On Monday, January 20, 2025, Disneyland Park flew the American flag in two different manners. The flag which flies above the Disneyland Train Station was flown at half-staff while the flag in Town Square was flown full-staff.
The American Flag has never been flown at half-staff on an Inauguration Day. However, after the death of President Jimmy Carter, flags were ordered by President Joe Biden to be flown at half-staff until January 29 to honor the former president. This landed Inauguration Day nine days before the nations’ flags were to be returned to full-staff.
Per USA Today, governors in many Republican-led states ordered flags to be temporarily raised to full-staff for President Donald Trump on Inauguration Day 2025.
However, this order was not limited to to Republican-led states, as New York, Colorado, and California state governors also ordered flags to be hoisted on January 20 for the inauguration and returned to half-staff on January 21 to continue the nation’s mourning period.
Disneyland Park, located in Anaheim, California, made the call to follow both declarations.
The flag located at the top of the Disneyland Train Station was left at half-staff in remembrance and honor of the late President Carter who passed away on December 29, 2024 at age 100. However, both the American Flag and California State Flag located in Town Square were hoisted to full-staff to follow the traditions of Inauguration Day.
Regardless of their status on Inauguration Day, flags across the nation, including those at Disneyland, will return to half-staff on January 21 and remain so until January 29, a full 30 days after Carter’s death.
The only other time the American Flag has been ordered to be raised to full-staff during a mourning period was in February 1973 following the death of President Lyndon Johnson. This was also a one-day order by President Richard Nixon to honor prisoners of war being released from Vietnam.
In other Inauguration Day news, Walt Disney World has closed The Hall of Presidents at Magic Kingdom to prepare for the return of the Donald Trump Audio-Animatronic to center stage. The attraction is currently roped off with a sign stating “Closed for Refurbishment” sitting outside the entrance to the attraction.
With his re-election as President of the United States, Donald Trump will be the first to have their Audio-Animatronic moved back to center stage in The Hall of Presidents, should Disney keep to tradition with the attraction. The Joe Biden Audio-Animatronic will presumably be relocated to another location onstage.
Source: USA Today
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