Hall of Presidents closed for updates; Biden figure coming
The Hall of Presidents “is currently closed for refurbishment” at Magic Kingdom theme park, according to Walt Disney World’s official website.
The closure coincides with Inauguration Day for Joe Biden and the last day of the presidency for Donald Trump. It’s the first movement Disney has shown on the attraction during the transition. As of Tuesday, the site continued to list operating hours for the Hall of Presidents through mid-March.
A Disney World spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday morning that the attraction will be updated with a Biden figure.
Typically, the Liberty Square attraction is taken down to incorporate an animatronic figure of the new president. In January 2017, the hall was closed to add Trump. It reopened in December of that year with upgrades in its sound, light and projection packages, some enhancement in the lobby, along with the Trump figure, which recited the oath of office and additional words about the spirit of the American people and the U.S. Constitution. The president recorded the script earlier in the year.
The 25-minute attraction has been in Magic Kingdom since its opening day in 1971. It was a pet project of Walt Disney and has ties to his “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln,” which was seen at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. No other Disney theme park has a Hall of Presidents attraction.
The latest version of Hall of Presidents includes a widescreen film called “The Idea of a President.” Although the hall has had different formats in the past 50 years, it has included animatronic figures of each elected leader, building up to a roll call and subtle acknowledgment — a wave, a nod — from each. Every sitting president since Bill Clinton has had a speaking part.
Some Disney fans have pushed to replace the hall with an attraction featuring the Muppets, which have appeared irregularly in “Great Moments in American History,” a whimsical outdoor production near the Hall of Presidents. In an editorial published Wednesday, the Orlando Sentinel called for the long-standing attraction to be closed permanently. “It’s time for Disney to put this attraction out to pasture,” it reads.
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