'They Think Walt Disney Is A Company’: Imagineer Explains Why Controversial New Disneyland Show Needed To Happen, And The Reasons Make Sense

(Image credit: The Walt Disney Company)

Disneyland may be the Happiest Place on Earth, but that doesn’t make the iconic theme park entirely free from controversy. The biggest new addition coming to Disneyland later this year is one that not everybody is happy about: Walt Disney is getting the audio-animatronic treatment.

From the time it was first announced at D23 last year, the decision to make Walt Disney an attraction in his own park via the use of audio animatronics has been a contentious one. Members of Walt’s own family are against. However, speaking with Todd Martens of the Los Angeles Times, Imagineer Tom Fitzgerald says now is the time for it. He lays out two reasons, one being that 2025 is a major anniversary for Disneyland. He said…

For two reasons. One is Disneyland’s 70th anniversary is an ideal time we thought to create a permanent tribute to Walt Disney in the Opera House.

The Disneyland Opera House has been home to Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln since 1965, following its debut at the New York World's Fair. The full-scale audio animatronic of Abraham Lincoln was created under the supervision of Walt Disney himself. Now, the iconic building will see a new show, Walt Disney: A Magical Life, which will combine a video presentation on the life of Walt with the animatronic character.

Of course, the timing is only half the issue. The bigger question is whether Walt Disney should be presented as a theme park attraction at all. Fitzgerald thinks it’s important that Walt Disney be presented at Disneyland, the only Disney Park he ever saw, as a real person because he was a real person, and there are new generations of people who never saw the real man. Fitzgerald continued…

The other: I grew up watching Walt Disney on television. I guess I’m the old man. He came into our living room every week and chatted and it was very casual and you felt like you knew the man. But a lot of people today don’t know Walt Disney was an individual. They think Walt Disney is a company.

I came to a similar conclusion about the Walt Disney audio-animatronic after visiting the Walt Disney Family Museum earlier this year. With the name Disney now being synonymous with a massive entertainment company, it can be easy to forget that it was all started by a man, or rather two, named Disney. Walt Disney created an audio animatronic Abraham Lincoln as a way to help future generations connect with the 16th President. The same can be done for Walt Disney.

As of yet, nobody outside of Walt Disney Imagineering has seen the audio-animatronic. Walt Disney: A Magical Life is set to debut at Disneyland on July 17, the 70th anniversary of the opening day at Disneyland. There’s little argument it will be an interesting day, and hopefully, it will be a magical one.

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CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis. Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.