The Walt Disney Story opened to guests of the Magic Kingdom in April 1973. It was located just inside the main entrance to the park in its own building on Main Street USA. Before entering one of the two 300-seat theaters that showed the film, guests could peruse various pieces of Walt Disney and Walt Disney Studios memorabilia found throughout the pre-show waiting area as well as a huge mural that featured close to 200 of Disney’s most loved characters.
Once seated in one of the two theaters (each showing an identical version of the film) guests were treated to a montage of clips and interviews detailing the life of Walter Elias Disney as well as the story of how Walt Disney World came to be.
After the show, guests exited into a post-show area that featured models and previews of upcoming parks and attractions that were swapped out to keep with the current goings on of the Walt Disney World property.
Throughout its time, the Walt Disney Story saw a few temporary closures while the building was used for alternate means such as preview centers for upcoming parks and even Olympic celebrations. Many guests may remember the animatronic owl that spoke on a myriad of topics, depending on what the space was being used for. Unfortunately for the owl and for the wonderful film, the attraction officially closed in October 1992.
After its closure, the building, and its theaters were been used for small, temporary attractions such as celebrating WDW’s 25th Anniversary or the 100th Anniversary of Walt’s birth. For the most part, however, the attraction space housed a myriad of displays related to photography and was renamed the Town Square Exhibition Hall, until it was closed in 2010 to make way for a meet and greet location.
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