Guests walking through the Hall of Presidents lobby at Magic Kingdom Park this week found yet another new addition to the attraction’s rotating artifact displays, continuing an unusually active year of updates for the historic Liberty Square experience.
An Attraction That Normally Changes on Schedule
The Hall of Presidents typically receives major updates only after a new presidential election, making this year’s frequent changes stand out.
The most recent full refurbishment concluded on June 29, 2025, when Walt Disney World Resort relocated the audio-animatronic figure of President Joe Biden and added a new animatronic honoring President Donald Trump’s return to office. That update also continued a trend started under Biden, shortening the sitting president’s speech so that Trump now delivers only the Oath of Office during the show.
Since then, Walt Disney World Resort has updated the lobby’s artifact displays at least four separate times throughout the year.
Tracking Each Update
The changes began in February, when Walt Disney World Resort removed a basketball once belonging to former President Barack Obama, an item on loan from the Barack Obama Presidential Library. Its removal coincided with the opening of the Obama Center in Chicago, which includes its own basketball court, and the museum likely wanted the artifact returned. A photo of President John F. Kennedy with White House pony Macaroni took its place.
May brought a wave of new additions. Disney added a photo of Harry S. Truman in a World War I-era uniform, along with a WWI mess kit discovered in his sister’s basement and on loan from the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum. Another addition to the same case included a photo of Gerald R. Ford playing football, plus an autographed football gifted to him by the Detroit Lions in 1977, referencing his near-professional football career before he entered politics.
Elsewhere, Disney swapped a dress belonging to Rosalynn Carter for one worn by Bess Truman, adding her library card to the display as well.
July marked another round of changes. A tennis racket that once belonged to President George H. W. Bush joined the collection, a gift from South Korean President Roh Tae-woo during a 1992 visit, accompanied by a photo of the two on a tennis court. Both items are on loan from the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.
That same month, Walt Disney World Resort also added a gown, portrait, and hair comb belonging to Dolley Payne Todd Madison, replacing an earlier dress connected to the same First Lady.
The Newest Addition
This week’s update, reported by WDWNT, brought another new gown to the First Ladies display case. Notably, Walt Disney World Resort left the identifying plaque for the previous dress in place; that dress had belonged to Lucy Webb Hayes, wife of President Rutherford B. Hayes. The new gown may also belong to Hayes, though it lacks its own identifying placard, suggesting Disney may simply not have updated the signage yet.
Despite all these lobby changes, the core Hall of Presidents show has remained unchanged since reopening last year.
Should Walt Disney World Resort continue to update the Hall of Presidents after each new president takes office, or replace the attraction? Share your opinion with Disney Dining in the comments!
