Hall of Presidents video shows what's wrong with America today

December 27, 2017, 9:39 PM · Yeah, we all suspected that this would happen at some point. A Walt Disney World visitor decided to "fight back" by trying to shout down a programmed and pre-recorded President Trump animatronic robot at the Magic Kingdom's Hall of Presidents.

I don't care whether you are a liberal or conservative, a Democrat or a Republican, I hope that all decent Americans can come together at least to agree that everyone ought to... turn their damned phone sideways into landscape mode before taking video.

C'mon, who wants to look at skinny video like this? Let's use all those pixels and see what we are shooting in widescreen glory.

But seriously, I don't care what you believe, it's time to rethink those beliefs if they lead you to shouting in public at a robot that's gonna keep talking no matter what you do.

Remember, Disney's Hall of Presidents actually is an interactive attraction, but not in this way. The robots are gonna say what Disney's Imagineers programmed them to say. The way you change this attraction is by getting out there, registering people to vote and encouraging everyone you can to vote in a new President.

Disney does not follow popular votes on what to do with Pirates of the Caribbean, its Towers of Terror or other rides and shows. But it does with the Hall of Presidents. Yet once that decision is made, when you are in that theater, please just be quiet and enjoy the show.

And hold your cell phone sideways if you're going to take video of it. Thank you.

Replies (34)

December 27, 2017 at 10:04 PM · The living version of the Simpsons' "Man Yells at Cloud" headline.
December 27, 2017 at 10:04 PM · The living version of the Simpsons' "Man Yells at Cloud" headline.
December 27, 2017 at 10:37 PM · Great article! However, I think the Pirates and the Redhead would like a word with you about being voted out of the attraction
December 27, 2017 at 10:50 PM · To be fair, the OG video is in portrait: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10101188721829163&id=44201033
December 27, 2017 at 10:51 PM · Just move on. It’s inconsequential.
December 27, 2017 at 10:51 PM · Hall of Presidents doesn't follow popular votes either, as Mr. Gore and Mrs. Clinton would testify.

Anyone who records video upright should be tried in the Hague. Really, any amateur who records theme park attractions should realize that there are hundreds or thousands of better recordings online of that show/parade/ride from various perspectives.

I do sense a missed opportunity by Disney. There is so much audio of Trump inciting violence at his rallies, why not have that pre-loaded and flip that switch when necessary?

December 27, 2017 at 11:41 PM · Absolutely despicable behavior. Who are they addressing? Because it sure as hell isn’t Trump. This kind of reaction makes an uncomfortable environment for everyone!
December 28, 2017 at 2:20 AM · Yelling at an animatronic isn't going to change anything. Trump-bot doesn't care.

And, honestly, his speech in the attraction, while it directly contradicts his campaign and rhetoric in real life, is right in line with what every President since Clinton has spoken about in the attraction. It's all about optimism, and the potential for this nation of ours. There's no "build a wall" or "Make America Great Again" or anything divisive of that ilk.

While I'm not personally a fan of Trump (that's as political as I'm going to get in this post), his appearance in this attraction is proper. So is him speaking (via his robot proxy), as Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton were entitled to speak through their own robot proxies since the tradition of having the current President speak was born.

I know many of us have strong feelings for or against current presidents, and I'm no different. But please, respect the integrity of a show that celebrates ALL presidents, not just the current one.

We can certainly argue the sincerity of the statements made by recent presidents in the attraction, but...the attraction itself is not the place for protest. My own personal political stances aside, I think the idea behind this attraction should be respected -- even when the current President is someone I do not like.

I'm not saying "respect the office" because if a person you loathe is representing the office, you are under no obligation to respect them for their job title while ignoring their words and behavior. That's what the First Amendment is all about.

But to shout down a robot in a place where people are just wanting a feel-good experience? Bad form. Let people enjoy the show.

December 28, 2017 at 3:10 AM · What a PRAT!!
December 28, 2017 at 5:28 AM · Like it or not - and I certainly do not - Trump is the man in the big chair. A guest knows going in that Trump is going to be depicted and given a starring role. If you don’t want to see it, stay outside and watch the Muppets instead, they want you to boo poor King George.
December 28, 2017 at 6:29 AM · Hello All.

It's safe to say after a year that some people have completely lost their minds over this president, but let's have some perspective. He certainly isn't the first president in American history that some people have lost their minds over (see...every other American President in history). The difference now is that everyone of all political persuasions has a phone, camera, website, a dozen news feeds that tell them what they want to hear, an apparent inability to control impulse, and finally the ability to broadcast every minute of what they think is important on multiple platforms in an instant...too often also in awful vertical and grainy video.

