Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln
Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln was an attraction at the Illinois pavilion at the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair, created by Walt Disney. It was moved to Disneyland after the Fair, where it opened on July 17, 1965. It closed on January 1, 1973 and was replaced by the Walt Disney Story. This angered many people, because removing it seemed inappropriate to the United States and the legacy of Abraham Lincoln. It reopened a few years later as "The Walt Disney Story featuring Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. It closed again on February 20, 2005 and was replaced by Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years, featuring exhibits on the history of Disneyland. Disney says the Lincoln attraction will return after the 50th Anniversary Celebration is over, but some fans are skeptical.
The most recent version of the attraction featured a story as if the guest were a real American soldier in the Civil War. The guest wears special headphones equipped with "3D sound," which sounds very realistic, and the guest can even feel the breath of a character whispering in their ear. When the soldier the guest is supposedly portraying is shot in the leg in battle, he/she "wakes up" in a war hospital where President Abraham Lincoln walks in and talks to the injured soldiers, before inviting the guest to the Gettysburg Address speech. This film ends and the curtains are raised, and the guest sees an Audio-Animatronic Abraham Lincoln sitting in a chair with a piece of paper in his hand. In the background, the top of the Capitol Building can be seen against the sunset. Lincoln then stands up and recites his famous Gettysburg Address. While he is speaking, we see clouds forming in the sky, with stars coming out in the upper-left corner of the sky. By the end of Lincoln's speech, the sky appears to be the United States flag.
Attraction facts
- Grand Opening: July 17, 1965
- Re-Openings:
- Closures:
- January 1, 1973
- February 20, 2005
- Required Ticket: "C"
- Ride System: Audio-Animatronic Theater presentation