Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress is a show for all ages presented in a revolving theater in the Tomorrowland area of Magic Kingdom theme park. The show tells the story of the evolution of technology in the 20th century. The 21-minutes stage show is located in Tomorrowland's central hub. Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress is open seasonally.
Since 1964, generations of families have enjoyed this classic stage show starring a remarkable family of Audio-Animatronic performers. Travel through time from decade to decade as the family discovers fantastic new technologies that make their lives more easy, comfortable and fun-and sometimes a bit more complicated!
The theater for Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress is almost as impressive as the show. The audience rotates around a central stage, which allows a new group of Guests to take a seat every few minutes, instead of having to wait the full length of the show. This ingenious piece of technology is the perfect way to frame a show about the power of innovation.
Originally named General Electric Carousel of Progress, the show was personally created by Walt Disney for the 1964-65 New York World's Fair. It played at Disneyland theme park in California from July 2, 1967 until September 9, 1973. The show next moved to Magic Kingdom theme park in Florida where it opened on January 15, 1975. In 1994, the show was rewritten and restaged with the new name Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress.
After a brief introduction, your theater rotates to reveal Act I, set around Valentine's Day around the turn of the century. After our host, John, tells the audience about the current state of modern conveniences -- all pre-electricity -- the theme music, "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow," plays as the theater rotates again. Act II brings us to the 1920s, and we see the family preparing for the Fourth of July celebration. The father shows off all the new electric powered conveniences, including the vacuum, electric lights, oven, and refrigerator (subsequently blowing all the fuses out in the neighborhood). Among the many other inventions spotlighted, we also see the son, Jimmy, listening to radio, on which we hear a John Philip Sousa march, and we hear about "air cooling", a fan blowing over a block of ice.
n Act III, the John of the 1940s tells us that he's entered the "Rat Race" by commuting to work, and we see the benefits of his new refrigerator and, most importantly, indoor plumbing. The theater turns one more time to reveal Act IV, with the family celebrating Christmas on the eve of the new century. The family's automated oven manages to burn the Christmas turkey to a crisp and the show concludes with a final rotation into the Finale, from which the audience is dismissed.
The Show
The basic plot of the Carousel of Progress show has essentially remained unchanged since it debuted at the 1964 New York World's Fair. The show is divided into six scenes, with the audience seating sections located in a ring which mechanically revolves within the outer part of the circular theater building. The scenes are each staged in stationary wedge-shaped spaces at the core of the building. Thus, the audience actually revolves around the stage, stopping to view each scene of a simple narrative of progress.
The first and the last scenes are basically identical and involve the loading and unloading of guests. The other four scenes, or "acts", depict an Audio-Animatronic family, narrated by the father, named John, interacting with the latest technology and innovations during a particular era. Not much is known about the family: we do not know their last name, where they live (aside from being somewhere in the United States), or if they ever change location. The family does not (nor are they meant to) age 100 years. They age 3-5 years as the show progresses, to demonstrate how slightly older individuals can better enjoy new technology. Each of the four scenes is set during a different season of the year: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, and on the day of a holiday that typifies each season. The progress of the year through the progress of the seasons serves as a metaphor for the progress of the development of the modern age of electricity. Also, each of the scenes features a male dog, who occasionally barks or growls, causing the father to firmly command the canine to stop interrupting his talk.
The first act takes place during Valentine's Day around the beginning of the 20th century, and features the family using the new innovations for that era, including gas lamps, a kitchen pump, a hand-cranked washing machine, and a gramophone. A mention of the St. Louis World's Fair dates the scene to 1904, alluding to the fact that this show was originally a World's Fair attraction. The second act features devices such as electric lighting and cookware, radio, a sewing machine, and a homemade cooling device during the 4th of July in the 1920s (the Charles Lindbergh reference makes the most likely year 1927). The third act, set around Halloween in the 1940s, has the family interacting with technologies such as an automatic dishwasher, television, and a homemade paint mixing system.
The final scene is set around Christmas and depicts the family interacting with the technology of the present day. As such, it is the act that has received the most changes since the show debuted in 1964. While the original final act featured the family's home in the 1960s, the current finale, which was introduced in 1994, shows the home in the first decade of the 21st century with high-definition television, virtual reality games, voice activated appliances, and other recent innovations. A slight refurbishment was made in January 2010, upgrading the outdated Sony CRT television to a larger Samsung flat panel display.
Touring Tips
- There is seldom a long wait, and it is well worth the time to see this piece of Disney history at least once.
- Buzz Lightyear holds Meet & Greets along the side of the Carousel of Progress.
Facts
- The Carousel of Progress opened in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom on January 15, 1975.
- The attraction was originally called Carousel of Progress, but was renamed to Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress following refurbishment in 1994.
- General Electric served as the corporate sponsor from 1964 until March 10, 1985.
- The voice talents of Mel Blanc and his son Noel have been featured in this attraction, as well as Jean Shepherd best known for writing and narrating "A Christmas Story."
