Difference between revisions of "Town Square Theater"
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| − | [[Image:Steamboat.png|thumb|300px|The Steamboat Willie photo opportunity in the Town Square Exhibition Hall.]] On August 27, 1998, the former Walt Disney Theater became the Town Square Exposition Hall, <ref name="dated"> https://waltdatedworld.com/id28.htm < | + | [[Image:Steamboat.png|thumb|300px|The Steamboat Willie photo opportunity in the Town Square Exhibition Hall.]] On August 27, 1998, the former Walt Disney Theater became the Town Square Exposition Hall, <ref name="dated"> https://waltdatedworld.com/id28.htm <ref/> which was “home to photographic marvels, images and innovations". Sponsored by Kodak, the new building housed a series of photography inspired exhibits. When guests entered the Exposition Hall, they found themselves in the Hall of Still Images<ref name="Mongello"> Mongello, Lou. Lou Mongello's Audio Guide to Walt Disney World - Main Street, USA . Second Star Media, 2007. <ref/>. Here guests could take souvenir photos in front of various backdrops, and see vintage photography equipment dating back to the 1800s. At the end of the hallway, guests could still find the Bill Justice mural. |
Entering the building's theater, now renamed the Hall of Moving Images<ref name="Mongello"/>, guests could watch classic Disney cartoons. In the back of a theater, another mural featured a timeline of Disney animation beginning in 1901 with Walt Disney's birth. | Entering the building's theater, now renamed the Hall of Moving Images<ref name="Mongello"/>, guests could watch classic Disney cartoons. In the back of a theater, another mural featured a timeline of Disney animation beginning in 1901 with Walt Disney's birth. | ||
Revision as of 21:38, 25 February 2019
| Town Square Theater | |
| |
| The exterior of the Town Square Theater. Photo by Theme Park Tourist | |
| Magic Kingdom | |
| Land | Main Street USA |
|---|---|
| Attraction type | Meet and Greet |
| Opening date | April 1, 2011 |
| Formally Known As | Walt Disney Story Theater (1973-1998) Town Square Exhibition Hall (1998-2010) |
| FastPass + | Yes |
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Town Square Theater is a character meet and greet location found on Main Street USA.
History and Description
Walt Disney Story Theater (1973-1998)
What is today known as the Town Square Theater, originally opened in March 1973 as the Walt Disney Story Theater[1]. This new structure was built to house the Walt Disney Story attraction.
When guests entered the Walt Disney Theater, they found themselves in a long hallway filled with personal artifacts and memorabilia from Walt Disney's life. Exhibits here included the eight unique Academy Awards presented to Walt for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, a scale model of the Nautilus submarine from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, letter written to Walt Disney, and various pictures of Walt's many achievements[1].
After reaching the end of the hallway, guests reached the entrance to the building's two theaters. Here, a large mural created by Disney artist Bill Justice could be found. The mural, which featured over 170 characters, took four months to complete[1]. As new Disney films were released, characters from the new animated feature would be added to the mural (this practice ended in 1986 with the release of the Great Mouse Detective) [2].
After entering the theater, guests would watch the attraction's film, which was a - minuted biography of Walt Disney.
After watching the film, guests exited the theater and entered the post-show area. Initially, guests would see large displays of Walt Disney World's Phase One, EPCOT, Walt's Carolwood Pacific railroad, and early Audio Animatronics[1]. This area was perhaps most notable however for its Western River Expedition model. This preview of the intended attraction, was tied in with a nearby audio-Animatronic owl named Hoot Gibson who would introduce himself as the star of the upcoming Western River Expedition, and give a lecture on Audio-Animatronic technology[1].
During the Walt Disney Story's run, the attraction was temporary replaced three times:
The first, was in in June of 1981, when the attraction was replaced with the EPCOT Center Preview Center. At this time, the area's postshow as restructured, and the displays about Carolwood Pacific and the Western River Expedition model were completely enclosed. At this time, Hoot Gibson gave a new spiel about the upcoming EPCOT Center Animatronics[1].
In 1984, the Walt Disney Story was once again temporarily replaced by a pre-show and film focusing on the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. At the end of the summer the original attraction returned[1].
In 1988, the Disney-MGM Studios preview center replaced the attraction. Once again, the postshow was redone at this time, and Hoot Gibson now sat in a director's chair to talk about the new park[1].
In October 1992, the Walt Disney Story closed. Although the company cited deterioration of the film as the reason for the closure, the attraction's popularity had waned [1].
Following the closure of the Walt Disney Story, the theater remained closed until October 1996 when the Walt Disney World 25th Anniversary Welcome Center opened. At this point, new exhibits showcasing upcoming Disney projects were presented in the preshow hallway and postshow area. A new film was also featured at this time. In 1997, the Anniversary Welcome Center closed. It was subsequently replaced with Disney's Animal Kingdom Welcome Center [3].
Town Square Exhibition Hall (1998-2010)
On August 27, 1998, the former Walt Disney Theater became the Town Square Exposition Hall, Cite error: Closing
</ref> missing for <ref> tag- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedwiden - ↑ http://www.imagineeringdisney.com/blog/2011/12/29/mural-removin-season-at-disney.html
- ↑ http://allears.net/magic-kingdom/the-walt-disney-story-magic-kingdom-archives/
