A new video has debuted in the lobby of Great Moments with Mr.Lincoln at Disneyland Park, and tells the story of the relationship between the 16th president and abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
In striving to create a culture of inclusion for cast and guests to feel seen and heard, the highly collaborative project team included representatives from Walt Disney Imagineering, National Geographic, and the Disneyland Resort PULSE Business Employee Resource Group (BERG), which advocates for cast members of African and Caribbean descent and backgrounds. Together, they worked to bring the story of Douglass and Lincoln’s friendship and fight against slavery to a 9-minute documentary now playing in the Main Street Opera House at Disneyland park.
In April 2022, a bust and portrait of Douglass were installed in the lobby next to those of Abraham Lincoln, whose story has been told in “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln” since the attraction opened in 1965. Now, the National Geographic pre-show video narrated by ABC anchor Robin Roberts provides guests and cast members a deeper look into Douglass’ legacy as a former slave who rose to be a powerful leader in the abolitionist movement and the relationship between the two men. The video includes testimonials from Douglass’ third great-grandson Kenneth B. Morris, Jr., and Dr. John Stauffer, a leading expert on anti-slavery and the Civil War era.
You can watch the pre-show video now in the lobby of the Main Street Opera House, and is expected to be a long running installation, lasting beyond Black History Month at Disneyland Park. You can see a full video of the new offering below.