Disney World will add an animatronic figure of new U.S. President Joe Biden to a Magic Kingdom attraction celebrating American history despite calls to retheme the controversial Hall of Presidents that elicited boos and required additional security during the Donald Trump era.
Disney World quietly closed the Hall of Presidents attraction without any advance announcement on Inauguration Day as Biden was preparing to be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States. A sign outside the attraction read: The Hall of Presidents is currently being prepared to welcome the new president.
A Disney World spokesperson confirmed the Magic Kingdom theme park in Florida will be adding President Joe Biden to the Hall of Presidents attraction, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Disney World has not set a reopening date for the revamped Hall of Presidents. It remains unclear how the attraction will change or if the Biden animatronic will have a speaking role.
The Hall of President attraction — which opened in 1971 with the Magic Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World resort — features audio-animatronic figures of every U.S. president. The animatronic presidents share stories about the American Revolution, the formation of the Constitution and the Civil War.
The Hall of Presidents last closed in January 2017 to introduce an animatronic figure of President Trump.
The original version of the attraction featured only one speaking role by an animatronic President Abraham Lincoln. In 1993 with the inauguration of Bill Clinton, the show was revamped to mention slavery and civil rights issues as well as introduce a speaking role by the sitting president. Presidential speaking roles continued for animatronic versions of George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Trump.
Security spikes near the stage and uniformed security guards were added to the theater as visitors booed and cheered presidents.
An Orlando Sentinel editorial called on Disney World to replace the controversial Hall of Presidents attraction amid growing political divisiveness in the country.
“The way things are going, Disney might need to build a fleet of animatronic Secret Service agents to protect the figure standing center stage,” the Orlando Sentinel editorial said.
Southern California News Group theme park columnist Robert Niles called on Disney to find another use for the big theater in the Magic Kingdom’s Liberty Square.
Re-theme recommendations have ranged from a takeover of the theater by The Muppets to an abbreviated version of the “Hamilton” Broadway musical. Those won’t be happening now — unless Disney plans to have the Biden animatronic crack a few jokes or break out into song.
