Will Hall of Presidents ever open???

[TheDailyMoo]

Are you suggesting that George Washington shouldn't be thought of as a hero?

Well, I think it's more the current mentality of rooting for a political party like it's a sports team. That is common these days. Certainly some of our past presidents have been both politicians and heroes - though maybe not that many.

What Brian said.

I'm actually a huge US History buff and think everyone should learn about our still rather young past and all the figures that gave their entire beings to create a country like ours. But I've seen people on both sides losing their minds for many years now and only getting exponentially worse and it bothers me to no end that civility and tolerance for each other's views is slowly dying off. And I do mean all sides. I'll also stop commenting because even though this thread has political undertones I don't want to add more from a soapbox that nobody asked for. Just very annoyed at everything becoming about politics. I actually loathe it all.

 

[lovethattink]

Hello everyone. Just a quick friendly reminder to be careful what you post on this thread. We are keeping a close eye on it. Keep in mind the board guidelines. They are posted in the pinned threads if you need a refresher.

 

[goofyernmost]

Yeah, because nothing says fun as much as security forcibly removing people from an attraction. What a pleasant Disney experience...

The mature portion of the audience would not have a problem with expelling childlike behavior from a show like that one once was. In that sense, justice being done for the betterment of the majority, is not only appreciated but a welcome addition to the experience.

 

[GoingSince1990]

I hope it never reopens. One of the pleasures of a Disney trip is to get away from things like politics, and unfortunately there will always be people in that attraction who can't resist the urge to whoop, holler, and/or boo, based upon their political likes or dislikes, bringing us all back to jarring reality. Now that Muppetvision 3D is gone, something like a Muppet hosted trip through Americana would be perfect for that space, and would not require closing the attraction potentially every four years to add a new figure, which I'm sure Disney finds annoying.

 

[dreamer17555]

The mature portion of the audience would not have a problem with expelling childlike behavior from a show like that one once was. In that sense, justice being done for the betterment of the majority, is not only appreciated but a welcome addition to the experience.

I fully disagree. It could easily upset guests (especially young children) to see security having any sort of altercation with a guest (I doubt a guest who was rude enough to yell and boo is going to be all quiet and not aggressive when security comes along). They would like need to stop the show anyway at that point and get guests out of the building for safety reasons.

 

[mrjack5]

Would be nice to see HOP open again.

 

[BrianL]

The mature portion of the audience would not have a problem with expelling childlike behavior from a show like that one once was. In that sense, justice being done for the betterment of the majority, is not only appreciated but a welcome addition to the experience.

Anyone who cheers or boos should be immediately sucked into a tube and deposited directly onto the next boat launching at it's a small world!

 

[Minnie1222]

Anyone who cheers or boos should be immediately sucked into a tube and deposited directly onto the next boat launching at it's a small world!

While I would never cheer or boo, I'd love the opportunity to be sucked into a tube and transported to my favorite ride It's a Small World . My only complaint about the WDW version is that it's not long enough.

 

[BrianL]

While I would never cheer or boo, I'd love the opportunity to be sucked into a tube and transported to my favorite ride It's a Small World . My only complaint about the WDW version is that it's not long enough.

I didn't mean it as a punishment - more like an educational opportunity.

 

[kylenne]

tbh I think it was a huge mistake to change the speaking role from Lincoln to whoever the current president was. This attraction was always meant to be about the office of the presidency rather than specific office holders but making that one change really opened the door in a bad way imo. Walt’s commitment to edutainment was laudable and a big reason I fell in love with the parks as a kid (I was always a nerd!), but in order for that approach to work you have to meet your audience where they’re at, and it’s clear the current approach is just not sustainable in our heavily polarized environment.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed the past few iterations of HoP and I am a huge history buff, but to be frank, it’s because I’m one that I think this attraction needs to go. Grappling with our collective history has become fraught enough in the real world, and I hate to see MK, a place of largely escapist whimsy, become another battleground for that. As much as I enjoy the attraction I often find myself skipping it on trips because sometimes I just don’t feel like rolling the dice on whether or not the audience will be mature and respectful that day. When I want that itch scratched I check out the American Adventure, which I think does a decent enough job of presenting history in a way that informs and entertains. But if anything the mess with HoP nowadays just proves what a bullet Disney dodged when their plans for Disney’s America got thwarted. I’m totally on board with replacing it with an expanded version of the old Muppets history shows.

