Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln
Wikipedia
Disneyland History for Middle School Readers
Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln is a stage show featuring an Audio-Animatronic representation of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, best known for being presented at Disneyland since 1965. It was originally showcased as the prime feature of the State of Illinois Pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair. One year after its debut at the World's Fair, the show opened at Disneyland, where it has undergone several changes and periods of hiatus over the years. Today Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln is an element of the Disneyland attraction The Disneyland Story presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, which opened in 2009.
Walt Disney originally conceived of a show that would pay tribute to all U.S. Presidents as part of a proposed extension of Main Street, U.S.A. in the 1950s. However, the technology at the time would not permit a show on the scale Disney wanted, and the Main Street extension proposal was abandoned (the presidential tribute was later built as The Hall of Presidents at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom). Disney's Imagineers opted to focus instead on creating a tribute to Lincoln, Disney's boyhood hero. The show premiered at the World's Fair on April 22, 1964, and consisted of a pre-show highlighting the state of Illinois, followed by a theater presentation in which the Audio-Animatronic Lincoln gave a speech that included excerpts from multiple speeches actually delivered by Lincoln. It ran for the entirety of both of the World's Fair's 6-month seasons, and closed on October 17, 1965.
During the second season of the World's Fair, a duplicate version of the show opened at Disneyland on July 18, 1965. The show ran until 1973, when it was replaced by The Walt Disney Story, a biographical film on Walt Disney. Disneyland was criticized for this move, and in 1975 the show was replaced by The Walt Disney Story Featuring Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, a hybrid of the two shows. The 1975 version of The Walt Disney Story Featuring Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln underwent several minor changes over the years, and closed in 2000. In 2001, it was replaced with an attraction of the same name, but which had more of a focus on the American Civil War. This version closed in 2004, and from 2005 to 2009 the attraction was replaced with Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years, a tribute to Disneyland's 50th anniversary which included exhibits on Disneyland in the pre-show and post-show areas and a film narrated by Steve Martin.
The present-day attraction features a pre-show consisting of exhibits on the history of Disneyland. The main show features a short biographical film on Lincoln and an updated version of the original show.
The first Disneyland version of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln – named after the World's Fair attraction – opened on July 18, 1965, in honor of the official 10th anniversary of the park, in the new Opera House on Main Street, USA. The show in the main theater with Mr. Lincoln was a duplicate of the World's Fair attraction. The exterior and interiors of the building were given a new theme using Abraham Lincoln and Walt Disney exhibits, displays and films as the attraction was presented by Lincoln Savings and Loan Association, not the state of Illinois. It did not require an "A" through "E" attraction admission ticket. This version of the attraction ended January 1, 1973, along with the sponsorship by Lincoln Savings.
On April 8, 1973, a different attraction named The Walt Disney Story opened in the Opera House. While the exterior remained the same with the exception of new signage, the interior was redesigned so the exhibits could reflect the history of Walt Disney, The Walt Disney Company, and Disneyland. The main theater looked the same, but the audio-animatronic Abraham Lincoln and other props and set pieces were either removed or remained in place covered by the projection screen that was added to show the tribute film to Walt Disney. The film, which lasted 23 minutes, stitched together archival film and audio footage that appeared to be an autobiography of Walt Disney. A similar version of this attraction also appeared in the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort From April 15, 1973 until October 5, 1992.
