Final Look at ‘The Hall of Presidents’ Before It Closes for Disney to Probably Reinstate Donald Trump

Today is the final day of operation for the Hall of Presidents attraction at Magic Kingdom before it closes for refurbishment, and we wanted to take a final look at the show before it changes to probably reinstate Donald Trump. With rumors swirling to the contrary, Disney has not clarified what changes will take place at the attraction, which is why we say that Donald Trump’s return is “probable” (even likely). It’s unclear how long the Liberty Square attraction will be closed, and all that Walt Disney World has said is that it is scheduled to reopen “later this year”. In this article, we’ll take a detailed look at the attraction as it stands today just in case it undergoes some significant changes during the downtime. Here’s a look!

The Hall of Presidents at Magic Kingdom

The Hall of Presidents is an iconic attraction that debuted at Magic Kingdom on October 1, 1971. The attraction traces its origins to the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair, where Disney debuted “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln,” featuring an Audio-Animatronic figure of Abraham Lincoln.

Building on this success, Disney envisioned an attraction that would feature all U.S. presidents. After not getting off the ground at Disneyland, The Hall of Presidents became a reality in Magic Kingdom in 1971, using advanced Audio-Animatronic technology to bring each president to life. The attraction is split into two sections, with the first section including a film that provides a brief history of the U.S. and the Presidents who guided the nation, followed by a stage presentation where all of the presidents stand before guests and are introduced, one by one.

For the past couple of decades, each time a new president is elected, the attraction is updated to include the current president’s Audio-Animatronic figure and a recorded speech, maintaining its relevance. Over the years, the Hall of Presidents has evolved technologically and thematically, but its core purpose of honoring the presidency and American democracy remains unchanged to this day.

As Walt Disney World continues to look to the future, and politics in America become even more polarizing, rumors have persisted that The Hall of Presidents will change in format. Officially, Walt Disney World has only confirmed that “The Hall of Presidents will temporarily close for refurbishment on January 20, 2025, and is expected to reopen later in 2025”. We know that the attraction will be closed starting tomorrow, and it will reopen later this year. Walt Disney World has not said if they plan to keep the format or change the format of the attraction.

Presumably, the attraction will simply reopen with the same format and Donald Trump will simply recite the same audio as he did during his first term. That said, rumors continue to persist that change is on the way. We’ve reached out to Walt Disney World for clarification on the future of the attraction a number of times and we have not received a response. If more clarification is offered by the company, we’ll be sure to pass it along.

Hall of Presidents Lobby

The lobby of the Hall of Presidents is perhaps the most special in all of Walt Disney World. While waiting for the next show, guests can browse a gallery of items from our nation’s Presidents and First Ladies, on loan from their respective collections. The artifacts date all the way back to our nation’s first President – George Washington.

The exhibit examines the fact that each of the Presidents had a very public life, balanced with private memories.

Three First Ladies are also represented in the lobby. Here’s a closer look!

Finally, there is an area dedicated to the process of creating the President Audio-Animatronic figures, including sculpting the figures and dressing them. Here’s a closer look at this exhibit before we head into the show for a detailed look.

Hall of Presidents Show

As we mentioned earlier, the show is split into two significant parts – a video segment about the history of our nation and the presidents who steered it, and an impressive Audio-Animatronic collection of our nation’s leaders.

Before we take a look at the men standing on the stage, here’s a look at the current Joe Biden section at the end of the show.

When guests enter the 700+ seat theater, the Presidential Seal is on the curtains. A Cast Member then welcomes guests to the Hall of Presidents and the show begins.

“The Idea of a President”

A new video was introduced in 2017 when Donald Trump was added to the attraction. The new film was titled The Idea of a President. The show opens with a dedication to Walt Disney as the curtains open:

This program is dedicated to the memory of Walt Disney.

In 1971, his love for America inspired the creation of the Hall of Presidents, a place to celebrate the optimism and goodwill he saw at the heart of the American story.

Walt’s vision was to honor the nation by honoring the American Presidency.

The show opens with a look at the end of the Revolutionary War and the emergence of General George Washington as our country’s first leader.

It is 1783 and the smoke is clearing in the wake of the Revolutionary War. Over the course of eight grinding years, General George Washington has led a force of shopkeepers, farmers and Native American allies to victory over the greatest military power in the world.

A new nation has been born independent and free. The founders must form a national government. In 1787, through lots of passionate debate, they create a written constitution. For the country’s highest office, they imagine something new in the history of the world.

A leader not born to power like a king or queen. A leader who has not seized power through conquest. A leader not separate from the people, but elected by the people, from among the people. We the people. This is a new idea. An American idea. The idea of a president.
Hall of Presidents narration
The people don’t know exactly what a president will be, but there is little doubt who it will be. George Washington’s stature and bearing have marked him as a leader. His integrity has made him a great one. Washington knows that many generals who have led successful revolutions, make themselves dictators or kings. Instead, he steps down from power and retires to his home, Mount Vernon. The world takes note and George Washington becomes the symbol of American ideals. 

In the first presidential election, it’s Washington by a landslide. The only doubt seems to be his own. He writes, integrity and firmness is all I can promise. Integrity and firmness is exactly what we need. Everything he does as President will set a model for his successors. His final act may be the most important of all. After two terms, with no term limit in the Constitution, and amid overwhelming support to stay in office. He steps down once again, and hands power back to the people. He wants us to speak, to elect a new president.

