The Hall of Presidents, located in Liberty Square at the Magic Kingdom, is one of the best educational exhibits you can find at Walt Disney World. As we saw in Theresa’s article, the Hall of Presidents can play an instrumental role in Learning at Walt Disney World!
When the idea of the Hall of Presidents came about, Walt originally wanted to call it “One Nation Under God” for Disneyland. While the idea wasn’t able to come to fruition entirely, “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln” was created — first at the 1964 New York World’s Fair, and then opened in Disneyland on July 18, 1965.
After Walt’s death on December 15, 1966, the Imagineers were able to come up with the idea of Liberty Square — the thought process being that since Walt Disney World was so much closer to New Orleans then Disneyland, that there would be no need to have a New Orleans Square at the Magic Kingdom. Additionally, it was decided that this canvas would be the perfect place to resurrect Walt’s idea of “One Nation Under God” — but under the slightly different name of the Hall of Presidents.
To me, what really makes the Hall of Presidents is the Audio-Animatronic likenesses of each of the Presidents of the United States. This is incredibly cool to me because the Presidents are so realistic — some of them speak, they all move in some form or fashion, and even when the camera isn’t panned on them, you can still see movements, almost as if the characters are talking to one another!
The film that plays prior to the appearance of the Presidents is great, also, and full of a rich history of what makes our country great — but for this writer, it’s the Presidents themselves that really set this attraction apart.
So what do you think about the Hall of Presidents? Why don’t you leave me a comment below, and thanks for stopping by!
My mother loves the Hall of President’s something I never appreciated as a child. Hoping to take a trip down with my family along with my mom and step dad. Would love to see the Hall of Presidents with my mom now as an adult and see it through different eyes. Thanks for the post.