Changes
The Hall of Presidents is an attraction located in [[Liberty Square]]
==Attraction History==
Like many of the Magic Kingdom's opening day attractions, the Hall of Presidents started out as an idea for Disneyland. In the late 1950s Walt Disney wanted to create an attraction called “One Nation Under God”, which was to be about American greatness and the Constitution. The grand finale of the attraction was going to be life size Audio Animatronics of all the United States Presidents joining together on stage, concluding with Abraham Lincoln giving a speech <ref> http://waltdatedworld.bravepages.com/id223.htm </ref>. Technological limitations however, made the show unrealistic at that time, and the idea was eventually scrapped.
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 own version of the “One Nation Under God” show, however instead of focusing on all 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 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.
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 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. Renaming the attraction the Hall of Presidents, the show opened with the rest of the Magic Kingdom on October 1, 1971. The Hall, 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.
In 1993 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.bravepages.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. The new Hall of Presidents film was now narrated poet Maya Angelo <ref> http://www.omniluxe.net/wyw/hop.htm </ref>.
In 2001 J.D. Hall replaced Maya Angelo as the attraction's narrator and President George W. Bush was added to the attraction. Like Clinton before him, Bush recorded a speech specifically for The Hall of Presidents <ref> http://allears.net/tp/mk/mk_hop.htm </ref>.
