Disney Unveils New Animatronic Trump

He's the latest addition to the Hall of Presidents
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 19, 2017 4:29 AM CST

Disney World's revamped Hall of Presidents is set to reopen Tuesday, with Barack Obama shifted to the side and a new robot with an extra-long tie center stage. The animatronic President Trump figure, which stands between Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses Grant, moves its hands as it recites dialogue Trump recorded for the Florida attraction earlier this year, the Orlando Sentinel reports. "Above all, to be American is to be an optimist—to believe that we can always do better—and that the best days of our great nation are still ahead of us," says the robo-Trump. The attraction has featured a speech from every sitting president since Bill Clinton.

The attraction, which made its debut in 1971 and features all 45 presidents, had been closed since a few days before Trump's inauguration for refurbishing, the New York Times reports. When Disney said it wouldn't reopen in late June as originally scheduled, there was speculation that Trump had been omitted or at least denied a speech, as a 15,000-signature demanded. Reviews from visitors who got a preview of the animatronic Trump on Monday were mixed, with those who voted for the flesh-and-blood Trump most impressed by the robotic version. On social media, meanwhile, some called the figure "creepy," while others said it looks a lot more like Jon Voight than the president, People reports. (More Disney World stories.)

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