DHI Podcast 050 – An Unusual History of Audio-Animatronics
In this episode, we explore the possibility that a 1934 World’s Fair attraction may have inspired Walt Disney to design his own Hall of Presidents for a never-built section of Disneyland called Liberty Street in 1957. Just like the “Talking Presidents” show at the World’s Fair, the original concepts for the Liberty Street version of the Hall of Presidents would feature both Lincoln and Washington. The show also covers the development of the Gene Kelly animatronic in the late-1980s. But to help illustrate the early sections of the podcast, I’m posting up a photo of the 1934 “Talking Presidents” and also a bird’s-eye map of the Colonial area at the Fair, an area that may have also served as inspiration for the never-built Liberty Street at Disneyland and (later) Liberty Square at Walt Disney World. Click on the photos to expand them. Links to the podcast are below: look for episode 050.
Episode Links:
iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/j34rl38
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=85297&refid=stpr
GooglePlay: http://tinyurl.com/jurtey3
I-Heart-Radio: http://tinyurl.com/zlnbn5a
DHI Podcast 050 – An Unusual History of Audio-Animatronics
Episode Links:
iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/j34rl38
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=85297&refid=stpr
GooglePlay: http://tinyurl.com/jurtey3
I-Heart-Radio: http://tinyurl.com/zlnbn5a
I really enjoy the Ccolumbia trip at Disneyland,and if you have little ones, ask a cast member and they will takethem to ring the ship and get a certificate that theyrang the bell on the Columbia at Disneyland.
You know, with all the concerns being aired nowadays about artificial intelligence and “killer robots”, I’m always reminded about Uncle Walt’s Animatronic figures and wonder what he would say in response to those concerns, were he still alive today.
Hi thought. It was real