Mr. Lincoln Returning and Disney Gallery Coming to Main Street
In the Current �Bank of Main Street�
Begins March 16 as Main Street Opera House Prepares
For �Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln� Homecoming
(February 25,
2009) A longtime favorite of Disneyland guests will return as �The Disneyland
Story, featuring Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln,� an enhanced version of the
show which appeared, in various forms, in the Main Street Opera House at
Disneyland park from 1966 through 2004 . The attraction will reopen later this
year in celebration of the 200th anniversary year of Abraham Lincoln�s
birth.
The current Opera House presentation, �Disneyland: The First 50
Magical Years,� will go on hiatus beginning Monday, March 16, in preparation for
the new �Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln� show. When the updated �Disneyland
Story, featuring Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln� opens later this year,
�Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years� will be presented as part of the
�Disneyland Story� display of art, models and mementoes in the Opera House
lobby.
Also planned for fall 2009 is a prominent new home on Main Street,
U.S.A., for The Disney Gallery. Formerly located above Pirates of the Caribbean
in New Orleans Square, The Disney Gallery houses treasured Disney artwork and
collectibles representing creative efforts from throughout The Walt Disney
Company. A frequently changing exhibit area often includes
never-before-displayed art. The Disney Gallery�s new home will be in the Bank of
Main Street building, located next door to the Main Street Opera House and
currently serving as the headquarters for Disneyland Resort Annual Passport
processing. The Bank will continue to operate as an Annual Passport center until
mid-summer 2009. After that, Annual Passport processing will move to the Plaza
Pavilion, near the entrance to Adventureland.
The original �Great Moments
with Mr. Lincoln� was created by Walt Disney and his Imagineers for the State of
Illinois Pavilion at the 1964 New York World�s Fair and featured the world�s
first fully animated human Audio-Animatronics figure, built by Walt Disney
Imagineering. The show, made its Disneyland debut in the Main Street Opera House
on July 18, 1965.
-- Posted February 26, 2009