While The Walt Disney Story was a fitting tribute to Walt Disney, who had died on December 15, 1966, the show received a great deal of public criticism by those who were upset by the removal of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. The attraction closed in early 1975 and reopened on June 12, 1975, as The Walt Disney Story Featuring Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. The motion picture screen in the main theater was removed and the theater was restored to its original form as it had been during Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, including the show itself. However, the entrance, pre-show, post-show, and exit no longer featured exhibits on Abraham Lincoln, but rather Walt Disney. A new, revised film about Walt Disney became the sole pre-show production and the previous 23-minute feature film was eliminated. After the preshow, guests entered the main theater to see the original show which remained the same, but the speech Abraham Lincoln gave was edited, some of the words were adapted from the speech Abraham Lincoln gave in Walt Disney World's Hall of Presidents
The attraction was updated in 1984 with a new version of the pre-show film on Walt Disney and revisions to the Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln show in the main theater. A new audio-animatronic Abraham Lincoln was created with enhanced movements and facial expressions, new skin, a new costume, and the ability to hold a piece of paper in his hand for his speech. The props and set pieces on the stage were also redressed. The original 1964 World's Fair audio recordings were still used for the narration and speech by Mr. Lincoln, however portions of Lincoln's speech were deleted. Two new songs, "Golden Dream" and "Two Brothers," were added to the production. Both songs came from The American Adventure, a show inside the American Pavilion in Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort. "Golden Dream" replaced "Battle Hymn of the Republic" as the song in the finale. This version closed in 2000.
The attraction closed temporarily on February 20, 2005, to make room for Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years. This show had a series of exhibits and a main theater film presented by Steve Martin and an animated Donald Duck. It was part of Disneyland's Happiest Homecoming on Earth 50th anniversary celebration that lasted from May 5, 2005, to September 30, 2006. Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years continued until March 15, 2009.
Mr. Lincoln returned in a new attraction called The Disneyland Story presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln on December 18, 2009. The previous hydraulic-based audio-animatronic figure was replaced by an electronic audio-animatronic figure, which Disney Imagineers say greatly extends Lincoln's emotive capabilities. The new show features an abridged version of his autobiography, the first two sentences from his Gettysburg Address, and the song "Two Brothers" (from Epcot's American Pavilion) following the news about the Civil War. In the final act, the Audio-Animatronic Lincoln stands to perform portions of the speech from the original attraction, in which the late Royal Dano once more provides the voice of Lincoln. The script is the same that was used from 1984 to 2001. However, Dano's voice is from a newly discovered recording that is cleaner than the original performance. Also, the song "Golden Dream" is played as guests exit the attraction. As well, the recording of the song "America the Beautiful" from the Circle-Vision 360° film of the same name, opens the show. And on the end of the show, they added the song the "Battle Hymn of the Republic".
Walt Disney originally conceived of a show that would pay tribute to all U.S. Presidents as part of a proposed extension of Main Street, U.S.A. in the 1950s. However, the technology at the time would not permit a show on the scale Disney wanted, and the Main Street extension proposal was abandoned (the presidential tribute was later built as The Hall of Presidents at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom). Disney's Imagineers opted to focus instead on creating a tribute to Lincoln, Disney's boyhood hero. The show premiered at the World's Fair on April 22, 1964, and consisted of a pre-show highlighting the state of Illinois, followed by a theater presentation in which the Audio-Animatronic Lincoln gave a speech that included excerpts from multiple speeches actually delivered by Lincoln. It ran for the entirety of both of the World's Fair's 6-month seasons, and closed on October 17, 1965.
During the second season of the World's Fair, a duplicate version of the show opened at Disneyland on July 18, 1965. The show ran until 1973, when it was replaced by The Walt Disney Story, a biographical film on Walt Disney. Disneyland was criticized for this move, and in 1975 the show was replaced by The Walt Disney Story Featuring Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, a hybrid of the two shows. The 1975 version of The Walt Disney Story Featuring Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln underwent several minor changes over the years, and closed in 2000. In 2001, it was replaced with an attraction of the same name, but which had more of a focus on the American Civil War. This version closed in 2004, and from 2005 to 2009 the attraction was replaced with Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years, a tribute to Disneyland's 50th anniversary which included exhibits on Disneyland in the pre-show and post-show areas and a film narrated by Steve Martin.
The present-day attraction features a pre-show consisting of exhibits on the history of Disneyland. The main show features a short biographical film on Lincoln and an updated version of the original show.
