The Presidential election is this upcoming Tuesday, which can only mean one thing: it’s time to begin speculating about the future of Magic Kingdom’s Hall of Presidents…again. While there is much to speculate about, one thing has already been made clear: the current occupant is leaving. With President Joe Biden’s announcement this past July that he would not be seeking reelection, he made it clear that Walt Disney World would have to act. In theory, if Biden would’ve won reelection, that would’ve meant that Disney could’ve just kept the current show in place. With Biden dropping out, they’re going to have to change it. But what will they change it to? Let’s take a look at the options.
Hall of Presidents Is Changing
As outlined, Biden is leaving office next January, regardless of the outcome of the current election, so Walt Disney World will be forced to act. Where the discussion becomes interesting is when you consider what Disney’s move might be depending on the outcome of the election.
When former President Donald Trump was elected, tensions rose not only across the United States of America but at Walt Disney World too. Disney added visible security to the attraction due to guest outbursts, either for or against Trump. While outbursts were generally few and far between, some outbursts received mainstream attention, which is certainly not something that Walt Disney World wanted. In short, the dynamic of the Hall of Presidents attraction started to change. Disney even installed physical “decor” around the stage to act as an additional barrier should anyone attempt to try to climb up onto the stage.
Then, Trump lost in 2020 and President Joe Biden was elected. The day before Biden was sworn in, Walt Disney World closed the Hall of Presidents attraction without prior notice. Later that day, Walt Disney World confirmed that a Joe Biden Audio-Animatronic would be added to the Hall of Presidents attraction, but not before Disney fans started speculating about a Muppets takeover of Liberty Square. Now, those rumors have, once again, begun to be whispered online. The thing is, Disney is in a tough spot.
A Tough Spot: History
Walt Disney World really is in a tough spot when it comes to the future of the Hall of Presidents, and that’s all thanks to history – either in the past or in the possible future. We’ll start with past history and why it makes things tough for Disney moving forward.
As we all know, Walt Disney passed away before Walt Disney World could open. And while a great many attractions and experiences that we have today are things Walt never planned for, the Hall of Presidents is one of those sacred attractions that have Walt’s signature all over it. The Hall of Presidents was originally planned for a never-built section of Disneyland Park to be named Liberty Street.
Plans called for two experiences in Liberty Street. One experience, titled “The Hall of The Declaration of Independence” was going to take guests into Liberty Hall and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. A second experience was titled “The Hall of the Presidents of the United States”.
While Liberty Street wasn’t built for Disneyland, work on The Hall of Presidents continued at Walt Disney’s direction. Walt personally assigned James Algar (director of the “True-Life Adventures” series) to perform extensive research on the United States presidents and our nation’s founding documents in preparation for the true-to-history show.
In a February 1959 meeting, Walt and key WED Enterprises personnel determined that the Constitution would serve as the basic story background for the Presidents show and that the attraction could also “depict growth and progress, the present and future,” ideas that eventually became hallmarks of Walt Disney World’s Hall of Presidents.
As with many of Walt’s ideas, The Hall of Presidents was simply before its time in terms of technology. Instead of being able to build out the 34 Audio-Animatronics needed for the Hall of Presidents, Imagineers instead focused on creating a single Audio-Animatronic of Abraham Lincoln for the 1964-65 World’s Fair. As it turns out, the 1964-65 World’s Fair would be a key milestone in the development of what would eventually turn out to be the Hall of Presidents thanks to the artistry and skill of the Imagineers who wowed crowds with a lifelike Abraham Lincoln figure.
When The Hall of Presidents opened to the public in 1971, it was an instant classic that retained the key concepts outlined by Walt Disney and his Imagineers before his passing. The history of the attraction is not only deeply rooted in American history, but also the history of the theme park branch of Walt’s legacy. That’s the complicating factor when considering past history, but what about future history?
Let’s say that Walt Disney World really does have plans to either replace the Hall of Presidents or change the format into a Muppets-centric show. Let’s say that Walt Disney World was planning on announcing such a show at the D23 Expo this past August. With Biden and Trump the presumptive nominees earlier this year, it would’ve been easy for Disney to say that they were going to change the format of the show or replace it completely, without too much blowback. In that scenario, each of the candidates would have had their place in the Hall of Presidents spotlight, and this year would’ve been an easy year to announce a change, either a small change in format (removing the speaking part of the sitting President) or a complete overhaul to the show with the introduction of the Muppets in some capacity.
Then, in late July, a wrench was not only thrown into the political process for the United States of America as a whole but also Walt Disney World’s (theoretical) plans to announce a change to the show. With the announcement that Vice President Kamala Harris would be the Democratic nominee for President, it (likely) caused Walt Disney World to hit the pause button.
Even if Disney had plans to replace the attraction or change the format earlier this year, they couldn’t possibly announce the change with a chance that the United States could have its first-ever female President. Having the first-ever female President would be far too significant of a moment in American history for Disney to change the Hall of Presidents.
Hall of Presidents Speculation
As the title of the article suggests, it’s time for some speculation. I can see a few different scenarios playing out, and if Walt Disney World doesn’t announce any changes prior to the Presidential election, I think that signals that the future of the attraction is dependent on the outcome of the election.
If Vice President Kamala Harris wins the election, I think that saves the current format of the Hall of Presidents attraction. Harris would take office in January 2025 and we’d expect that the Hall of Presidents attraction would close around that time and open later in 2025 with a President Kamala Harris Audio-Animatronic at the center of the stage. The visual of the United States’ first-ever female President surrounded by the 45 men who had served before her will be striking and far too significant for Walt Disney World to ignore.
That said, if Trump wins the election, it would be a much easier argument to change the format of the attraction. With changes already on the horizon for the nearby Frontierland section of the theme park, I think it would be easy for Disney to announce a change to the Hall of Presidents and attach it to the massive reshaping of the northwest corner of Magic Kingdom.
Alternatively, a Trump victory would also provide Disney the opportunity to simply dust off the old recordings from Trump and present the Hall of Presidents in the same format that it was during the first Trump presidency. That would buy Disney some time as the Frontierland expansion plays out and gives them time to consider what Liberty Square looks like once work on Frontierland and Villains Land is complete.
One more thing to consider is that the speaking role of the current President is not how the show has always been presented. The speaking portion was introduced with Bill Clinton in 1993. Disney could introduce a “new” version of the attraction that removes the speaking part for the current President, but again, a change that significant would likely be ill-advised should Harris win this election.
If the introduction of the Muppets wasn’t enough of a wild card, there was something announced at the August D23 Expo that we could see making its way east as a solution to the Hall of Presidents “problem”, and that’s the first-ever Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic. In 2025, Walt Disney – A Magical Life will debut in Disneyland. This show will play in rotation alongside Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln and feature the first-ever Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic. Details about the substance of the show are light, but, as you can see in the concept art below, guests will be taken to Walt’s office. In the official announcement, Disney said “knows what he might be dreaming up inside? Only time will tell with Walt”.
Election day is Tuesday, November 5th (go vote!). It will be a historical and consequential election for the United States of America, and it will also bring about change to the historic Hall of Presidents attraction at Magic Kingdom. Will this election be the election that causes the attraction to change? As with the election itself, only time will tell.
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