During the early years of the Republic, we choose leaders as different as Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Andrew Jackson. Elections are often bitter. Each president stands at that fiery intersection where personal character meets the challenges of the times. Some call the Presidency a glorious burden. Jefferson calls it a splendid misery.
Hall of Presidents narration
We the people must choose well. We elect fifteen presidents before the course of history brings us to the edge of a crisis like no other. A nation born of freedom still permits slavery. As the country pushes West, will new states be slave or free? The question produces bitter conflict. The issue rocks the election of 1860 and brings Abraham Lincoln home to the national stage. The tall, lanky, something say uncouth candidate from Illinois, is a master of words at time when speeches are printed in full for people to read. A house divided against itself cannot stand, he has said. With Lincoln’s election, the House does indeed divide.

Civil War. Eleven states secede from the Union. The war becomes a defining passage in the American story. The president’s only inner strength and depth of character changed the course of history. Lincoln had come up the hard way on the American frontier, desperately poor, with less than a year of formal schooling. His early years were scarred by tragedy, the death of his mother, his sister, his first love. He struggles with depression but never loses his determination to rise above it. He once said he’s driven by a desire to leave the world a little better place for having lived in it. The war rages. Lincoln fights to preserve the Union and end slavery. Neither is a sure thing. At Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, six months after one of the bloodiest battles of the war. The President dedicates a cemetery to the thousands of soldiers who died there. In words, we can never forget. 
The Hall of Presidents narration
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Abraham Lincoln, The Hall of Presidents
The blood of over half a million Americans is spilled in the civil war. President Lincoln’s enduring hope is to give true leaning to the sacrifices of so many. To lead us to that new birth of freedom. With the end of the war and the end of slavery, a new birth truly begins.

As we roll toward the 20th century, settlers roll West on wagon wheels and railroads connect the nation coast to coast. Millions of immigrants pouring from Europe and Asia, population doubles, our economy triples, our standing among nations rises. We need presidents who can lead both at home and abroad.

At the same time, a young Theodore Roosevelt, is retreating from New York politics and personal tragedy – the death of his wife and his mother on the same day, in the same house. In the Badlands of North Dakota, he rethinks his life and the life of his country. He returns stronger in body and spirit. His renewed energy is just what his country needs.
The Hall of Presidents narration
American industry is booming. But social tensions are rising. A progressive movement is bubbling up, pushing for change and change is needed in the working and living conditions in cities. The gap widens between rich and poor. The demand for change grows stronger. Teddy Roosevelt is a knight on a crusade. He speaks with force and vitality in clear terms that make colorful headlines at a time when mass market newspapers have become the new media.

To define his foreign policy, he borrows a phrase from an African proverb. Speak softly and carry a big stick. But his greatest accomplishments are made at home. He breaks up giant monopolies, protects workers rights and calls for a square deal for all Americans, rich and poor, capitalist and wage earner. He calls on America to be as great as a natural grandeur of its lands. Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground, he tells us. And we do. 
The Hall of Presidents narration
When we elect our 32nd President, it is the worst of times. The course of history, and the course of one president’s life again shape a turning point in our national destiny. Franklin D Roosevelt, paralyzed by polio, knows how to restore the faith of a people paralyzed by the Great Depression. 

He has found the inner strength his countrymen now need. He speaks to us like a friend, a neighbor. His optimism is contagious, his voice perfect for the latest breakthrough medium: radio. He calls us to believe we have nothing to fear but fear itself. And we do believe. But an even greater challenge dominates his final years in office. The Second World War. 

We stun the world with our production. When bombs fall on U.S. troops in Pearl Harbor, he calls us to fight on the war front and sacrifice on the home front.

The world changes. The country changes. And yet, in one sense, what we need most is from our presidents has never changed. A guiding vision that calls forth the best that America can be. 
The Hall of Presidents narration

As we make our way to the present, a number of video clips and audio showcase the Presidents who shaped our nation.

As we reach the end of the first section of The Hall of Presidents, the screens separate and reveal a stunning visual of every American President in Audio-Animatronic form. Every President is introduced by name, and a spotlight is placed on them. So starts the second half of the attraction’s show.

Our Presidency is no longer just an idea, it is an idea with a proud history. Ladies and gentlemen, the Presidents of the United States of America.
The Hall of Presidents narration
Full resolution (100M): Click here

Here’s a closer look at the Presidents as they appeared today at Magic Kingdom, from left to right across the stage.

After the introduction of each President, the focus turns to the present, offering the sitting President an opportunity to speak and have their moment after being introduced by George Washington.

And now we come to the present. Once again, we place our trust in the idea of a President, as we have from the beginning. 
The Hall of Presidents narration

President Washington briefly speaks before handing the stage over to the current President, President Biden.

My fellow citizens. No event could’ve filled me with greater anxieties than that notification on the 14th day of April, 1789 – that you had selected me, to lead our nation, but it was with the confidence of my fellow citizens that I took an oath. Thirty-five simple words that have been repeated by every American President throughout history.
President George Washington

Joe Biden then recites the Presidential Oath of Office. In the past, other speaking Presidents have said more, but Disney cut it down to just the Oath starting with Biden.

I, Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States. And I will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the United States. So help me God.
President Joe Biden

The show then ends with some closing narration before the curtains drop.

The Presidency of the United States is a role unique in the world. An office entrusted to each President by us, we the people. Therein lies the genius of that new idea, now over 200 years old. A new idea that our Presidents have turned into a great American idea again and again.
The Hall of Presidents narration

As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!

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