==Attraction History==
Like many of the Magic Kingdom's opening day attractions, the Hall of Presidents started out as an idea for Disneyland. Walt Disney wanted to create an attraction called "One Nation Under God" in the late 1950s. The attraction would have been a film about American greatness and the Constitution. The grand finale of the attraction was going to be life size Audio Anamatronics Animtronics of all the United States Presidents joining together on stage, concluding with Abraham Lincoln giving a speech. Technological limitations however, made the show unrealistic and the idea was eventually scrapped.
Although the technology was still underdevelopment, Walt agreed to create a show around an Audio Anamatronic Animtronic Abraham Lincoln for the 1964 World's Fair. The show Disney came up with was called "Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln", and was essentially a scaled down version of the "One Nation Under God" show. Instead of focusing on all of the American presidents however, Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln narrowed in on only Abraham Lincoln. The film portion of the attraction told his biography and like its predacessorpredecessor, the show concluded with the Audio Anamatronic Animtronic Lincoln giving a speech. Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln was a huge success at the World's Fair, so Disney decided to move the attraction to Disneyland. One year after the Worlds Fair, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln opened on Main Street USA. The show was free for guests, and was quite popular.
When planning Walt Disney World, instead of just creating a copy of Great Moments for Mr. Lincoln, Imagineers revisited the idea of the One Nation Under God show. Although they kept the basic premise of the show, the changed the tame to the "Hall of Presidents". Technology had improved to the point that creating Audio Anamatronic Animatronic figures for every President was possible, and the Magic Kingdom also had the space available for such a large stage to be created. When the Magic Kingdom opened in 1971 the Hall of Presidents opened with it. The Hall, along with the Country Bear Jamboree and the Mickey Mouse Revue was one of the three unique (not from Disneyland) attractions on the Magic Kingdom's opening day.
==Building Exterior and Waiting Area==
==Attraction Plot==
The Hall of Presidents presents the story of America through images, music and Audio AnamatronicsAnamitronics. The first part of the attraction is a film shown on a 180 degree screen. Following, and sometimes during the film, Audio Anamatronics Animatronics Presidents give speeches. The climax of attraction comes when Audio Anamatronics Animatronics of every United States President appear on stage together at the end of the show.
==First Incarnation of the Hall of Presidents (1971-1993)==
The film began with the Constitutional Convention in 1787. George Washington, the president of the convention and Benjamin Franklin are heard trying to persuade their fellow delegates to sign the Constitution. Although the founders admit that the Constitution is not perfect, all but three eventually sign the document and the states agree to ratify it.
The scene then changed to the Whiskey Rebellion 1789, where farmers are up in arms over taxes. President George Washington and Pennsylvania Governor Thomas Mifflin are heard arguing over whether or not Washington has the power to use armed forces to stope stop the rebels. Washington says that the Supreme Court says he has the authority, and is shown on horseback leading federal troops towards to Pennsylvania. The narrator then said that fortunately the riots ended without bloodshed, and that Washington was able to show Americans that the President would use force in order "ensure domestic tranquility".
The scene once again shifted, now to South Carolina some 40 years later. The Nullification Crisis was featured and a picture of an angry crowd was shown as a speaker addressed them. The speaker informed the mob that, "The Federal Government's Tariff Acts are hereby declared null, void, and no law in the State of South Carolina." The Speaker then warned that any use of force by the government would lead to the succession of South Carolina. An image of President Andrew Jackson was then shown on the screen, and he said he was determined to keep the union together. The narrator then told geuests guests that with the support of Congress Jackson was able to end the Nullification Crisis without any bloodshed. It was apparent however that the the Union of the States was in danger.
{{Quotation|"After four weary and wounding years, the conflict ended. The Union was saved. The Constitution had survived the fiery ordeal. America was one nation, finally and forevermore."}}
As whimsical music began to play, images from the century following the the Civil War appeared on screen. Images Thomas Edison, the Wright Brothers, auto racing and nickelodeon movies all flashed before the audiances audiences eyes. The montage of American progress finally ended with the Saturn V launching from Cape Canaveral to the moon. This scene concluded the film portion of the attraction.
After the film ended, a curtain behind the screens would rise to reveal all of the Presidents of the United States. A roll call would be taken and a spotlight would shine on each indvidual individual President as they were introduced. Finally, Abraham Lincoln would rise and give a final speech.
[[Image:Lincoln.jpg|thumb| Abraham Lincoln as he appeared at the end of the Hall of Presidents prior to 1993.]]
The narrator informs guests, that Washington set an amazing precedent. "The man who could have been king, stepped down after two terms".
Like the previous incarnation of the Hall of Presidents, the Whiskey Rebellion scene has been ommited omitted from the film. Instead The Nullification Crisis scene has been altered. Instead of focusing on nullification, the scene now talks about President Andrew Jackson. The narrator says that Jackson was not an aristocrat as previous presidents had been, instead he was "one of us". A new image shows 20,000 Americans descending on Jackson's inauguration. As a women staff member of the White House comments that if they had not put free punch on the lawn, "commoners" would still be in the White House. The new scene focuses on the President Jackson's relationship with the people , and his role as the first "everyman" President as opposed to the Nullification Crisis.
Moving forward through history, the narrator then begins to discuss how, in the mid 19th centuarycentury, slavery had begun to tear the country apart. He states that a new President was needed to rise to the challenge. The Lincoln-Douglas debates are once again shown, and Lincoln gives his "House Divided" speech. An image of Lincoln being elected in 1860 follows, as the narrator talks about how we needed a leader who could hold the country together even as it was seemingly falling apart.
The next image to appear on screen shows Abraham Lincoln alone, and talking to himself. He says:
The beginning of the Civil War at Fort Sumter is then shown. The Civil War is depicted through images of Union and Confederate soldiers, while cannons boom in the background. The narrator then tells guests that after 500,000 Americans had died, America needed meaning to come from all the tragedy.
At this point, the film screen rises to show an Audio Anamatronic Animatronic Abraham Lincoln giving the Gettysburg Addresses.
After his speech, the narrator says that with the Civil War over, America was united at last. Images of the Continental Railroad, and the Western Frontier are shown as America grows, and moves West. Teddy Roosevelt then appears on the screen, and the narrator comments that although he was born an aristocrat, Roosevelt fought for the working class. He was the one who refused to call the Executive Mansion by its name, instead calling it a "White House". The next president mentioned is Franklin Delenor Roosevelt, who is called upon to the lead the nation through its darkest hours since the Civil War. The Depression and the Stock Market Crash of 1929 are depicted, followed by WWII. The narrator says that when America's confidence was shaken, FDR was their to reassure us. A fireside chat is then heard with FDR saying:
As the narrator is finishing, the video screen on the main stage rises, revealing Audio Anamatronics Animatronics of every United States President. A Presidential roll call is then taken, where each President is introduced and spotlighted. After the roll call George Washington begins to speak:
{{Quotation|"My fellow citizens, no event could have filled me with greater anxiety then that notification on the 14th day of April 1789, that you had selected me to head our nation. But it is with the confidence of my fellow citizens that I took an oath, 35 simple words that have been repeated by every American President throughout history. As long as that oath is taken, and solemnly fulfilled, the American Dream will endure."}}
Barrack Obama is then introduced by the narrator and he then gives the final speech of the attraction:
[[Image:Obama.jpg|thumb|A close up of the Barrack Obama Audio AnamatronicAnimatronic]]
* The Presidential roll call must be re-recorded every time a new President is added.
* The Audio Anamatronics Animatronics of Presidents Lincoln, Washington and Obama are some of the most technologically advanced Anamatronics Animatronics in Disney World.
==References==