News Lincoln makes way for Disney movies

[GhostHostJeff]

According to the front age of Miceage.com from Al:

The addition of Voices of Liberty out front this summer has done nothing to help the low attendance at the Mr. Lincoln show. Beginning August 23rd the theater is going to be used for special AP screenings of classic Disney movies on select evenings through October. APs will be able to vote online or at the park for which movies they want to see on the big screen, and then sign up for specific dates and specific movies. The upcoming AP movie nights should be the busiest the 400 seat Mr. Lincoln theater has been in decades

What are your guys opinion on this?

[ohmyjustin]

Re: Lincoln makes way for Disney movies

I just hope that there will still be days that the classic attraction will be shown. I'm glad to see that the theatre is going to see some kind of traffic, though.

[MANEATINGWREATH]

Re: Lincoln makes way for Disney movies

Sounds like either a quick fix or just a reason to shut it down. That's really too bad, didn't it reopen just a couple of years ago?

[sbk1234]

Re: Lincoln makes way for Disney movies

Does this mean that Lincoln will still be shown in the daytime?

[DARTH MAUL]

Re: Lincoln makes way for Disney movies

I like this idea, but it's too bad the attraction's not doing well. It's always struck as a bit out of place in a Disney park, but still nice to see. I just don't think most people get why there's a Lincoln attraction in a Disney park. I say we all tell them the low attendance is due to Miley's photo still being on the wall.

[calsig31]

Re: Lincoln makes way for Disney movies

As long as it's not a permanent replacement, I'm fine with it. It may be kind of fun. However they better not use it as an excuse to get rid of this classic attraction.

[GhostHostJeff]

Re: Lincoln makes way for Disney movies

I personally like the attraction, but I believe the major issue of the attraction is its location. Most people just hop on by going either to Space Mountain or Indiana Jones for the beginning of the day, and won't return to Main Street til they have to leave the park or for shopping. I'm not sure there is any real way to spice up this attraction. But I hope it will exist for years to come.

[DARTH MAUL]

Re: Lincoln makes way for Disney movies

if it doesn't attract people there's no need to make an "excuse" to get rid of it, they just will. However, I doubt that APs are ones neglecting it.

[ShelbyH]

Re: Lincoln makes way for Disney movies

I think it's a good idea. I remember the theater getting quite a bit of traffic the year of the 50th with the Disneyland Story. I think Mr. Lincoln himself is just not very exciting. It was different when audio-animatronics were the height of innovation and Mr. Lincoln looked so very much like Lincoln, but the vast majority of people do not come to Disneyland for a history lesson. Not when there's other attractions to see and little time to see them. And the technology is hardly cutting edge anymore.

[Mr. BuenaVista St.]

Re: Lincoln makes way for Disney movies

Which disney classic movies are we talking here???

[chesirecat]

Re: Lincoln makes way for Disney movies

Eventually, they might take out Lincoln because his showbuilding is bigger than the Emporium, and because when GMWML came out, it was a novelty. Then WDW went with Hall of Presidents, which is much more impressive, and rides like HM and Pirates have many more anmatronics.

There have been plans for literally decades for using the east side of Main Street (backstage area) to build another turn of the century street, and perhaps add a ride. This would involve tunnels for CMs to stock the shops, btw. If they ever do this, they'll probably eye the Lincoln show building as it could accomodate a Mr. Toad sized ride, or more if they rebuilt it.

Because they didn't do the arcade, for crowd control, like Al hinted at, I think they might go with a Main Street expansion in the future.

[Maleficent4811]

Re: Lincoln makes way for Disney movies

I personally like the attraction, but I believe the major issue of the attraction is its location. Most people just hop on by going either to Space Mountain or Indiana Jones for the beginning of the day, and won't return to Main Street til they have to leave the park or for shopping. I'm not sure there is any real way to spice up this attraction. But I hope it will exist for years to come.

I agree with the above post.
I personally really enjoy the Lincoln show but I know myself and DBF are the minority here. It will be sad to see it go if it does, but I will be waiting to hear more about signing up for the AP events as we will be in the parks in Sept.
Hopefully it will be still running the Lincoln show in Dec when I visit with Mom, she loves this attraction.

[ohmyjustin]

Re: Lincoln makes way for Disney movies

Which disney classic movies are we talking here???

Good question. Are they gonna pull stuff from the vault? :/

[Pinrar]

Re: Lincoln makes way for Disney movies

If it needs to go it needs to go. I've said before, this classic attraction doesn't deserve to live the last years of its life on the life support of "nostalgia's sake"

Do an event or something, and send lincoln off with some dignity.

[MANEATINGWREATH]

Re: Lincoln makes way for Disney movies

There's only one solution to the up the attraction's popularity:

Great Moments with Mr.

