Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln is a stage show featuring an Audio-Animatronic representation of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln. Originally created by Walt Disney for the State of Illinois pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair, the show opened at Disneyland Park in 1965. Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln has undergone several changes with advances in Audio-Animatronics technology and has been on a few hiatuses over the decades.

Until April 2024, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln was an element of the Disneyland attraction The Disneyland Story Presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, which opened in December 2009. The attraction reopened on July 17, 2025 as Walt Disney—A Magical Life, a new show featuring an Audio-Animatronic figure of Walt Disney. After the initial run of Walt Disney—A Magical Life, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln plays in rotation with it.

Background

Walt Disney had a lifelong fascination with Abraham Lincoln. On Lincoln's Birthday when he was a boy in Chicago, Disney dressed up as Lincoln in a makeshift costume and recited the Gettysburg Address to all the classes in his elementary school.

In 1957, as Disneyland became more successful, Walt Disney proposed an expansion of the park's Main Street, U.S.A. that celebrated America's colonial era. Called Liberty Street, it would have been a representation of Colonial Boston on the eve of the American Revolution (which coincided with Disney's film adaptation of Johnny Tremain). One of the centerpiece attractions would have been "The Hall of the Presidents of the United States"—a stage show featuring an immersive film presentation and lifelike figures of every U.S. president.

The Liberty Street concept for Disneyland was eventually abandoned, but work continued on the "Hall of Presidents" concept for many years (a similar area using many of the concepts from Liberty Street would eventually open as Liberty Square at Magic Kingdom Park in 1971). Disney asked director James Algar to work on the show concept and story. Algar would eventually become the show's lead director and producer. On November 19, 1963, the 100th anniversary of Lincoln delivering his Gettysburg Address, Illinois legislators, along with Moses and Disney, announced that they would make the figure the focus of their pavilion. Actor Royal Dano was hired personally by Walt Disney to voice Lincoln. Disney had seen Dano in an episode of the anthology TV series Omnibus playing Lincoln and noted the actor's resemblance to the 16th president. Voiceover veteran Paul Frees provided narration and other incidental voices. Disney composer Norman "Buddy" Baker created the show's score.

Despite the setbacks, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln opened on April 22, 1964 with the State of Illinois pavilion.

The show was a hit with fairgoers as well. 2.5 million visitors watched the show in the first season alone. The exterior walls had two quotes from Lincoln in metallic lettering, along with a large portrait of the president and a relief sculpt of the state itself. Every known photograph of Lincoln was also on display. The centerpiece was the Edward Everett copy of the Gettysburg Address, handwritten by Lincoln, which is owned by the state of Illinois. The manuscript was in its own special alcove and under the guard of Illinois State Troopers.

The figure then stood up and gave an address consisting of excerpts from speeches Lincoln gave before and during his presidency.

The show concluded with the curtains at the back of the stage opening to reveal the rotunda of the United States Capitol building and a star-filled sky. Toward the end of Lincoln's speech, the night sky gradually turned into a sunrise effect. Lincoln then sat back down and the sunrise created an abstract image of the American flag in the sky background. It was eventually downgraded to a "D" coupon. However, a free child's ticket was included with every child ticket book.

The original attraction in New York was still operating for three months after the Disneyland version opened—marking the first time a Disney attraction performed simultaneously in two different locations. Walt Disney purchased the model from Lloyd in 1955 for display at Disneyland.

Theater presentation

The show in the main theater was a duplicate of the world's fair presentation, even in a theater with the same capacity as the New York version. A similar version of this attraction also appeared at the Magic Kingdom at from April 15, 1973, until October 5, 1992. It was a free attraction for everyone, courtesy of the show's new sponsor, the Gulf Oil Company.

Pre-show

The Opera House lobby became an exhibit space entirely dedicated to the life and career of Walt Disney. Display cabinets exhibited many of Disney's awards and commendations. An alcove housed a presentation about Disney's connection to animals and nature through his True-Life Adventure film series, hosted by an Audio-Animatronic owl. The attraction closed on February 12, 1975 (Lincoln's birthday) and reopened on June 12, 1975, as The Walt Disney Story Featuring Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. Gulf continued to sponsor the new attraction.

The attraction underwent a significant refurbishment in 1984, which impacted both the pre-show and theater show.

