bran muffin. As in: It’s something that we all know is good for us, but few of us really enjoy.
Your thoughts?