[Rex Dopey24]

Re: Lincoln makes way for Disney movies

haha lol

[LordVader]

Re: Lincoln makes way for Disney movies

As long as the regular show is still shown during the day, then I will be happy. I don't want to see Lincoln go, it's one of my favorites. If Disney were to close it down, they would feel the wrath of the Disneyland fanbois.

[DisneylandTraveler]

Re: Lincoln makes way for Disney movies

I think it's a good idea. I remember the theater getting quite a bit of traffic the year of the 50th with the Disneyland Story. I think Mr. Lincoln himself is just not very exciting. It was different when audio-animatronics were the height of innovation and Mr. Lincoln looked so very much like Lincoln, but the vast majority of people do not come to Disneyland for a history lesson. Not when there's other attractions to see and little time to see them. And the technology is hardly cutting edge anymore.

Sad but true. Nobody goes to Disneyland for a history lesson. My saying is GMWML is a place kids run by on their way to Indiana Jones or Space Mtn which probably will be broken down by the time they get there. But Lincoln very much is a cutting edge animatronic, probably the most advanced animatronic Disney has - the graceful hand movements are extraordinary. The cost of Lincoln's latest incarnation is said to be over a million dollars. But still few people come. I kind of think they ought to rotate what appears in the theater maybe bringing back Lincoln every few years for an announced limited engagement. Whatever they do, the theater should be left pretty much as is it. It's part of the park's storied history. (During Disneyland construction, the Opera House was used as a carpenter shop).

[Circlevision91]

Re: Lincoln makes way for Disney movies

I know I am a part of that entrenched minority that considers Mr. Lincoln to be a crown jewel. The attraction is one of a very few that still bears the marks of Walt Disney's fingerprints in a deep, profound way. Disneyland is not supposed to be a museum - true. But of the attractions from Walt's era that are in danger of disappearing, losing this one is tantamount to tearing out Walt's apartment to make way for VIP parade viewing... after all, Disneyland isn't a museum, so if the second floor of the fire station can be used for a more popular (and lucrative) purpose than sporadic tours reserved by fanboys with deep pockets, why not?

The flagpole in Town Square bears a plaque containing Walt Disney's dedication of Disneyland, and the core of the dedication states that "Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America with the hope that it will be a source of joy an inspiration to all the world." I understand that having a park wholly dedicated to the purpose to which the dedication plaque refers would be nothing more than Colonial Williamsburg, and the park never has and never can wholly dedicate itself to that one purpose (Walt's original intent was not to wholly do so, but he honored the American idea in many ways in many attractions) but in recent decades we have seen a full-scale retreat from this; the founder's stated dedication. Disney has become a global brand - a stakeholder in globalization as much as any other company. But it must not be forgotten where its roots lie, and in the philosophy of the man who established it.

Mr. Lincoln is a comparatively small reminder of the man who created this park; he idolized Abraham Lincoln as evidenced by his boyhood skits and hijinks with Walt Pfifer, he possessed a profound, if seemingly naive (though I don't think so), faith in the American Dream and the American Experience, and he filled his park with tributes to Americana. Those tributes are fast disappearing to make way for more popular, modern elements that are apt to generate more instant guest recognition. The Rivers of America's attractions (excepting Pirates Lair, which overshadowed a piece of Americana that we all grew up with), the immersive environments of Main Street New Orleans Square (and these are environments... not attractions... so are only indirectly celebrating it if at all) and the Grand Canyon Diorama are the sole elements that celebrate the ideas and dreams and hard facts that created America to any extent. Mr. Lincoln was the only attraction left in this park that celebrated and eloquently articulated the American idea in Lincoln's speech. It was the only one that fully celebrated the American dream. It was the only one that admitted the hard facts of the American experience. And it was the only one where, though enhanced and revised, the entire script and show bore the unsullied fingerprints of the man who built this park.

I get the same feeling in Mr. Lincoln I get when I enter Club 33 or enter Walt's suite. It is something that he approved, he designed, and (excepting Club 33) he walked and dwelt in. Losing this attraction to make way for something "entertaining" speaks volumes not only of changes within the Walt Disney Company itself, but also in the sensibilities of Disneyland guests. Losing this attraction, for me, is losing not just one more shred of the Walt-ness of Disneyland, but also losing a little more faith in the American people who patronize this park. You can say what you want about the American Adventure and Hall of Presidents being more extravagant, but let's not hide the fact that THESE shows are empty compared to just about any other show on the whole WDW resort. The tastes of the American people have changed and I think we've lost a sense and respect for who we are. That may be the media's fault, our school system's fault, our parent's fault... who knows.

Perhaps Lincoln is doomed to die. Pity. We need that speech now more than ever.

[Walt Fan]

Re: Lincoln makes way for Disney movies

Well said Circlevision91!!