Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we focus on notable album and the reissues they could someday see. Today's special holiday entry pays tribute to the 40th anniversary of a classic LP and beloved theme park attraction.  Welcome to the Hall of Presidents!

"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

These immortal words, when first they were written, proclaimed to the world an idea new among men. They expressed a shining wish for a better way of life. This was the American dream. But that golden goal was not to be had without cost. It was born in adversity, tested by time, perfected and proven only after long experience and trial. This is the drama of a new concept of freedom, of the inspired code of law creating that freedom...

  - Original Introductory Dialogue, "The Hall of Presidents" at Walt Disney World

To many, the star of the 1964 New York World's Fair was Walt Disney.  Attractions premiered by the restless visionary such as It's a Small World and The Carousel of Progress were instant successes, and in the ensuing decades, they have become part of the American cultural firmament.  Near and dear as those attractions were to Disney, however, one stood out from the rest.  Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln was designed for the State of Illinois Pavilion at the Fair, and included the most impressive display of Disney's Audio-Animatronics ever seen.  As David Brinkley reported on television's Huntley-Brinkley Report, "There will be a plastic Abraham Lincoln programmed by tape in a central control room, like a missile. Lincoln sits, stands, moves his tongue, moves his lips, clears his throat, frowns, smiles, looks skeptical, sad, happy, raises either or both eyebrows, registers a total of 15 facial expressions, makes a speech of six minutes and steps back to his chair, whereupon his motors are turned off and choirs burst into song."  Science Digest took note of the marvelous new technology as it brought the 16^th President of the United States of America back to vivid life.

Just one President wouldn't be enough for Walt Disney Productions, however.  Based on the success of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, the design team for The Florida Project, or Walt Disney World, had something even more ambitious in mind: The Hall of Presidents.  Walt Disney himself didn't live to see this attraction's debut, but it's been entertaining and educating visitors to the Lake Buena Vista, Florida park for over 40 years.

In celebration of Presidents' Day, created for George Washington and first celebrated as a federal holiday in 1885, we'll explore the The Hall of Presidents and its original soundtrack album in today's special Reissue Theory!  Just hit the jump!

Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln had successfully opened at Anaheim, California's Disneyland on July 18, 1965, just one day after the park's tenth anniversary.  (The original attraction ran there until 1973, though it has returned over the years and an updated version still runs today at the same Opera House on Main Street USA.)  It was the first of the World's Fair presentations and rides to be installed at Disneyland.  Before his death on December 15, 1966, Walt Disney had envisioned an even more spectacular theme park in Florida, and his team of Imagineers was determined to carry out his plans.  One of Disney's dreams would be realized by reaching back even beyond "Mr. Lincoln."

Original Soundtrack Recording, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (Buena Vista Records LP BV-3981, 1964)

Narration written by James Algar.  Original score composed and conducted by Buddy Baker.  Abraham Lincoln portrayed by Royal Dano.

1. Illinois
2. Lincoln-Douglas Debate
3. Lincoln Autobiography
4. Lincoln Farewell Address
5. Selection from Edward Everett's Speech at Gettysburg
6. Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
7. Letter to Fanny McCullough
8. Finale of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address
9. Preamble to the Constitution
10. Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln
11. Battle Hymn of the Republic

Following Disneyland's 1955 opening, Walt Disney devised "One Nation Under God," an attraction which would feature lifelike figures of all of America's Presidents.  But technology hadn't caught up to his imagination, and the pragmatic dreamer pressed on, instead, with developing just one fully-realized, animated presidential figure.  When Walt Disney World became a reality, the imagineers at WED Enterprises (named for Walter Elias Disney) took inspiration from "One Nation Under God" to create the attraction that became The Hall of Presidents.

The Hall of Presidents joined The Mickey Mouse Revue and the Country Bear Jamboree as one of just three attractions unique to the Florida park when it first opened on October 1, 1971.  (Though the Revue has long since departed, the other two remain operational today.)  A film preceded the Audio-Animatronic portion of the program, recounting American history in brief.  The film touched on the Constitutional Convention, the Whiskey Rebellion, the "Nullification" Crisis of 1832, the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, the Civil War, and finally, one of Walt Disney's favorite topics: progress.  It culminated with the Saturn V rocket launch to the moon.  Lawrence Dobkin narrated, and legendary voice artist Paul Frees (also the narrator of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln) portrayed such figures as George Washington and Stephen Douglas.  The pièce de résistance, however, was the finale, during which all of the American Presidents appeared for a roll call set to, what else, "Hail to the Chief."  Abraham Lincoln reappeared, and his "Great Moments" voice, Royal Dano, once again provided his stentorian tones for a stirring speech that summed up the intensely patriotic program.  "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" provided the last musical grace note to the attraction.

