The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (65 page)

An elegantly clad Cast Member alerts Guests when show time nears, and then the theater doors swing open automatically.  Guests
enter the dim theater, where a royal blue curtain screens the stage.  Generally Guests are asked to proceed about three quarters of the way down the row they choose, and to fill in all empty spaces, especially if attendance is heavy.

Once the audience is seated the Cast Member delivers
a brief pre-show spiel and the show begins.  An expectant hush falls over the audience as the curtains open and the music swells.

I expected to like
Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln
, and I’d go so far as to state that I
wanted
to enjoy
Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln
.  However, I’m sorry to report that I disliked
Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln
.  I don’t write that lightly.  Lincoln has been one of my heroes since third grade, and one of my
Disneyland
heroes,
Tony Baxter
, was involved in the
Lincoln
re-launch.  So throughout the performance I kept waiting to like the show, wanting to be swept up in it.  I gave it every chance.

Guests should attend this show and make up their own minds.  Lincoln was arguably the greates
t U.S. President to date, and the development of the
Lincoln AA
figure was one of
Disney Imagineering
’s greatest triumphs.

T
he
Lincoln
figure appears two thirds of the way through the 15 minute show.  The performance begins with a lengthy slide show of sketches, paintings, narration, and music detailing Lincoln’s life.

While
Lincoln’s biography is interesting, most Guests will have learned the information presented here in grade school.  The narrator is
Paul Frees
, a marvelous
Disney
voice actor, but it’s disconcerting to hear the
Haunted Mansion
’s
Ghost Host
–and the voice actor who brought “Boo Berry” to life (so to speak)–declaiming
Lincoln
’s virtues.  Overall, although it was moving in its day, this biographical portion of the program now seems outdated.  In recent decades, documentary
wunderkind
Ken Burns and his brother Ric Burns have transformed our expectations of what a documentary can be with their accomplished PBS films. 
Disney
might do well to partner with one of the brothers to update the Lincoln biography segment.

The biographical opening
sequence segues to another lengthy act, this one focused on the Civil War.  Set to a depressing version of the song “Two Brothers,” the Civil War segment features actual period photographs from the Civil War, including one of a corpse.

This act is grim. 
Disney
magic
seems absent during this part of the presentation; one almost feels transported back to a classroom in the 1970’s. 
Walt
didn’t want Guests to shy away from “hard facts,” but this seems a bit intense.

“Two Brothers” is a folk song about the Civil War.  Though
the tune has a 19
th
-century feel, it was actually written in 1951 by Irving Gordon.  It’s a pretty song, but tremendously sad.  Sample lyric:  “Cannonball don’t pay no mind / If you’re gentle or if you’re kind / It don’t think of the folks behind / Or of a beautiful morning.”  Brother really did fight against brother during the Civil War, a bloody, divisive, heart-rending civil conflict whose wounds, as well as victories, are still felt today.  Is
Disneyland
a proper venue for diving into that pool of pathos?

After “Two Brothers” and the Civil War montage conclude,
inner curtains part and the new
Lincoln
figure is finally revealed.  This is where the show comes to life. 
Disneyland
’s
Lincoln
is life-size and marvelously life-like.  The figure sits calmly for a moment, radiating that famous presence, then slowly but fluidly stands.  It knocks your socks off.

Lincoln
’s movements are almost frighteningly realistic; it’s nearly a “Westworld” moment when he stands up.  On a second visit to this attraction I dragged my sister along; she has eyes like an eagle and ears like, well, a creature that hears really well.  When
Lincoln
stood, she heard a toddler in the row behind us say quaveringly “I don’t like him!”  The child sounded truly scared.  So if you’re planning to visit this attraction, prepare your little ones if they’re sensitive or impressionable; let them know it’s all fun pretend and that
Lincoln
never leaves the stage.

Disneyland
’s
Lincoln
delivers his famous speech about liberty, the one the original
Lincoln
figure gave at the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair, his gestures and facial expressions subtle, graceful, and compelling.  This new figure has new skin, new eyes, new programming, new everything, and it shows.  Probably the most advanced
AA
figure yet,
Lincoln
also benefits from a remastered soundtrack,
Royal Dano
’s voice sounding richer and cleaner in timbre than ever before.

Just when
Lincoln
has hypnotized you and made you forget all about the 1970’s-esque presentation that preceded it, his captivating speech ends; he sits down and patriotic music swells. Like the best entertainment (and education), the
Lincoln
figure leaves you wanting more.

The
n begins the finale, patriotic and sincerely meant, but it’s a bit much, and it lasts too long.  Whether you’re sitting in the front row or back row, Julia Ward Howe’s “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” an iconic and beloved piece of music, is played so loudly it almost blasts Guest out of their seats.  If the Civil War segment felt like a 1970’s anti-war PSA, the ending feels almost hysterically patriotic.

When Guests leave the theater through the doors on the right, they enter
an exit corridor decorated with paintings and placards about great Americans, from inventor Thomas Edison (one of
Walt
’s favorite historical figures) to watershed pop stars like Elvis Presley and Lucille Ball.

