I assumed they would record a new speech by the current president. Perhaps they haven’t been able to do that yet. It is also possible that the building needed a deep refurbishment for items such as carpet, paint, upholstery, etc. They have just been so quiet about it that we don’t know what’s going on. I wonder how long it has taken in the past to update the show?
I agree that they are making it more difficult for themselves by giving the current president a speaking role in the show. I don’t have an issue with any new presidents being included, since this is a show about the office of the president and these are the people who have filled that role. My personal feeling is that if they only had Lincoln speak, instead of having each new president speak as well, they would have less downtime when a new administration comes in. The new animatronic could be prepared behind the scenes and installed quickly with little downtime. The only modification to the show would be adding them to the roll call. It wouldn’t necessarily get the new president installed more quickly, as they can’t finalize the animatronic until after they are elected, but they could continue to run the old show until they are ready to make the switch since the new addition wouldn’t be center stage, so to speak.
However, considering the controversies that seem to surround some of the more recent additions to the HoP, perhaps it is time to consider letting it go and putting a different show in its place. I just can’t think of a show idea off the top of my head that would work with the Liberty Square theme that wouldn’t overlap with the American Adventure show at Epcot. I guess that is why I am not an Imagineer! If I had to choose one show or the other to keep, I would prefer to keep the Epcot show.
While I love the idea of a HM restaurant, I think the HoP building is in the wrong location for it. I think a themed HM restaurant should feel like an extension of the attraction itself, as though they are in the same building. A better spot for it would be opposite Memento Mori to minimize the view of Carsland from the HM queue (I am so going to miss that river view!). If they didn’t already have LTT, they could have turned it into a Liberty Square themed restaurant. The plot of land is too small for most attractions to fit, so I don’t see how it could be anything other than a show. I just hope it opens as something soon.