 

[BrianL]

tbh I think it was a huge mistake to change the speaking role from Lincoln to whoever the current president was. This attraction was always meant to be about the office of the presidency rather than specific office holders but making that one change really opened the door in a bad way imo. Walt’s commitment to edutainment was laudable and a big reason I fell in love with the parks as a kid (I was always a nerd!), but in order for that approach to work you have to meet your audience where they’re at, and it’s clear the current approach is just not sustainable in our heavily polarized environment.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed the past few iterations of HoP and I am a huge history buff, but to be frank, it’s because I’m one that I think this attraction needs to go. Grappling with our collective history has become fraught enough in the real world, and I hate to see MK, a place of largely escapist whimsy, become another battleground for that. As much as I enjoy the attraction I often find myself skipping it on trips because sometimes I just don’t feel like rolling the dice on whether or not the audience will be mature and respectful that day. When I want that itch scratched I check out the American Adventure, which I think does a decent enough job of presenting history in a way that informs and entertains. But if anything the mess with HoP nowadays just proves what a bullet Disney dodged when their plans for Disney’s America got thwarted. I’m totally on board with replacing it with an expanded version of the old Muppets history shows.

I like The American Adventure better anyway - it's really cool. It could maybe use a few updates. Back in March there were a couple of audience members cheering for a certian person in the video montage at the end - part of the newer additions to that. Man, and I remember when they removed Lance Armstrong so as not to be controversial!

 

[muppets3d]

This is the first time Disney has had to put an existing President back in the center of the theater. I'm interested to see what they do. If they were just going to go back to Trump's original speech, it stands to reason they would have done it by now and reopened the show already. But it seems like they're probably designing a new routine for his animatronic and recording a new speech.

 

[BrianL]

This is the first time Disney has had to put an existing President back in the center of the theater.

Didin't they have to do it for Grover Cleveland?

 

[HopperFan]

While I would never cheer or boo, I'd love the opportunity to be sucked into a tube and transported to my favorite ride It's a Small World . My only complaint about the WDW version is that it's not long enough.

You mean DL is LONGER?!?

 

[kanerf]

Needs to be a sign over the door to HOP, 'Abandon all politics, ye who enter here!'.

 

[kanerf]

Another thought. Without HOP, how will the kids know what Millard Fillmore (and all the others) looked like?

 

[Minnie1222]

You mean DL is LONGER?!?

It feels slightly longer, but still not long enough . They need to add more regions and more dolls.

 

[BrianL]

Another thought. Without HOP, how will the kids know what Millard Fillmore (and all the others) looked like?

Okay, Disney owns The Simpsons now. I've got your HOP replacement right here!

 

[kylenne]

I like The American Adventure better anyway - it's really cool. It could maybe use a few updates. Back in March ehre were a couple of audience members cheering for a certian person in the video montage at the end - part of the newer additions to that. Man, and I remember when they removed Lance Armstrong so as not to be controversial!

I hadn’t seen American Adventure in a while but revisited it the other day since our friend was a first timer and she wanted to check it out. She enjoyed it a lot!

I suppose there’s always a certain danger in including living figures in attractions like these. Probably a big reason RNRC is getting Muppets too.

 

[goofyernmost]

I fully disagree. It could easily upset guests (especially young children) to see security having any sort of altercation with a guest (I doubt a guest who was rude enough to yell and boo is going to be all quiet and not aggressive when security comes along). They would like need to stop the show anyway at that point and get guests out of the building for safety reasons.

Todays kids have seen a whole lot more than you think already. It is on TV, it is in cartoons, it is in video games. Unless the kid has been under a rock all their life they are not going to be traumatized. It's not the same world anymore. If the news alone doesn't send them over the edge, nothing will. I also don't think it is a bad thing to show what happens if you cross the line of being civil or being a jerk. It's very hard to see any justice right now, and that would be justice.

Watch Tom and Jerry or Woody Woodpecker on Saturday mornings. Especially Woody, that dude is always harming others for no reason at all and then laughing about it. Don't think for a minute that kids aren't seeing that but if taught right from wrong, they are still smart enough to just laugh along and not think that it is something they can do as soon as they are big enough.

Even when I was young, I saw cartoon characters falling off cliffs and then 5 seconds later, they are perfectly fine and trying once again. Never once did I, at any age, think that I could do the same thing and not get hurt. And we didn't have parents and society constantly monitoring everything we saw and trying to eliminate it instead of talking to their children and teaching them fact from fiction. Just another example of parents trying to transfer parenting responsibilities to someone else.