Gabrielle Russon
Disney World is temporarily closing the Hall of Presidents on Jan. 20 for a refurbishment, which is the same day as President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Disney posted on its website that it expects to reopen the classic Magic Kingdom attraction sometime later in 2025.
Disney did not immediately respond to questions Wednesday afternoon about how it plans to handle Trump’s presidency in the show.
Trump during his first presidential term was honored in the Hall of Presidents, which tells the story of the nation’s founding. The talking animatronic Trump was placed between Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant in December 2017.
Disney said in a statement at the time, “As has been the tradition with every new president since the attraction debuted, an Audio-Animatronics figure of President Donald J. Trump has been added to the show and features the latest advances in technology that enable smoother and more lifelike movements. President Trump personally recorded remarks exclusively for The Hall of Presidents, just as each sitting president has done for the attraction since the early 1990’s.”
Esquire called Trump’s 2017 animatronic “the stuff of nightmares.”
The Daily Beast said it was a “terrifying robot.”
But some Disney fans approved and said they were glad to see Trump honored at the world’s busiest theme park.
Disney security guards were also posted to keep order during the show.
Disney World’s Hall of Presidents is an original opening day attraction at the Magic Kingdom, so it has lots of important history.
“Originally conceived as animated wax figures, the Presidents didn’t meet Walt Disney’s approval, so he tasked Walt Disney Imagineering to develop the first Audio-Animatronics figure in human form,” Disney said about the show’s history.
“The result was the groundbreaking Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, which debuted at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. The Hall of Presidents built upon the show’s legacy — expanding it to all Presidents — when it opened in 1971.”
Disney World also has deep ties to America, especially its Presidents. Many U.S. leaders have visited Disney World. President Richard Nixon even schemed how to squeeze in a trip to Orlando as he was dealing with the Vietnam War. Epcot displayed portraits this year of veterans painted by former President George W. Bush.
The Magic Kingdom is packed with imagery and symbolism of America, from its Tomorrowland theme of exploration to the rugged Frontierland.
“Disney theme parks are some of the foremost places where the nation consumes its collective memory of the American Experience,” Bethanee Bemis, a Smithsonian museum specialist, wrote in her book “Disney Theme Parks and America’s National Narratives.”