Strolling back into the lobby
after our initial viewing of the new
Great Moments
, my niece and I discussed what we’d liked and disliked about the attraction.  The main problem was that it simply didn’t feature enough
Lincoln
.  He was the star and the best part of the show.

S
ubsequent research revealed no surprises.  As I’d suspected, the autobiographical, Civil War, and finale segments of the performance were recycled segments, rehashed from previous incarnations of the attraction.  Hence their dated feel.  Lincoln was the greatest U.S. President, and one of
Walt
’s heroes.  It would seem he deserves an updated presentation.

Although
Lincoln
’s timeless liberty speech had been the centerpiece at the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair,
that’s
what still works, those immortal words that the real Lincoln once delivered, the ageless evocation of the spirit of liberty.  As delivered by a
Disneyland
’s new
Lincoln
, the liberty speech stirs a whole new audience of park-goers, making it worthwhile to see this show.

Over the last few years I’ve attended
Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln
many times, trying to see if I’m missing something.  My reaction is always the same.  But ultimately, whatever the shortcomings of this attraction, it serves an important purpose.  In December of 2011, while examining the masterful Lincoln portraits in the antechamber, I saw a father carrying his son on his shoulders in front of the “Gettysburg Address” plaque.  The father quietly read Lincoln’s immortal words to the boy, who listened attentively. 
This
is the heart of what
Walt
wanted when the attraction was created–for Lincoln’s words, wisdom, and spirit to live on in future generations.  And they do
.
 
Did You Know?
  Abraham Lincoln was one of
Walt
’s greatest heroes.  Biographer
Bob Thomas
reports in his book
Walt Disney: An American Original
that in the fifth grade,
Walt
dressed up like the former president for Lincoln’s Birthday, impressing the principal so much that he brought the costumed
Walt
to visit each classroom.  Lincoln’s well-known commitment to liberty, equality, honesty, unity, and patriotism spoke deeply to
Walt
throughout his lifetime.  Extremely patriotic, when a teenage
Walt
learned he was too young to serve in the military during World War I, he joined the American Red Cross and worked in France as the war ended.  Lincoln, the great orator and
Walt
’s hero, made an excellent subject for
Disney
’s first human, full-size
AA
figure. 
Walt
was in his 60’s when his team’s
Audio-Animatronic Lincoln
enchanted and inspired visitors to the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair and then Guests at
Disneyland
.  It was marvelous that
Walt
lived to see
Lincoln
take up residence in his
magical
park; not long after that,
Walt
passed away. 
Did You Also Know?
 
Disneyland
is the only
Disney Theme Park
with an
Opera House
.  Even in the early
Herb Ryman
illustration, an
Opera House
appears–but it was on the west, not east side of
Town Square
.  There really was an
Opera House
in
Marceline, Missouri
,
Walt
’s childhood hometown. 
Cater’s Opera House
stood on Kansas Avenue.  It was a two-story brick establishment, not as fancy as the
Disneyland
Opera House
but impressive no doubt to a young
Walt
, who would’ve seen films and shows there.  Communities large and small in the early days of 20
th
century almost always had some entertainment center where residents could enjoy plays, vaudeville, concerts, and movies.
Did You Also Know?
 
Royal Dano
, who voiced the original and present
Lincoln
figures, was a prolific character actor with a distinctive voice and a hollow-cheeked visage not unlike Lincoln’s.  Beyond his work for
Disney
, he appeared in many westerns and films and TV shows as varied as “The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries,” “Little House on the Prairie,” “The Right Stuff” and “Twin Peaks”. He passed away in 1994, but his voice and work live on forever.
Royal
also has a living legacy:  Grandson
Hutch Dano
is a young actor who carries on the family tradition. 
Hutch
portrayed skateboarder
Zeke Thatcher
in
Zeke and Luther
, a
Disney XD
TV series that launched in June 2009. He also starred in
Den Brother
, a
Disney Channel Original Movie
(
DCOM
) that premiered on August 13, 2010, and has appeared in episodes of “Law and Order:  Los Angeles” and “White Collar”.
Abe Vision:
  For a masterful portrayal of Abraham Lincoln, view Steven Spielberg’s film
Lincoln
(2012), in which Daniel Day-Lewis, aided by sparkling direction, script, and supporting cast, brings to vivid life President Lincoln and the indelible importance of his achievements.  My sister and I attended a sneak preview of the film, presented by KCET’s Cinema Series, on October 23, 2012.  As the textured, complex film concluded with Lincoln’s inevitable demise, there wasn’t a dry eye in the theater. Oscar-nominated
Lincoln
was distributed by
Touchstone
in the U.S.
Touchstone
is a
Disney
division. 
FastPass:
  No.  Guests are free to enter the
Opera House
lobby and browse the
Disneyland
treasures on display at a self-guided pace (just be considerate of other Guests).  Cast Members keep Guests apprised of the time of the next
Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln
show.  Once it’s time to be seated, the spacious theater holds all waiting Guests. 
Kid’s Eye View:
  I didn’t like [
Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln
].  There’s a picture of a dead body, and
Lincoln
looks like he’s in space. 
Teen’s Eye View:
  My last impression of this attraction is that it was a bit dull and kind of strange … a child might be fascinated or bored by it; it all depends on the child.