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Walt Disney’s Granddaughter Denounces Disneyland’s Animatronic Walt

She warns the two-minute animatronic performance will eclipse her grandfather’s legacy following her unsuccessful plea to CEO Bob Iger.

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The Disney animatronic is made the same way as an existing one of Abraham Lincoln — pictured in construction, left

Overview

  • Disneyland will debut Walt Disney – A Magical Life on July 17, 2025, featuring a lifelike animatronic Walt delivering his own speeches in the Main Street Opera House.
  • Joanna Miller has labeled the robot “dehumanizing,” arguing it reduces her grandfather to a “robotic Grampa” and undermines his human legacy.
  • Miller met privately with Bob Iger and Imagineering to request cancellation but the company declined and redirected media inquiries to its August 2024 press release.
  • Other descendants, including Chris Miller and Tamara Miller of the Walt Disney Family Museum, say they were consulted on the project and support the new attraction.
  • After its first year, Disney will rotate the Walt animatronic with the park’s existing Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln exhibit, showcasing advances in audio-animatronic technology since 1964.