After experiencing almost a year of delays, Walt Disney World’s Hall of Presidents opened again Tuesday for the debut of the animatronic version of President Trump that will take its place among the previous 44 presidents in the exhibit, says the Orlando Sentinel. Some visitors in the park Monday night were given the chance to see the new figure then, and the reviews are mixed.
The initial announcement the animatronic figure would be created in the first place raised some mixed reviews of its’ own. Despite it being a tradition that all presidents of the United States receive a figure, some who don’t support Trump thought it would be in poor taste to include him due to controversy, or at least, his voice. A petition urging Disney to not allow Trump’s figure to give the traditional speech its predecessors have reached more than 15,000 votes. However, Disney decided to follow the tradition that every sitting president has recorded a speech for the attraction, starting with Bill Clinton.
Disney just reopened its Hall of Presidents attraction with a brand new addition — President Trump. pic.twitter.com/SXGt1CRE42
— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 19, 2017
The result? A surprisingly presidential speech from the animatronic Trump. Though complete with the customary and frankly ridiculous amount of hand gesturing, there are no “weird asides about. . . building a wall.” The animatronic Trump ends his speech by saying that it “is a privilege to serve as the president of the United States, to stand here among so many great leaders of our past and to work on behalf of the American people.”
Those who are fans of Trump seem to only find a quarrel with the fact that Trump’s infamously long, past-the-buckle tie is not red, but instead striped and blue. Otherwise, they think it looks presidential and just like Trump. They are firmly of the belief that it belongs in the exhibit.
People who dislike Trump in varying degrees have a few more problems with the figure that go beyond its appearance. They, overall, don’t think it’s appropriate that a president who has a tendency to make inappropriate and controversial comments as easily as most people breathe.
Beyond the disapproval of Trump as a figure in general, there are also some qualms about the general appearance of the animatronic. There are quite a few people who have noted it doesn’t really look much like Trump. Some have taken to Twitter to discuss this:
Take the family to Disney’s Hall of Presidents for nightmares that will last a lifetime pic.twitter.com/Fs4zSjQae4
— Jessie Lahr (@JessieLahrr) December 19, 2017
Disney gave the job of Trump in the Hall of Presidents to Jon Voight and I can’t stop laughing. pic.twitter.com/dtu4PnqPv4
— Wil Spillane (@2xUEss) December 19, 2017
Why does the Donald Trump Animatronic at the Hall of Presidents look like Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders had a baby? pic.twitter.com/kEsSepjAaR
— Ayden (@hascerflef) December 18, 2017
If there’s one true difference (or improvement) between the animatronic Trump and the real one, though, it’s definitely this: The animatronic doesn’t have the ability to tweet.