I'm asking America to please check your politics at the door when entering the park. Actually, please at least consider checking them everywhere else for a while. In the past year people have allowed politics to horribly pollute sports, movies, TV, etc etc etc. These are supposed to be vehicles of fun and escape, and God knows we all need to escape the current environment. I applaud Disney for maintaining the integrity of the attraction, just like they did for the last president, when the current raging mob was happy and the other half of the country was up in arms.

December 28, 2017 at 7:21 AM · There is a guy on Twitter that claims to be the actual person yelling. He too took a video (in landscape mode too- what an American!). However, it appears he did it for attention so I am not posting his handle here. If you are really that interested, you can find him.

It a bit of a silver lining, most if not all of the responses to his tweet and video has been negative and from fellow liberals. No "snowflake" or "liberal tears"....just "you embarrass the cause"

December 28, 2017 at 8:33 AM · Just another loser who never learned how to behave in public.
December 28, 2017 at 8:44 AM · Robert your title says it All.
December 28, 2017 at 9:04 AM · I think we're going to have seven more years of this simply because far too many liberals refuse to understand that the man currently sitting in the office is way ahead of them in the head game. Some Republicans are in in the same boat. They just refuse to accept that he's their standard bearer.

The man can be odious at times, but as someone who voted against him in the primaries and reluctantly voted for him in the general election, I've got to admit that he's fiendishly clever. He's got the liberals and the majority of the news media running around like a dog chasing an imaginary thrown tennis ball, and in the meantime, the serious work is being done behind the scenes by the quiet people.

The man is building his base in the center and on the right because a lot of people are looking past the noise and seeing the results and they're starting to see the substance behind the noise. They're also seeing the lies of the progressives and the news media, and silly acts of ill behavior by this social warrior in the Hall of Presidents only makes Donald Trump look better and better every day.

So, keep clinging to your empty moral victories if you must, but just like Muhammad Ali and his Rope-a-Dope tactics against George Foreman, the harder you try to hit this president the more you're setting yourself up for the sucker punch.

December 28, 2017 at 12:09 PM · I can't stand how you allow this website and especially the comments to be so political. I used to like how your website delivered interesting debates about theme park rides and the future of theme parks. Now I get to read comments calling liberals "snowflakes" See comments above. But since I criticized you, this comment won't go up while the others comments that attack people stay here.
December 28, 2017 at 12:12 PM · I'm looking forward to Tim's followup in 12 months.
December 28, 2017 at 1:52 PM · REMINDER: Some people used to boo the Nixon robot in the Hall of Presidents in the 1970's.
December 28, 2017 at 2:38 PM · Trump is a great American. A man of true character and integrity who never lies and always has the best interests of all Americans at heart. The old Lincoln animatronic should be removed from Disneyland and replaced with President Trump. Donald Trump is that good.
December 28, 2017 at 3:00 PM · I would like to point out Tim that everything you said above can be said about Obama as well. People booed and yelled at his robot (I saw it first hand) and he irritated conservatives for working through a center left agenda.

This guy yelling is news because its on video, its new, and its a little scandalous

December 28, 2017 at 6:33 PM · The guy who did it has been plugging a show, seems like this might have been a publicity stunt.
December 28, 2017 at 10:34 PM · 50,000,000 registered American voters didn't actually cast their ballot in the last Federal election. 50 Million!!! Most believing that one candidate didn't have a prayer and that the one that the news media polls were forecasting was going to be the winner, so why vote?

Now those people know that polls are inaccurate and than next time they better get their butts to the voting stations so that their once silent voices will be heard.

Sitting in a WDW attraction that celebrates all that's great about the American democracy is not the place to shout down a robot. I kind of hoped that Disney would refuse to re-open The Hall of Presidents for 3 more years until this president no longer has the place to talk, and just takes a seat.

And as much as I dislike this man, his lack of common sense and the fact that he has his hands on the codes that could destroy this world as we know it, I wouldn't boo or disrupt this wonderful and dignified presentation. As others have mentioned, the speech is decent, probably took him all this time to record one that Disney would find acceptable.

Lets just hold our noses and bear with it, or just avoid the attraction all together. People can vote with their absence here, if no one visited the attraction at all in protest, Disney would be forced to sit this president down and simply have him listen to the words of far greater men of history and who respected the dignity and integrity of the office they were so fortunate to attain.

Besides I think Disney did their own bit of protesting. I've seen every President in this attraction since George Bush Sr. and all have looked amazing. Trump looks like an Apple-faced doll with a bird's nest on his head.