The first Disneyland version of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln – named after the World's Fair attraction – opened on July 18, 1965, in honor of the official 10th anniversary of the park, in the new Opera House on Main Street, USA. The show in the main theater with Mr. Lincoln was a duplicate of the World's Fair attraction. The exterior and interiors of the building were given a new theme using Abraham Lincoln and Walt Disney exhibits, displays and films as the attraction was presented by Lincoln Savings and Loan Association, not the state of Illinois. It did not require an "A" through "E" attraction admission ticket. This version of the attraction ended January 1, 1973, along with the sponsorship by Lincoln Savings.
On April 8, 1973, a different attraction named The Walt Disney Story opened in the Opera House. While the exterior remained the same with the exception of new signage, the interior was redesigned so the exhibits could reflect the history of Walt Disney, The Walt Disney Company, and Disneyland. The main theater looked the same, but the audio-animatronic Abraham Lincoln and other props and set pieces were either removed or remained in place covered by the projection screen that was added to show the tribute film to Walt Disney. The film, which lasted 23 minutes, stitched together archival film and audio footage that appeared to be an autobiography of Walt Disney. A similar version of this attraction also appeared in the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort From April 15, 1973 until October 5, 1992.
While The Walt Disney Story was a fitting tribute to Walt Disney, who had died on December 15, 1966, the show received a great deal of public criticism by those who were upset by the removal of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. The attraction closed in early 1975 and reopened on June 12, 1975, as The Walt Disney Story Featuring Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. The motion picture screen in the main theater was removed and the theater was restored to its original form as it had been during Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, including the show itself. However, the entrance, pre-show, post-show, and exit no longer featured exhibits on Abraham Lincoln, but rather Walt Disney. A new, revised film about Walt Disney became the sole pre-show production and the previous 23-minute feature film was eliminated. After the preshow, guests entered the main theater to see the original show which remained the same, but the speech Abraham Lincoln gave was edited, some of the words were adapted from the speech Abraham Lincoln gave in Walt Disney World's Hall of Presidents
The attraction was updated in 1984 with a new version of the pre-show film on Walt Disney and revisions to the Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln show in the main theater. A new audio-animatronic Abraham Lincoln was created with enhanced movements and facial expressions, new skin, a new costume, and the ability to hold a piece of paper in his hand for his speech. The props and set pieces on the stage were also redressed. The original 1964 World's Fair audio recordings were still used for the narration and speech by Mr. Lincoln, however portions of Lincoln's speech were deleted. Two new songs, "Golden Dream" and "Two Brothers," were added to the production. Both songs came from The American Adventure, a show inside the American Pavilion in Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort. "Golden Dream" replaced "Battle Hymn of the Republic" as the song in the finale. This version closed in 2000.
The attraction closed temporarily on February 20, 2005, to make room for Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years. This show had a series of exhibits and a main theater film presented by Steve Martin and an animated Donald Duck. It was part of Disneyland's Happiest Homecoming on Earth 50th anniversary celebration that lasted from May 5, 2005, to September 30, 2006. Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years continued until March 15, 2009.
Mr. Lincoln returned in a new attraction called The Disneyland Story presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln on December 18, 2009. The previous hydraulic-based audio-animatronic figure was replaced by an electronic audio-animatronic figure, which Disney Imagineers say greatly extends Lincoln's emotive capabilities. The new show features an abridged version of his autobiography, the first two sentences from his Gettysburg Address, and the song "Two Brothers" (from Epcot's American Pavilion) following the news about the Civil War. In the final act, the Audio-Animatronic Lincoln stands to perform portions of the speech from the original attraction, in which the late Royal Dano once more provides the voice of Lincoln. The script is the same that was used from 1984 to 2001. However, Dano's voice is from a newly discovered recording that is cleaner than the original performance. Also, the song "Golden Dream" is played as guests exit the attraction. As well, the recording of the song "America the Beautiful" from the Circle-Vision 360° film of the same name, opens the show. And on the end of the show, they added the song the "Battle Hymn of the Republic".