Only Lincoln will speak at HoP?

pintraderpayee

Active Member
Original Poster
I've searched for this info., so please don't flame me if I overlooked it on the site. According to the 2009 Unofficial Guide and Jim Hill only President Lincoln will speak now (Gettysburg Address) after the refurb. However, the book was published before the election.....any word on whether plans have changed?
 

brkgnews

Well-Known Member
There were concerns after, over the past couple of presidents, people began to boo and catcall at the chief executive du jour. I too had heard of plans only to have Lincoln speak, but never from any official source.

This would make the attraction more of a throwback to "Great Moments with Mr Lincoln," which Disney debuted at the Illinois pavilion at the 1964-65 New York World's Fair.
 

prberk

Well-Known Member
It's really only a return to the original attraction, if it were to be that way. (Which itself was a realization of what Walt really wished he had had the funds and opportunity to do with the original "Great Moments" attraction at the World's Fair and Disneyland).

Until Bill Clinton, no other current president spoke. They just had a figure there. Bill Clinton was offered a chance to speak (which reports said was the first time Disney had done that), and (as some would say, "of course...") he took the opportunity. That set the precedent. So, they offered George W. Bush the same thing.

But if they were to return to the Lincoln-only version, I would not mind. His speech then was not the Gettysburg Address, but instead a very inspired mixture of real speeches that he gave. I bought the record (LP!) of it at the time (which you can still find on e-Bay and other places), and learned the speech for an elementary school show-and-tell presentation. It would still be very good.

Of course, Obama's Illinois connection and the symbolic nature of his juxtaposition with Lincoln would be dramatic, as well.

As for Washington, I don't know what to think. We don't know much about his speech patterns, although Lincoln's were well-documented. And the person that they used so many years ago to do Lincoln's speech (which is still used, in an edited version I believe), was known to have gotten it very close.

Paul
 

Figment632

New Member
There were concerns after, over the past couple of presidents, people began to boo and catcall at the chief executive du jour. I too had heard of plans only to have Lincoln speak, but never from any official source.

This would make the attraction more of a throwback to "Great Moments with Mr Lincoln," which Disney debuted at the Illinois pavilion at the 1964-65 New York World's Fair.

I hope it's true I don't need to hear Obama! They should wait till Presidents are out of office to give them speaking roles. This is not political so don't everybody freak out the man hasbarely been in office he could turn out to be the worst President since Hoover or could do very good things. If he was a bad President we would be stuck with it till the next return. They should wait.
 

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
I can see two schools of thought on this one...

From a political perspective I can not remember a time when we have been a more divided country. The negative emotions from this Grand Canyon size divide between the left and the right have bled over into this attraction especially during the the last administration. For this reason I can see Disney removing the current president's speaking role simply to remove the distraction.

However, if Disney were to do this now all hell would break loose and it would be a PR nightmare for the mouse. It would take exactly one show for Jessie Jackson, Al Sharpton and the NAACP to pull out the race card and call for a boycott of all things Disney. Given the current economic climate I do not think that Disney will risk it.

Personally, I like the speech by the current commander in chief. Regardless of my personal opinion of whomever that that is it provides a link for the present to the past in the attraction.
 

Figment632

New Member
Yoda you bring up a lot of good points but my whole argument is the the attraction should be about our countrys rich history not the current political mess. We should not be too quick to annoint these presidents. Later down the road if he is a sucsess then give him a speaking role.
 

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
Yoda you bring up a lot of good points but my whole argument is the the attraction should be about our countrys rich history not the current political mess. We should not be too quick to annoint these presidents. Later down the road if he is a sucsess then give him a speaking role.
Success is relative and weather we like it or not the current president is making history and should be part of the attraction. Every president had a mess to clean up so to speak. There speaking role does not need to be, and to my memory has never been about, the current issues at hand. They were all more of a "Rah-Rah..Go America!" type of speech.

