The History of Mr Lincoln's Preshow?

[X-S Tech]

By now most of us are familiar with the Illinois Story, the preshow to Great Moments with Mr Lincoln that played at the World's Fair. Can anyone tell me anything about the preshows (if any) that played at DL under different sponsors? I know that Gulf Oil Co. and Lincoln Saving's and Loan (no jokes please) both sposored the show at DL and I'm curious if they had unique preshows. I guess after the show became The Walt Disney Story, the preshow was devoted to Walt. Thanks in advance.

 

[Eric Paddon]

The Persistence Of Vision issue on the World's Fair explains the original Disneyland pre-show. "The Lincoln Story" was written by James Algar and was a full six minutes of Royal Dano as Lincoln narrating details about his life illustrated by a number of art murals.

I would assume that the entire Disneyland pre-show is derived from the expanded autobiography sketch one hears on the expanded "Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln LP" (as opposed to the abbreviated version which was used at the Fair) as well as the other famous Lincoln quotations unique to that LP.

 

[X-S Tech]

Whoah there's another Mr Lincoln album? Which one was released through Wonderland Music, the abbreviated or the Expanded?

 

[Eric Paddon]

The Wonderland one would be the expanded one. The short one is the small 7 inch one that was available to Fair visitors by mail order and has a slightly altered version of the Fair pre-show on side 1 (eliminating the children reciting facts and figures about Illinois and the instructions to step into the theater) and the main show on side 2.