Will Disneyland's Abe Lincoln be deposed by Kermit the Frog and the Muppet gang?
"Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln," which features a robot replica of the 16th president, will close at least temporarily Aug. 26, Disneyland spokesman Bob Roth said Friday.Roth would not comment on employee reports that a 3-D movie featuring the late Jim Henson's Muppet characters will replace Lincoln. But he did say no reopening date for the 25-year-old Lincoln attraction had been set.
"It's a refurbishing of that whole facility," said Roth. "We'll be announcing our plans."
The Lincoln attraction is housed in the Disneyland Opera House, which also holds exhibits on the park and its founder, Walt Disney.
Disney himself developed the "audio-animatronic" Lincoln, which premiered at the 1964 New York World's Fair and moved to Disneyland in 1965. Lincoln stands up from a chair, gestures and recites excerpts from his speeches.
Disney "was extremely proud of creating that figure," Roth said. The Lincoln attraction underwent a $200,000 renovation about five years ago.
According to park employees, the Muppet movie is replacing Lincoln as part of Disneyland's effort to give a higher profile to Henson's characters.