It’s happening! Disneyland’s newest attraction is about to open on July 17th, and we just got a sneak peek inside. We’re kinda freaking out, so let us show you this history-making attraction.

Walt Disney — A Magical Life is a new show coming to the Main Street Opera House and will be a rotating show along with Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. Ever since this was announced at D23, fans have been shocked to hear that a Walt Disney animatronic is being built for the show. Did Imagineering showcase Walt’s legacy? Come with us and find out!

During our first viewing of the new show, we weren’t allowed to take photos or videos — but those are coming soon, so check back here! 

As soon as we saw the outside, we knew we were in for a treat. There’s a new sign that showcases both shows in the theater in classic Main Street, U.S.A. style. The show takes you inside Walt’s office and “will bring together the past, present, and future of Disney storytelling.”

Before we get started with the show, let’s talk about the Opera House itself! Exhibits inside the Opera House have changed. The front lobby has an exhibit on the construction of Disneyland with dozens of framed pieces of concept art, divided by land. There are some rarely exhibited pieces, including some of the Main Street, U.S.A. facades that a Cast Member said are on tissue that is so delicate they don’t want to handle it too much.

Outside the doors to the theater, there is an exhibit about the evolution of animatronics. It shows the Buddy Ebsen “Dancing Man” film from Project Little Man — the very first audio-animatronics experiment Imagineers did — along with animatronics from the Enchanted Tiki Room and “it’s a small world.”

In addition, the photo walls at the back of the room outside the theater now exhibit historic photos of Walt Disney.

The show starts with a short film titled “One Man’s Dream,” narrated by current Disney CEO Bob Iger that goes through the history of Walt’s life. Then, the screen rises to reveal Walt’s office, complete with the Walt Disney animatronic. In his office, there is concept art of Disneyland, books, papers, and a window, with Walt leaning on the edge of his desk — just like you would have seen on TV back in the day.

The Walt animatronic speaks for around three minutes, and the setting of Walt’s office is very intentional, as Imagineers wanted new generations to connect to him in the same way their parents or grandparents might have. The Walt animatronic speaks about perseverance and achieving dreams, along with many familiar quotes. It ends with him saying, “It all started with a mouse,” and with Jiminy Cricket singing, “When you wish upon a star.”

The animatronic really does look like an older version of Walt Disney (Imagineers said it’s supposed to be the 1963 version of him) — he stands tall at one point, and then goes back to leaning on his desk. The animatronic is a first for Disney — with a new “lean to stand” function and movements to talk with his hands that are more advanced than before.

He answers the question, “Out of all the things you did, what was most important to you?” by telling a story of his brother, who was a mailman. He had time to go fishing and was “the happy one.” He wasn’t worried about making payroll.

Cast Members told us that three generations of Walt Disney’s family have seen the show and said the family thought Walt would have really liked the new attraction. In the recreation of the office, you’ll find an exact reproduction of his briefcase, Pinocchio maquette, books on urban development, and a photo of the Mr. Lincoln animatronic, representing Walt’s past, present, and future.

The attraction officially opens on July 17th, and we’re so excited for everyone to feel the magic that we did. Make sure you keep following Disney Food Blog for everything Disney.

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What do you think about Walt Disney — A Magical Life? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.

Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by Disneyland to attend their media preview of Walt Disney — A Magical Life. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ

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