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{{Infobox attraction
| name = The Hall of Presidents
| park = [[Magic Kingdom]]
| land = Liberty Square
| type = Audio-Animatronic theatre show
| opened = October 1, 1971
| designer = WED Enterprises
| status = Operating
}}

'''The Hall of Presidents''' is a theatre attraction in Liberty Square at [[Magic Kingdom]] in [[Walt Disney World]], Florida. It opened with the park on October 1, 1971, and combines a wide-screen film on the history of the United States with a stage presentation of Audio-Animatronic figures of every person who has served as president of the United States. The show grew directly out of Walt Disney's long-held wish to present all the presidents together, an ambition that technology in his lifetime could only partly satisfy.

== History ==
Walt Disney had considered a patriotic addition to Disneyland since the 1950s. An early proposal, sometimes referred to as "One Nation Under God", would have presented the presidents as part of a planned Liberty Street area off Main Street. The figures Walt wanted were beyond what could be built at the time, so the effort narrowed to a single figure: Abraham Lincoln. Sculpted by Blaine Gibson, that figure starred in ''Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln'', presented at the 1964 New York World's Fair and afterwards at Disneyland.

After Walt's death, his Imagineers returned to the full idea for Florida, where Liberty Square took the place Disneyland's unbuilt Liberty Street would have filled. Gibson sculpted the full set of presidential figures — 36 presidents at opening — and the Hall opened on October 1, 1971, as one of the Magic Kingdom's few major attractions with no Disneyland counterpart. Gibson continued to sculpt each new president for three decades, finishing with George W. Bush in 2001.

For its first two decades the show changed only as new presidents were added. In 1993 it was comprehensively revised: historian Eric Foner advised on a new script that gave greater weight to slavery and civil rights, poet Maya Angelou recorded the narration, and the figure of Bill Clinton became the first to speak using words recorded by the president himself. A further major revision followed in 2009, when the attraction closed for several months for new projection, audio and lighting systems, a new film and narration by Morgan Freeman, and the addition of Barack Obama, who also recorded his lines.

The cycle has continued with each change of administration. The attraction closed in January 2017 and reopened that December with a new film and a figure of Donald Trump, closed again in January 2021 and reopened in August 2021 with a figure of Joe Biden, and was updated again following the 2024 election to place Donald Trump once more in the speaking role at the centre of the stage.

== Experience ==
Guests first watch a film, shown across an extra-wide screen, tracing the presidency through the Constitution, civil war, expansion and the crises of the twentieth century. The screen then rises to reveal the full stage of presidents, seated and standing in period dress. Each is introduced by name in a roll call, the figures acknowledging with nods and small movements.

Two figures speak at length. George Washington addresses the responsibilities of the office, and Abraham Lincoln delivers an address modelled on his historical speeches. The serving president then stands to recite the oath of office and a short speech; since 1993 each incumbent has recorded the part in his own voice. The figures remain subtly animated throughout — shifting, glancing and fidgeting — an effect achieved with some of the most complex Audio-Animatronic programming of their era.

The lobby functions as a small museum, displaying portraits and artefacts associated with presidents and first ladies, including dresses worn by presidential wives, behind glass along the walls.

== See also ==
* [[Magic Kingdom]]
* [[Liberty Square]]
* [[Country Bear Jamboree]]

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:Attractions]]
[[Category:Magic Kingdom]]
[[Category:Audio-Animatronic shows]]
[[Category:1971 establishments in Florida]]

The Hall of Presidents - Revision history

Admin: Imported from text file