History
This attraction debuted in New York at the 1964 World's Fair. Walt Disney developed this attraction to be part of GE's "Progressland" exhibit. The "Carousel of Progress" quickly became one of the most popular attractions at the World's Fair.
The story is told via an Audio-Animatronic family as seen at the turn of the twentieth century, in the 1920's, the 1940's and present day. Not only were animatronics amazing back in '64, the theater seats revolved around the stage. (If you think Disney has some long lines, you should have seen what it was like at the Fair.)
After the World's Fair came to a close, this attraction was moved to Disneyland in Anaheim where it remained through 1973. After the main show, guests would step on a moving ramp that brought them to the second floor. A model of "Progress City" was on display which was the inspiration for Epcot.
Carousel of Progress was one of two attractions that opened in the Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland on January 15, 1975; the other attraction being Space Mountain. General Electric signed a 10-year contract to sponsor Carousel of Progress at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. Unlike the small changes that had occurred when the Carousel of Progress moved from the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair to Disneyland Park, extensive changes were made when the attraction moved to Walt Disney World.
A new carousel theater building was designed to house the attraction: a one-story pavilion, with a loft above. The loft was created so the Tomorrowland Transit Authority could pass above it. The interior and exterior of the building received new color schemes with blue and white stripes that grew smaller and larger as the building turned. Also, the theaters now rotated counterclockwise, rather than clockwise, like the two former theater systems.
The load and unload theaters no longer featured the stunning "Kaleidophonic Screens" that had dazzled guests as they boarded and exited their respective theater. The old screens had stretched from one wall to the other, with the giant GE logo in the center. They lit up in various colors and patterns like a kaleidoscope as the orchestral version of "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" played. Various problems plagued the screens after 1973, so silver curtains with the GE logo in the center took their place in both the load and unload theaters with different colored lights shining on them.
The Florida version was planned with no post-show. Guests would load and unload on the first floor. The Progress City/EPCOT model was significantly sized down so it could fit in a window display that could be seen from the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. This display is located on the left hand side of the TTA track inside the north show building.
Because of the changing times, a new theme song, written by the Sherman Brothers, was created for the Florida show. GE asked the Shermans to write a new song because they did not want their customers to wait for a "great big beautiful tomorrow;" GE wanted them to buy appliances today, so a song titled "Now is the Time," also known as "The Best Time Of Your Life," was created. Although the song was still very peppy and positive, the Shermans still felt that "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" was a better fit.
A new cast of voices and "performers" were showcased in the 1975 version, including actor Andrew Duggan as Father. The first three "acts" had some cosmetic and set design changes. The finale was changed to "Christmas in the Home of the 1970s," and the dog also changed breed.
In 1981, the finale was updated to showcase "Christmas in the Home of the 1980s." A new script was written for this scene change, but the rest of the show remained the same. The attraction closed briefly so that the changes could be implemented.
On March 10, 1985, General Electric's contract expired, and they chose not to renew. The attraction closed shortly thereafter so that all General Electric references could be excluded from the attraction. The GE logo was replaced with a logo that showed a blueprint of the six carousel theaters surrounding the six fixed stages on the signs outside of the attraction and the silver GE curtain was kept but a round sign with the blueprint logo and the name Carousel of Progress hid the GE logo. The GE logo still exists on several household appliances throughout the attraction, like the refrigerator in Act 3, which features the GE logo and the words, "General Electric" on it. This is one of the remaining logos that can still be seen today.
In 1993 the attraction closed for refurbishment, to better reflect the theme of the New Tomorrowland: "The Future that Never Was." Gears and other mechanical symbols were being prominently featured in the other pavilions in the New Tomorrowland, so the Carousel of Progress was redesigned to feature them. The attraction and show were re-named Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress. A giant cog sign in the load and unload theaters that says "Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress" replaced the blueprint sign. The final scene was updated to "Christmas in the House of 2000" (as envisioned in 1994). A new cast was hired for the narration recordings, with American writer, raconteur, and radio personality Jean Shepherd as the voice of the father (Shepherd also does a pre-show narration about the history behind the attraction). Additionally, Rex Allen, the voice of the father at the original Disneyland attraction, plays the Grandfather in Act 4 of the show. For the first time, names of some of the characters in the attraction were revealed. A 4-minute pre-show about the creation of the attraction was played on monitors while guests waited in line. A contemporary version of "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" returned as the attraction's theme song. The attraction reopened in 1994, as the New Tomorrowland was unveiled in phases. Since then, the attraction has undergone many slight mechanical and cosmetic changes.
Hidden Mickey
- There are four Hidden Mickeys in the final scene. Mickey appears as a nutcracker on the fireplace mantle, a plush peeking from a present, a white peppermill on the kitchen counter, and an abstract painting on the dining room wall.
- In the last scene of the Carousel of Progress. On the Fireplace are 4 Nutcrackers (wooden soldier style) The one nearest to the audience is actually Mickey Mouse.