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/* Attraction History */
Although the Audio Animatronic technology was still under development, Walt agreed to create a show for the Illinois Pavilion at the 1964 World’s Fair <ref name= "64fair"> http://www.nywf64.com/illinois01.shtml </ref>. The show that Disney came up with was titled, “Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln”. The new attraction was essentially a scaled down version of the “One Nation Under God” show, however instead of focusing on all of the American Presidents, the new show focused solely on Abraham Lincoln. Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln consisted of two separate parts. The first half of the show was a film that gave Lincoln’s biography, and like its predecessor, the show concluded with the Audio Animatronic Lincoln giving a speech <ref name= "64fair"/>. Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln was such a success at the World's Fair, that Walt Disney decided to move the attraction to his Disneyland park. In 1966, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln opened on Main Street USA <ref> http://www.yesterland.com/presidents.html </ref>. The show was free for guests and once again proved to be quite popular.
[[Image:GibsonLincoln.jpg|400px|thumb|Blaine Gibson sculpting the face of Abraham Lincoln for Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln at the 1964 World's Fair| alt= Blaine Gibson Hall of Presidents]]
Due to its popularity, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln was one of the attractions considered for inclusion in (yet unopened) Walt Disney World. Instead of recreating the attraction however, Imagineers decided to revisit the One Nation Under God concept. In the time between Walt’s original idea and the creation of Walt Disney World, technology had improved to the point that creating Audio Animatronic figures for every President was possible. Furthermore, the Magic Kingdom also had the space available for such a large stage to be created.
When creating what would eventually be known as the Hall of Presidentsfor Presidents for Walt Disney World, Disney decided that making the attraction's film live-action would be cost prohibitive. Instead, Imagineers decided to use artwork that was photographed one frame at a time to create their film. Under the direction of four-time Academy Award winner John DeCuire, the attraction's art team worked every day for two yeas to create over 85 individual pieces of art to be used in the film. Because the show features a 20 x 200 foot screen, some of the artwork created for the show's film was as large as 40 feet long.
Due to its large screen, the Hall of Presidents created a unique challenge for Disney- what kind of camera and projection system could be used to fill a two hundred foot long screen. The technical needs of the attraction were overseen by Disney Legend UB Iwereks, who decided to use five individual 70mm projections, each of which were forty feet in width and produced by their own individual projector.
In order to create the Presidential figures in the Hall of Presidents, Disney turned to Imagineer Blaine Gibson, who had sculpted Abraham Lincoln for the Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln Show. After doing extensive research on each of the Presidents, Gibson set out to create figures that accurately represented not only what the Presidents looked like, but who they were. According to Gibson:
[[Image:GibsonLincoln.jpg|400px|thumb|Presidental busts created for the Hall of Presidents by Blaine Gibson| alt= Hall of Presidents busts Blaine Gibson]]
{{Quotation| “My goal in sculpting is to render the uniqueness of an individual"}}
Renaming the attraction the Hall of Presidents, the show opened with the rest of the Magic Kingdom on October 1, 1971. The Hall of Presidents (along with the [[Country Bear Jamboree]] and the Mickey Mouse Revue) was one of the three unique (not from Disneyland) attractions that opened with the Magic Kingdom.
===Changes Since Opening Day===
Following its initial opening the Hall of Presidents did not feature many changes during its first two decades. Following their election, or elevations, to the PredencyPredsidency, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Regan, and George H.W. Bush were added to attraction. Despite these additions, the attraction's main show was not altered.
Things changed however, in 1993, when the Hall of Presidents was overhauled and given a new script. Columbia professor Eric Forner convinced Disney executives (including Michael Eisner) that the original show did not pay enough attention to the issues slavery and civil rights <ref name= "dated"> http://waltdatedworld.com/id223.htm </ref>. In order to enact these changes, as well as to add President Bill Clinton to the attraction, the Hall of Presidents closed in September of 1993. When the attraction reopened in October of the same year, the attraction had a completely new tone. Furthermore, the new Hall of Presidents film was now narrated by poet Maya Angelo <ref> http://www.omniluxe.net/wyw/hop.htm </ref>.