December 29, 2017 at 7:12 AM · There is a lot of anonymous posting here......
December 29, 2017 at 9:11 AM · To 192.96.192.10 - Better check my profile - I've been around here a long time, and I'll be here in a year. But, if you want an update on my thoughts in a year, you're going to have to sign in and get a handle. I don't give out freebies to Anonymous posters.
December 29, 2017 at 9:51 AM · The anonymous poster at 68.0.238.214 is cracking me up.

“I can't stand how you allow this website and especially the comments to be so political.”

Robert Niles is probably banging his head on his keyboard over that one. This site used to have some real “slobberknockers” (to use Jim Ross’s term) over political issues. Over the past several years we have majorly toned things down, and I view this discussion thread as being rather civilized in comparison.

“Now I get to read comments calling liberals "snowflakes" See comments above.”

I looked over the comments prior to yours. Nobody called liberals “snowflakes.” The only time “snowflake” showed up, it had a “no” in front of it and it referred to the absence of negative comments on another forum critiquing the HOP protester. So you might want to work on the reading comprehension and the logic skills a little. You might also want to do a little self analysis and figure out why the word “snowflake” is so upsetting to you.

“But since I criticized you, this comment won't go up while the others comments that attack people stay here.”

I guess you were wrong.

December 29, 2017 at 11:11 AM · I think Trump's part should have been longer... They did a great job incorporating him into the updated version!
December 29, 2017 at 1:00 PM · See, I thought this story was quite the opposite of political, which is why I came to the table. Calling for an end to this incessant politicization of every single thing in existence has to start somewhere, and it might as well be here. Cheers to Robert for his story.

I consider myself pretty well versed in politics and issues of the day, and able to hold my own in any such discussions. However, these days I've found talking with most people about it similar to a root canal without the painkillers...too much emotion, too little perspective and too little regard for the pursuit of the truth, which contrary to belief doesn't always line up with one's opinion. The majority of the media knows this too, and they play the public against each other like dueling fiddles, so that they may have more clicks, website hits, reposts, comments, and advertising...or to put it plainly, money. Their regard for the stone cold truth and the public good, and their ability to just be plain accurate, is currently on it's best day...highly subject to question. In short, they don't really care so long as the crap keeps flying back and forth.

I could spend a whole lot more time and words, but my point is this. If we at this site all love theme parks and like discussing their finer points, then why the hell are we wasting time talking about politics?

Be gone political comments, and if you truly can't help yourselves... be gone commenters as well, especially anonymous ones who won't own it. Let's talk more about why it's costing me the price of 6 Cedar Fair platinum season passes to take the family to Universal for a day here in a couple of weeks...and why it may perhaps be worth it.

December 29, 2017 at 1:05 PM · The Great thing about opinions is everyone can have one. We all seem to have one, none of them are right or wrong just different. The only thing that makes All of us is Human. Thank you Robert for leaving the comments as they are.
December 29, 2017 at 1:44 PM · Some people are just rude. The show includes all the presidents. And many would say the same thing about Obama as well as Trump. The Hall of Presidents isn't where people should show their bad behavior. That just shows that those people are the problem. I hope this doesn't become a platform for political rants.
December 29, 2017 at 5:50 PM · The person doing the yelling would have gotten 'way more satisfaction by heading approximately southeast to Palm Beach FL where Trump Resort Mar-A-Lago is, and doing his yelling there in a section cordoned off by police for any peaceful-non-violent protesters. He'd get his gripes off his chest, visitors to Hall of Presidents could have just plain ol' seen the show in peace, win-win situation. Just a few more miles, to the southeast/east coast of Florida in the same state he was already in, is all it would have taken.
December 29, 2017 at 9:24 PM · But it has already. In an earlier thread that was becoming politically nasty I made the comment that I didn't feel that TPI was an appropriate venue for political bickering. I was immediately accused of hating America for saying that. I made a similar comment in another thread and was immediately ridiculed. It's become political, like so much in America today. Now I'm waiting for the next attack, which will be the last for me. I don't come in here for that.
December 29, 2017 at 9:37 PM · Slightly off topic, but why does the current president have to speak inside Hall of Presidents at all? If we want to see them speak, we can just flip on the news. The appeal of HoP, for me, is being able to see men like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln brought to life via Disney magic. Take the current president out of the major speaking role and give it to someone we can't see every night.
December 29, 2017 at 10:55 PM · What an obnoxious idiot. Who does he think he is? Everyone is obligated to listen to him instead of enjoying the attraction they decided to go to? Of course, I could say the same about most protestors. They think their opinion is so damn important that they have a right to get in everyone`s faces and disrupt their daily lives.
January 1, 2018 at 8:22 AM · Why not just remove him from the park? I mean if you're blatantly trying to disrupt an attraction I don't see why Disney can't or shouldn't do that.

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