Pre-show

When the attraction reopened in 1975, the pre-show changed very little from The Walt Disney Story. Most of the displays were still about Walt Disney—including the studio office reproductions. In 1984, the rear lobby area was dedicated entirely to Lincoln with vintage Lincoln photographs and displays. The George Lloyd sculpture of the U.S. Capitol returned to the pre-show lobby in 1985.

During the 1984 refurbishment, Walt Disney Imagineering consulted with scientists from the Center for Biomedical Design at the University of Utah. Those scientists were pioneering advanced artificial limbs and the Imagineers collaborated with them on new technology for Audio-Animatronic figures, creating more lifelike movement.

Muppets controversy

In the summer of 1990, Disneyland employees were informed that The Walt Disney Story Featuring Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln would be closing that August. Rumors circulated that the Lincoln show would be replaced by a west coast edition of the Muppet*Vision 3D attraction, which was opening at the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park (now Disney's Hollywood Studios) the following May.

As with the closure in 1973, a significant amount of public outcry saved the attraction. The Los Angeles Times quoted Disneyland spokesperson Paul Goldman: "If you’d asked a few days ago I’d have said that being a 25-year-old attraction, its popularity has passed. But there seems to be a lot of sentiment for Lincoln."

Pre-show

The entrance lobby still retained the displays about Walt Disney's life from previous lobby incarnations, with many refreshed. The True-Life Adventure alcove was reconfigured with a new video display playing a montage of excerpts from the 2001 documentary, Walt: The Man Behind the Myth. The new video also provided narrative connection to the Lincoln show by ending the montage with a clip from the Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color episode, "Disneyland Goes to the World's Fair."

As guests entered the real lobby area, they were given a binaural headset. The rear lobby area was still exclusively about Lincoln, with displays, photographs. But the pre-show film was now the setup for the show's revised story. Civil War photographer Matthew Brady (voiced by Lane Davies) became the narrator and (through Civil War era photographs) set the stage for the historic scenario guests would imagine themselves in. Brady then assigned guests the role of a fictional Union private, John Cunningham, and told them to step into Brady's studio (the theater) for a portrait.

Theater presentation

Once seated inside the theater, the lights dimmed and guests were given a sensory storytelling experience with the binaural sound system and eventually a screen with still photos.

The guest (as Private Cunningham) met Matthew Brady in his photo studio in Washington, D.C. for a soldier's portrait, received a haircut from Brady's assistant, and followed Brady to the White House to meet President Lincoln, who had his own photo session scheduled. When Brady and Cunningham arrived, Lincoln (voiced by Warren Burton) was in the middle of talking with Frederick Douglass (voiced by J.D. Hall). In its place on the Opera House side was more wall display space as well as a widescreen television, which showed an abridged version of the Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years film presentation. On October 18, 2023, the 50th film was replaced with the Disney 100th anniversary animated short, Once Upon a Studio.

The rear lobby area reverted back to being about Lincoln. However, the new Lincoln pre-show was not so much about Lincoln the historic figure, but Lincoln's connection to Walt Disney and his Imagineers. Concept art for the show was now on display by artists like Herbert Ryman, John DeCuir, and John Pomeroy. A display case houses the maquettes for the Spirits of America sculptures that line the Liberty Theater in The American Adventure at EPCOT. The centerpiece of the room is the George Lloyd U.S. Capitol model, previously displayed as the main lobby exhibit.

The pre-show film now tells the story of the making of the attraction for the world's fair and its connection to Walt Disney. A short clip of the Omnibus episode, "Mr. Lincoln," starring Lincoln voice actor Royal Dano, is also shown as part of the film.

On February 1, 2023, another pre-show film was added to the rear lobby in addition to the previous one. Produced in collaboration with National Geographic and narrated by Robin Roberts, the film focuses on the historic relationship between Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. It includes testimonials from Douglass’ third great-grandson Kenneth B. Morris Jr., and Dr. John Stauffer. A bust of Douglass was placed next to the bust of Lincoln in the lobby area in April 2022.

Theater presentation

For the theater show, Imagineers returned to the world's fair format—including the look of the screen and the stage.