Bill Clinton said:
My fellow citizens, we are the heirs of the great American Revolution. As this millennium draws to a close and the 21st century approaches, let us pause to honor the very idea of America. America mirrors the world's diversity, yet it remains united in its struggle to uphold fundamental freedoms. We believe our nation's happiness still evolves from liberty, from opportunity, and from the vision of equality set forth by our country's Declaration of Independence. And today our nation stands as a symbol of freedom and inspiration to people all around the world. There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America. And there is nothing wrong with the world that cannot be cured by the ideals that America represents. Those principles have no borders. And we look forward to a day when those principles extended beyond our borders will have circled the globe. The quest for democracy must continue until all the people of the world enjoy the freedom we must always fight to preserve. The spirit of America is as bright and hopeful today as it was in July of 1776. And we are ready to carry our great national experiment forward into the next millennium.

George W Bush said:
My Fellow Americans, when we look back on the history of this country, we see a record of almost unbelievable energy, sacrifice, hard work - of impossible dreams that our ancestors dreamed and made real. We see injustice, too, that weighs on our hearts even today. But for every injustice there has always been a voice crying out to right it. And America has always listened to those voices. We're listening today. And perhaps it falls to us, to this first generation of 21st century Americans to say, once and for all, that no child, no race, no creed, no ethnic community will ever again be left out of the American dream. Through education, through the opportunity to work and to enjoy the fruits of that work, we can open every closed door. We expand the horizons of every American. Again and again we return to the same simple principles - freedom, equality; the freedom to create, to prosper, to dream; Equality before the law, in the workplace, and the chance for a better life. And each time in the process America grows stronger. The beacon of democracy grows brighter. The world looks with new astonishment at what free people can do. We the people are just getting started.
 

Computer Magic

Well-Known Member
Only the heads of Mount Rushmore should speak: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt , and Abraham Lincoln.

When Obama head is on Mount Rushmore, then he gets a speaking part :shrug:
 

Figment632

New Member
They stuck it out with W all those years...

My point exactly I hated hearing all the booing from time to time when his part came up. The atraction should be uplifting.

I'm not saying don't put Obama in the attraction he is the current president and needs to be a part of it. What I am saying isgive a speaking role to Washington or someone who is proven throughout history.
 

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
My point exactly I hated hearing all the booing from time to time when his part came up. The atraction should be uplifting.

I'm not saying don't put Obama in the attraction he is the current president and needs to be a part of it. What I am saying isgive a speaking role to Washington or someone who is proven throughout history.
That is the fault of the guest and not the fault of the attraction. A good part of the attraction should not be modified to suit the whims of a few vocal fanatics. Unfortunately, Disney has a reputation for catering to these types...ie PotC's political correctness.
 

kcnole

Well-Known Member
I too wish it were only our past presidents who spoke. I'm a Republican and didn't appreciate hearing Bush booed (even after I stopped admiring the man), and I'm sure we'll hear boos for Obama as well. I look at Disney as an escape from the realities of politics and all that garbage. I hate to have it thrust in my face while I'm visiting the parks. Hence, I quite visiting that attraction.

I'm more than happy to honor those from our past who have given great things. I'd love to hear the likes of George Washington and Lincoln speak however.
 

baz212

New Member
Without getting too political, towards the end of W's 2nd term I believe he would have been booed whether he was spaeking or not. He still would have been called during the roll call. If McCain had won the election Disney could have dropped the current president's speaking roles because the election of McCain would not have had lasting historical significance. Like him or not, the election of an African-American as the leader of the free world for the first time will have lasting historical significance. They same would have been true if Hillary Clinton had been the Democratic nominee and won, or if Palin had been the Republican presidential instead of VP nominee and won. Washington, Lincoln, and Obama are arguably the 3 most historically significant presidents in US history. Washington was our first president, Lincoln abolished slavery and Obama is the first non-white male president.
 

Figment632

New Member
The sitting president not speak?
That's just silly.:rolleyes:
It's one of the coolest parts of the attraction.

If you want to see him talk turn on CNN,

He is historical because he is the first black president; there is nothing historical about how he won. People were tiered of the last administration, any Democrat would have won, nothing historic about that. It should be a historical attraction; today’s political scene is nasty and has divided the country. I don't want to be reminded of that while I'm in WDW, the man has been anointed and has done nothing yet. Down the road if he is a great President then he should speak. I'm a conservative but I don't think Bush or anyone from the last 40 years should have a speaking role.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom