REVIEW: New Walt Disney Audio-Animatronics Figure & Show at Disneyland

This week, “Walt Disney – A Magical Life” debuts with the first-ever Walt Disney Audio-Animatronics figure. The show is located in Disneyland Park and will open with a new virtual queue.

We got an early look at this show ahead of its official opening on July 17. I've already written a lot about the positioning and details on this new figure from when I visited Walt Disney Imagineering a couple of months ago. Now, here's my review of the new figure after seeing the entire show ahead of the opening.

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New “Walt Disney – A Magical Life” Disneyland Show Review

Before we even get into the new Walt Disney Audio-Animatronics show, there's an interesting new pre-show exhibition looking at Disneyland history (we have documented it here). The exhibit includes artifacts and working Audio-Animatronics (cool!) from the Walt Disney Family Museum, Walt Disney Imagineering, and the Walt Disney Archives.

Once you enter the theater, the show starts off with a version of the “One Man's Dream” movie, which is also shown in Walt Disney World, and then leads into the figure. The movie provides a fantastic overview of Walt Disney's life, told in his own words, and very artfully leads into the reveal of the new figure. With that context, the figure has more meaning and builds upon what we were just shown about the man in the film. The movie also features new home video footage shared by the Walt Disney Family Museum for the project.

The curtain rises, and there is the figure of Walt Disney leaning on his desk. He launches into a response to what he is most proud of, using a mix of different audio snippets from Walt Disney. I generally enjoyed the selection of quotes and the message that they imparted. The best quote of his presentation is a moment where he compares his role at the Disney Studio to a bee pollinating all the different teams at the studios with ideas. Imagineers shared that the dialogue was chosen to capture his philosophy on life and demonstrate the mix of humility and pride Walt felt about what he created.

Initially, the figure is leaning on his desk, and then it stands up and takes a casual step towards the audience. This casual fluid movement and the twinkle in his eye, which is new Imagineering technology, are the two most impressive feats that stick out to me. Imagineering also packed other lifelike movements into the figure, including drumming of the fingers, raising of the eyebrow, chuckles, and slight glances that make the figure feel quite human at times. They were also able to get highly specific with the details of the figure based on information from the Walt Disney Family Museum. They provided rings he wore, details on the fabric for his suit, and a bronze sculpt of his hands that they modeled the figure's hands on.

All of these different aspects come together to deliver a feeling of Walt Disney. They captured his essence with the figure, even if it was not a 100% photo copy of the man.

Throughout the presentation, I was thinking at different times – “wow, that is Walt Disney in front of me” and “wow, that is a really impressive robotic Audio-Animatronics figure of Walt Disney.” The moments when it did feel completely like Walt hit home for me, and it's something you have to see in person to believe.

In both trains of thought (Walt Disney in front of me and the robot), I was sitting there pleased that the show exists and that the Walt Disney Company is honoring Walt Disney the man in this way. There was so much care and love taken to deliver this new figure, and it shows through. Combine the show with the new welcome pre-show gallery featuring Disneyland, and you have an important tribute to the history of Walt Disney in the theme park that has impacted so many people's lives. With this figure, Disneyland continues to demonstrate the value they place on Disney history and demonstrate that they understand how important staying connected to that history is as the company moves forward.

The figure is positioned in front of a backdrop that features carefully recreated objects from Walt Disney's own office, which has now been faithfully restored on the Disney Studios lot (I visited last year). The Imagineering team shared that they were intent on making it really feel like you had just dropped in on Walt Disney on a casual afternoon, and that he was at home here working on his next project.

You can see his map of Disneyland with marks of where things were coming soon, along with the photo of the Audio-Animatronic Lincoln that now also shares a home with this show. Below the desk is a replica of his briefcase that he would carry with him every day. This is just another example of how in-depth they went to deliver this show.

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Videos do not do this new Walt Disney figure justice, nor do they properly capture the tone that is built up to the reveal of the figure. I also think it is important to remember how omnipresent footage of Walt Disney is in our lives as fans. Even those of us who didn't know him have a deep feeling of what he should look like from his TV clips and interviews over the years.

I think of the original Abraham Lincoln Audio-Animatronics figure. We don't look at videos and photos of Abraham Lincoln all the time, so there is no comparison between the footage and the man. We are also looking up at Walt Disney from the seats below in a way that no footage or photographs were ever staged, which emphasizes the figure's thicker neck.

There has been a little bit of a mixed reaction on social media thus far, with some expressing that the figure could look more like Walt. It's important to note that the first reaction people have to something new on social media is not indicative of the ultimate reception of the attraction.

We have experienced this multiple times in recent years. There is really no way to ever capture the magic of a live theme park experience through the lens of a camera. People always initially come in swinging with very opinionated takes when the first footage is released, but it takes time (and many different people experiencing the attraction over this period of time) to define the ultimate public consensus. I expect that the final general commentary on this attraction will be a positive one.

Some quick tips on viewing – you should see this show the next time you are in Disneyland. Sit in the front section of the theater and not in the back sections. I sat in both today and found that the audio, specifically during the segment with the figure, is not as good in the back as it is in the front. Make sure to get a front section seat. This is not a new issue with this theater. We had the same tip when seeing Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln when that show ran here.

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