I have a certain affinity for the attractions in the Disney theme parks that have a direct connection to Walt Disney. The Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, and even It’s a Small World (with that song that gets stuck in your head) all had their origins when Walt was still alive.
One of the attractions at Walt Disney World that has a direct connection to the man who started it all is about to get a massive makeover, and it’s sorely needed. I’ve said for years that Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress was in need of an update and some TLC, and it’s finally happening.
Let’s look back at the history of the Carousel of Progress, which ties back to the 1964-65 World’s Fair in New York City. Back in 2014, I wrote about General Electric’s Progressland (see the Flashback link above), which included a bevy of Disney-designed exhibits, including the Carousel of Progress:
But the centerpiece of the pavilion was Walt Disney’s brainchild, now called the Carousel of Progress. Instead of the walk-through theaters of the original Edison Square concept, guests to the Carousel of Progress sat in a round theater which revolved past central stages in which an Audio-Animatronic narrator shared how his family benefited from new electric innovations. (One gossip columnist lamented the fact that she discovered that the show’s narrator was not a real man.) Each of the show’s short acts took place in different decades, from the 1890s to the 1960s. In all, Imagineers designed and built 32 animatronic characters for the show all bearing Walt’s inimitable stamp.
The attraction’s theme song was a crucial part of reflecting what I’ve long called Walt’s optimistic futurism:
Walt summoned his go-to songwriters, Richard and Robert Sherman, to pen the perfect tune for the Carousel of Progress. The song had to represent a positive vision for the future, yet it had to be adaptable to the time periods that the show presented. Richard Sherman remembered that the song needed to “tell the story without giving away what’s happening,” while epitomizing “the spirit and the essence of that pavilion.” The result was “There’s A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow,” a bouyant song that summed up the ideas that Progressland espoused. Buddy Baker arranged the song expertly to fit each era of the Carousel of Progress.
Interestingly enough, GE requested a change to the song in 1974, expressing the thought that the present was more important than the future. The Sherman Brothers wrote a tune called “The Best Time of Your Life” for the Carousel of Progress, but Disney restored the more optimistic “There’s A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” in 1994.
Side note: Deciding that the present is something to be more enthusiastic about than the future might be the most 1970s thing ever.
Disney updated the narration and the final scene for that 1994 refreshment, although guests have been stuck with a mid-’90s “contemporary” scene for far too long. The 60-year-old animatronics are looking sad, and some of the theater seats are in disrepair. But instead of refurbishments and a single-scene update, Disney is going all out later this summer.
Last year, Disney announced that it was going to include an introductory scene that would bring in Walt himself in an audio-animatronic form as host. There have also been rumors that Tom Hanks will voice the father of the family, who narrates what’s going on in each era, but those are just rumors.
What Disney announced this week is that the Carousel of Progress will close in July and reopen in 2027 with a fresh new look and a whole lot more than just the Walt introduction. The format and tone will remain the same — and of course, we’ll hear “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” — but the scenes will be totally different.
Flashback: Horizons: Walt Disney’s Lost Futuristic Legacy
Imagineer Chris Beatty writes at the Disney Parks Blog:
One of our main goals for this update was to keep the attraction relatable for today’s audiences by featuring eras in which our guests have personal connections. That includes the iconic “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow,” which will continue to play as guests transition between scenes.
The Imagineers working on this refresh grew up during these decades, so it’s been a real trip down memory lane to revisit the music, fashion, technology, and experiences that helped shape our history all reflected in this family’s story.
Beatty sets the four scenes for the new and improved Carousel of Progress:
Act 1 – the 1960s
When the show first opened at the World’s Fair, its story began by looking back about 60 years to the dawn of the new century. Now more than six decades later, this new iteration mirrors that idea, starting 60 years back from today in the 1960s.
In the summer of 1969, our Carousel family, along with millions around the world, gather around the television to witness one of humanity’s greatest achievements: the historic moon landing. Filled with awe, the moment captures the spirit of innovation and possibility that has always been — and always will be — at the heart of Carousel of Progress.
Act 2 – the 1980s
It’s the ‘80s, where everything bigger is better, and things keep on getting bigger! We pick up with the family on Halloween Night of 1985, and for the first time ever, Sarah is taking center stage. She’ll share how all the new appliances and gadgets are making life easier for the whole family.
Speaking of John, we’ll find him out on the porch handing out candy to trick-or-treaters, and poor Uncle Orville can be found in the bathroom with “no privacy around here!”
Act 3 – The New Millennium
With the ‘90s drawing to a close, our Carousel family is preparing to ring in the new millennium on New Year’s Eve 1999. Amid the excitement of the countdown to 2000, a new thing called the Internet is bringing John, Sarah, Jimmy and Patty – and the world – closer together than ever before.
And if you’re anything like my family, not everyone is making it to midnight. Grandpa has already nodded off before the big countdown, while Grandma sneaks the TV over to wrestling when no one’s looking.
Act 4 – The Possible Future
As we reach the end of our show, we see the family one last time in the distant future, in an out-of-this-world home. From a helpful robot assisting with everyday tasks to space travel, the scene imagines a future where extraordinary innovation has become part of life and proves that a beautiful tomorrow is just a dream away.
It sounds like the Imagineers are building on that optimistic futurism that Walt built his philosophy on. It’s a nod to the 1964-65 World’s Fair, the early EPCOT concept, and what the original EPCOT Center — especially Horizons, my all-time favorite extinct attraction — became, and I’m here for it.
Disney is finally giving Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress the kind of update fans have been asking for — one that honors the past while leaning into Walt’s “great big beautiful tomorrow” optimism.
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