Usually when people get especially excited about a new attraction at Walt Disney World or Disneyland, it’s some massive E-ticket experience, a huge roller coaster like Tron: Lightcycle Run or an incredible dark ride like Rise of the Resistance. However, the most interesting, exciting, and potentially terrifying new attraction from Disney in 2025 isn’t anything quite so big; it’s a simple animatronic of a man. And that man is Walt Disney himself.
Walt Disney: A Magical Life is set to debut at Disneyland in just over a week, on the 70th anniversary of Disneyland's opening day. The attraction has set off no small amount of controversy as many, including some of Walt Disney’s own family, aren’t so sure about making him an attraction in the park that bears his name. While I’m certainly waiting to see how the attraction turns out (nobody has seen it yet), I’m excited for the potential. And now I’m excited by the attraction poster, which looks beautiful, and I think I’ll need to buy it.
The video posted to Instagram shows Disney artist Jeremy Fulton go through his process for designing the attraction poster for Walt Disney: A Magical Life. Disneyland attraction posters, even for new rides and shows, still use classic design that makes them look like they could have been created decades ago; it gives them a timeless quality that makes them almost always look special.
I especially love the easter eggs that are shown off in the poster. The hidden Mickey and the classic Opera House house header are cool, but I especially love that the hands with the pointing fingers are actually designed based on Walt’s actual hands, which is the sort of attention to detail that nobody would ever notice.
I love attraction posters, and I’ve had to stop myself from spending all my money and wallpapering my office with them over the years. I want them all, and yet, because I so frequently can’t decide which is my favorite, I’ve never actually bought one. This one may change that.
I think Walt Disney: A Magical Life could turn out to be something truly special, not to mention technologically groundbreaking. If it really works, if the audio animatronic is life-like enough, without entering the uncanny valley, if Walt’s words are chosen well, without being cheesy, Walt could have the same impact today that Disney’s own Abraham Lincoln audio animatronic had decades ago.
Disneyland is currently celebrating its 70th anniversary. It's already an incredible event even without the addition of Walt Disney himself. How he will look, and what he will say is an intriguing question, one I can't way to be able to answer myself. One thing we do know is that the poster looks awesome.
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