The Hall of Presidents
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. Walt Disney wanted to create an attraction called "One Nation Under God".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 of all the United States Presidents joining together on stage, and 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 Abraham Lincoln for the 1964 World's Fair. The show Disney created 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, Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln narrowed in on only Abraham Lincoln. The film portion of the attraction told his biography and the show concluded with the Audio Anamatronic Lincoln giving a speech. Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln was a huge success at the World's Fair, and soon after a copy of the show was made for Disneyland. One year after the Worlds Fair, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln opened in Disneyland 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, now calling it the "Hall of Presidents". Technology had improved to the point that creating Audio Anamatronic 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.
First Incarnation of the Hall of Presidents (1971-1993)
The Hall of Presidents is located in Liberty Square and is housed in a colonial hall. The hall's architecture takes its inspiration from Philadelphia and Boston meeting halls. The building itself is red brick, with a peaked tower serving as its highest point. Above the entrance to the hall, the date 1787 can be read (an obvious reference to the year the Constitution was signed).
After entering the building, guests find themselves in a large lobby. Various portraits of United States Presidents line the walls, and in the middle of the room a large carpet featuring the "Great Seal of the United States" can be found. Other artifacts that can be found in the waiting room include personal property of former Presidents and even some dresses which were worn by First Ladies on Inauguration Day.
