Donald Trump’s animatronic takes center stage with speech — and no tweets — during Magic Kingdom attraction
Donald Trump has joined the Hall of Presidents. His animatronic figure stands front and slightly off-center on the stage at the long-running Walt Disney World attraction in Magic Kingdom theme park.
The hall has been closed since mid-January, two months after Trump won the presidential election. Now Trump’s figure is placed next to a seated Abraham Lincoln. Park visitors may be able to see the addition in its soft-opening phase as early as today. Disney has not announced an official opening date.
During a preview Monday afternoon, the Trump figure moved his head back and forth during the traditional roll call of leaders, motioned with his arms and gave a brief speech.
The first part of his speech was a re-recording of the presidential oath of office. Then, with no small amount of his trademark talking with his hands, spoke about the spirit of the American people and the U. S. Constitution.
“Above all, to be American is to be an optimist — to believe that we can always do better — and that the best days of our great nation are still ahead of us,” Trump concludes. “It’s a privilege to serve as the President of the United States, to stand here among so many great leaders of our past, and to work on behalf of the American people.” His figure neither tweeted nor wore a “Make America Great Again” cap, but wears a dark suit and a diagonally striped tie.
The Hall of Presidents, which debuted with the Magic Kingdom in 1971, frequently gets a refurbishment with each change in leadership. This year, the theater received an upgrade in its sound, light and projection packages.
Every sitting president since Bill Clinton entered office has had a speaking part, Disney has said. Previous to that, most speaking duties fell to animatronic Lincoln as other presidential animatronics stood by.
In the new version, the appearance of Trump and predecessors comes after a wide-screen production called “The Idea of a President,” which covers national topics from the revolution onward. In particular, it highlights challenges faced by George Washington, Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt. It also deals with stickier topics such as race relations and wage disparity.
The film is followed by Lincoln’s figure, alone on stage, reciting part of his Gettysburg Address.
The president recorded the Hall of Presidents script earlier this year, a Disney World spokeswoman said Monday.
During the closure there was movement among those who oppose President Trump to exclude him or his voice from the attraction. An online petition gathered more than 15,000 virtual signatures. But this summer, Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger said that Trump had agreed to record for the Hall of Presidents.
Barack Obama’s animatronic is now adjacent to two of his contemporaries, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
No Disney executives or Imagineers were available for comment Monday.
The waiting area of the hall has also been enhanced with additional presidential memorabilia (Lyndon Johnson ’s monogrammed boots, Gerald Ford’s ski poles, Thomas Jefferson’s pocket watch), a display of how the figures are made, an explanation of Walt Disney’s connection to presidents and two gowns that were worn by first ladies Betty Ford and Grace Coolidge.
