The Big 3 Animatronic Shows

Walt Disney World
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I’m ashamed to say that we have never done any of the big 3 classic animatronic shows at WDW: The Hall of Presidents, Carousel of Progress, or The American Adventure. I know… pitiful.

They all fall into that category of things at WDW that I feel like I need to do, but don’t really look forward to doing… you know?

I’d love to hear everyone’s opinion on their favorite and least favorite of these 3 classics. Which one is a must-do in your opinion, and which one is skippable unless you happen to have the space in your plan and you’re nearby and you need to get off your feet, etc.

Thanks!

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I love COP. Haven’t been in HOP for a while, and do not plan to, but used to enjoy it. And the American Adventure is great, but I always seem to hit it late in the day and nod off :open_mouth:

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I love COP. It’s kind of cheesy but it’s old school Disney nostalgia for me. The song is super catchy too!

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I’ve done Hall of Presidents a long time ago. It is a good way to get a rest in and out of the heat. :slight_smile:

COP is pretty much a much-do thing. Yes, it is dated, etc., but it is actually cool to see what they envisioned the future to be from the various time periods. And yes, the song is super catchy.

Never done the American Adventure.

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Is there usually a long wait for COP? Never done it but might this trip.

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I love COP–it’s a Disney classic (and yes it’s dated). American Adventure makes me feel patriotic. I haven’t done HOP since the most recent update.

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Carousel of Progress is amazing. It’s one of my very favorite attractions in all of WDW,

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I generally skip all 3. On our last trip in Aug 2016 DS then 11 insisted on doing HOP. He loved it and it wasn’t as bad as I remembered. The new version is supposed to be good.

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I’ve done all three multiple times but not the new version of HOP. We all enjoyed all of them, ages adult to 6 year old. We do COP every trip and hit the other two if we need a break, have extra time, etc.

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I love Carousel of Progress. That is the only one I will do though. Unless my dad drags me into American Adventure - and then I take a nap. I used to get dragged into HOP for another nap, but none of us are going near there anymore.

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Thanks y’all. Sounds like COP is a must-do… and maybe American Adventure if we have time on one of our Epcot days.

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@hcerar - There is rarely a long wait for COP. It has multiple theater seating sections that rotate around the central stages. You may have to wait 5-10 minutes for a segment to arrive at the entrance/exit. This is very sparsely attended.

The other two shows are in big theaters - you have to wait for the whole show to be done before another batch of audience can enter. Longer waits.

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COP is a must for me.

HOP I find pretty boring (but I grew up in the Philadelphia area, so the whole “colonial” theme is old hat for me).

American adventure also falls a little flat for me for the same reason, but I do love the song and the finale is great.

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Has anybody experienced American Adventure since the recent updates? What was updated?

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I rode the “original” COP at the NY Worlds Fair in '65 (I was 6), so it will always have a high nostalgia factor for me (ditto iasw). Based solely on “production value”, I would say American Adventure is the winner; it has film and AAs, well synchronized, tells the whole history of the country (in isolated episodes), and has a full orchestral and choral soundtrack. They just upgraded the projection system; I hear that it has never looked or sounded better. HOP was one of the original attractions that opened in '71, and at the time it often had 2-plus hour waits. Although subtle, I could argue that the 40-plus AAs created for the show are amongst the most impressive that Disney has created. It was closed for most of a year and reopened with the current President added as well as a whole new film.

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They replaced the projection system and upgraded the quality of the video to 4K digital. The final video montage was reworked/updated and “Golden Dream” was re-recorded with new artists (IMHO, 3rd time was NOT the charm; they never should have gotten rid of the original version). You can find it on YouTube.

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I was bored in American Adventure and my DH had to go to the bathroom so we left before it finished. Just saw COP for the first time in November and I thought it was great! Looking forward to HOP in June.

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COP is a must do for my family. We all love it. We have done it more than once in a trip as well. American Adventure is great too. I’ve never done HOP for various reasons but plan to in April.

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I like CoP but my family finds it obnoxious and boring. I love the song, am singing it right now and will probably have it stuck in my head the rest of the day. Thank you!!! I am not an american so I can’t speak for patriotic value but I found AA a lot more fun than HoP, and I also love the song Golden Dream (loved? I haven’t heard the new version @bswan26 speaks of… the horror!!! Can’t they leave well enough alone?). Go for CoP if you have the chance!

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I saw the American Adventure last year and was amazed by it. Incredible engineering effort.

I wanted to see Hall of Presidents, but it was being refurbished. I plan to see it this year, along with Caroussel of Progress, which I didn’t make time for last time.

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