The Hall of Presidents was an instant success for Walt Disney World and its new land of Liberty Square, which had replaced Disneyland's Cajun-themed New Orleans Square.  The 1971 attraction remained largely unchanged for 22 years, although figures of Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush were all added to the finale as each took office.  The entire "E-Ticket" show (the ticket designation used for the park's most desirable attractions) was preserved on a Disneyland Records LP in 1972, clocking in at just under 23 minutes in length.  The soundtrack allowed this solemn, reverential look at American history to reach an even wider audience and whet listeners' appetites for a visit to the new Florida theme park taking the world by storm.

Original Soundtrack Recording, The Hall of Presidents (Disneyland Records, STER-3806, 1972)

Narration written by James Algar and performed by Lawrence Dobkin.  Original score composed and conducted by Buddy Baker.  Abraham Lincoln portrayed by Royal Dano.

1. The Prologue
2. The Constitutional Convention
3. The Whiskey Rebellion
4. South Carolina and Jackson
5. Lincoln-Douglas Debate
6. Lincoln Soliloquy
7. The Civil War
8. The Century of Change
9. The Hall of Presidents

The Hall of Presidents received a major facelift in 1993, with a new narration from poet Maya Angelou.  The revised attraction was considered a response to criticisms from some historians accusing the Hall of whitewashing issues of racial injustice; the new narration addressed the issues of slavery and inequality head-on.  With the addition of Bill Clinton to the Hall, too, came another change: the current President would deliver a speech in his own voice prior to the Lincoln speech (re-voiced in 1993 by Pete Renoudet, replacing Royal Dano).  In 2001, the Hall of Presidents was modified once again, with J.D. Hall replacing Angelou as the narrator, and in 2009, Morgan Freeman took over from J.D. Hall following an extensive upgrade to the show's systems.  Barack Obama re-recorded his taking the Oath of Office, and George Washington was added as a third speaking President.

Walt Disney Records, the successor to Disneyland Records, has in the last year partnered with soundtrack specialty label Intrada to deliver top-notch presentations of film music from the rich Disney library.  Here at Second Disc HQ, we've long hoped that a similar arrangement would allow theme park music to arrive on CD as collector-oriented releases perhaps offered as limited editions to the voracious Disney Parks fan base.  A perfect title to, um, inaugurate this program might be a two-on-one CD preserving the original LP programs of both The Hall of Presidents and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln!  Both albums offered score and dialogue selections from their respective attractions, and are fascinating time capsules of these days gone by at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.  (Great Moments was prominently featured on an entire disc of the fantastic 2009 box set, Walt Disney and the 1964 World's Fair.  The box set added fantastic material unheard on the original LP, but that album has not appeared on CD in its original sequence and presentation.)

These albums were early audio souvenirs from an era where theme park recordings weren't quite as commonplace as they are today; though attractions like The Haunted Mansion, It's a Small World and The Enchanted Tiki Room were also preserved on LPs, the first all-encompassing Official Album of Disneyland/Walt Disney World didn't arrive on the Disneyland record label until 1980.  (That album, appropriately, closed with the Lincoln portion from The Hall of Presidents!)

Our hypothetical track listing follows for such a release follows!

Original Soundtrack Recordings, The Hall of Presidents and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (Walt Disney Records, 2012)

1. The Prologue
2. The Constitutional Convention
3. The Whiskey Rebellion
4. South Carolina and Jackson
5. Lincoln-Douglas Debate
6. Lincoln Soliloquy
7. The Civil War
8. The Century of Change
9. The Hall of Presidents
10. Illinois
11. Lincoln-Douglas Debate
12. Lincoln Autobiography
13. Lincoln Farewell Address
14. Selection from Edward Everett's Speech at Gettysburg
15. Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
16. Letter to Fanny McCullough
17. Finale of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address
18. Preamble to the Constitution
19. Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln
20. Battle Hymn of the Republic
21. Walt Disney Introduction to "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" (*)
22. Pre-Show: The Illinois Story (*)
23. Pre-Show Score to "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" (*)

Tracks 1-9 from The Hall of Presidents, Disneyland LP STER-3806, 1972
Tracks 10-20 from Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, Buena Vista LP BV-3981, 1964
Tracks 21-23 (*) are bonus tracks from Walt Disney and the 1964 World's Fair, Walt Disney Records D000263302, 2009

It's likely that Walt Disney would be thrilled to know that in 2012, both Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln and The Hall of Presidents can still be seen every day in both California and Florida, while the indomitable American spirit is celebrated at the Walt Disney Company's worldwide theme parks.  These attractions have rightfully taken their place alongside other true classics such as It's a Small World and Pirates of the Caribbean, and their music deserves to live on CD as well as in the digital realm.  Sound off below on which other classic attraction soundtracks from Disneyland and Walt Disney World you might like to see on CD, and have a safe and happy Presidents Day!