The theater film combined many elements from previous incarnations and other attractions. Opening with a shortened version of Lincoln's biography (again voiced by Royal Dano and narrated by Paul Frees), the film follows the 1984 version with the "Two Brothers" sequence still intact and the addition of an excerpt from the Gettysburg Address at the end. The music is a combination of Buddy Baker's original Lincoln score as well as excerpts from his score for the Disney Circle-Vision 360° film America the Beautiful.

The new Lincoln figure features the most advanced Audio-Animatronic head (at the time). Imagineers said at opening that the all-electric head actuators greatly extends Lincoln's emotive capabilities. The face was given a new sculpt by creature and special effects artist Lee Romaire. Imagineer Tony Baxter, the lead executive on the project, wanted the Lincoln face to be more attractive and heroic, so Romaire slightly altered Lincoln's appearance to make him more symmetrical but still retained some of the more unique details of his face.

The speech the figure gives is the 1984 edited version of the world's fair speech, once again voiced by Royal Dano through archival recordings (Dano died in 1994). However, Dano's voice is from a newly discovered recording that is cleaner than the original performance. The Gallery was moved into a portion of the lobby for The Disneyland Story Presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, where its exhibits rotate periodically to coincide with company promotions or highlighting attraction anniversaries.

Walt Disney – A Magical Life (2025–present)

The Disneyland Story Presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln closed on April 16, 2024. At D23—The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in August 2024, Disney Experiences chairman Josh D'Amaro announced that the attraction would be replaced with Walt Disney – A Magical Life, for the park's 70th anniversary celebration. After a year regularly presenting the Walt Disney show, that show will rotate with Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln throughout each operating day.

  • The band Negativland used a modified version of the speech from the attraction in the song "God Bull" on their album No Business.
  • In the 101 Dalmatians: The Series episode "Cruella World" the Great Moments with Cruella Devil attraction in Cruella World is a homage to Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.
  • In the Clone High episode "A Room of One's Clone: The Pie of the Storm", the teenaged clone of Abraham Lincoln seeks advice from a "robomatronic" Lincoln in a theme park attraction that also mashes in elements of Disneyland's Enchanted Tiki Room show and the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.
  • The Modern Family episode "Disneyland" closes with Jay Pritchett (Ed O'Neill) and his family sitting together watching Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, after a long day of their family trip to Disneyland.
  • An August 16, 2013 the Pearls Before Swine comic strip mentioned the attraction in Rat's "Beerland" themepark. Rat's version of the attraction contained Lincoln sitting drunk at a table trying to hit on women.
  • In the Mickey Mouse episode "Potatoland", Mickey and Donald build a theme park called Potatoland to fulfill Goofy's lifelong dream to visit it. One of the attractions featured was a potato-themed version of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln with a giant potato in a stovepipe hat and beard, which is also referenced in the queue for the Disneyland version of Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway.
  • In the Futurama episode "Insane in the Mainframe", there is a robotic Lincoln, based on Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, in the insane asylum that has 200 split personalities that are all some form of Lincoln.

Lincoln's speech

The speech the Audio-Animatronic Lincoln has given in the various incarnations of the show (with the exception of the "Journey to Gettysburg" version) is composed of excerpts from speeches Lincoln gave before and during his time in office.

What constitutes the bulwark of our liberty and independence? It is not our frowning embattlements, our bristling sea coasts. These are not our reliance against tyranny. Our reliance is in the love of liberty, which God has planted in our bosoms. Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands everywhere. Destroy this spirit, and you have planted the seeds of despotism around your own doors.

At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it? Shall we expect some trans-Atlantic military giant to step the ocean and crush us at a blow? Never! All the armies of Europe, Asia, and Africa combined could not, by force, take a drink from the Ohio or make a track on the Blue Ridge in a trial of a thousand years. At what point, then, is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, [that] if it ever reach us, it must spring [from] amongst us; it cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we [ourselves must] be [the] author[s] and finisher[s]. As a nation of free men, we must live through all time[s], or die by suicide.

Let reverence for the [law] be breathed by every American mother to the lisping babe that prattles on her lap; let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in primers, [in] spelling-books, and almanacs; let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay of all sexes and tongues and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly [at] its altars.

Neither let us be slandered from our duty by false accusations against us, nor frightened from it by [the] menaces of destruction to the Government nor of dungeons to ourselves. Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.

Notes

See also

  • The Hall of Presidents, an Audio-Animatronics show in Magic Kingdom featuring all Presidents of the United States.

References

Sources

  • Official website