Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress was one of my favorite attractions at Disney World. The past tense is necessary here as it just closed down at the end of Independence Day weekend. I feel extremely sad about this as that version has been in place since 1994, it’s the only version I’ve ever experienced in person, and I looked forward to it every time I went to the Magic Kingdom. Here’s my take on this wonderful attraction.
For those unfamiliar with the Carousel of Progress, here’s an overview of the version I knew. It is a stage show populated with an animatronic family in four different time periods that show the progression of technology and how it has changed their lives over the course of about a century. The theatre rotates around the central stage to move guests from one time period to the next as the characters sing “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow.” The first scene is set during Valentine’s Day 1903. John, the father, talks about various technological advances such as their new ice box, horseless trolley, and the Wright Brothers working on their airplane. The second scene starts off with the “…hottest 4th of July we’ve had in years!” While showing how many electrical appliances the family now has, John inadvertently blows fuses in both his house and the rest of the neighborhood. Halloween is the holiday in question during the third scene in the 1940’s. John talks about being part of the rat race, DIY, television, and how much better things are now than they’ve ever been before. In each of these scenes, other family members pop in and out of view thanks to lighting changes and rotating portions of the sets as they demonstrate additional technologies and elements of whichever year they’re in.
The final scene takes place at Christmas around the turn of the 21st century. Virtual reality video games and voice activated appliances have opened up whole new worlds of possibilities for the family. This is my favorite scene for a few reasons. In addition to the warmth of Christmas on display from beginning to end, the main family members are all together on stage at the same time with nothing separating them from each other as in the earlier scenes. That scene also reminds me of Christmases long, long ago at my grandparents’ house. The grandfather animatronic reminds me a lot of my own maternal grandfather, both with how he looks and how he speaks. I loved seeing the family go through so much together over so many years and still be so close, especially as they look forward to a new century together. I wish my own family could be more like that.
One of my favorite parts of Carousel of Progress is Rover the family dog. What was especially nice about my final day with this attraction was seeing how Rover looked at me with the sweetest, most soulful eyes when I sat in certain positions in the theatre. That gave me so much comforted and reminded me so much of how my late dog Sawyer used to look at me. All the love in the world came out of his eyes, and it’s amazing how the Disney imagineers were able to perfectly replicate that look.
To me, Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress was warm, cozy, nostalgic, and wholesome. Each version of the attraction from the time it debuted at the 1964 World’s Fair to the one planned to open up next year has featured technological progress as the central theme, with animatronic characters talking about all the changes and either “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” or “The Best Time of Your Life” (both of which were written by the incredible Sherman Brothers) acting as the transition song between scenes. I only know a little bit about those versions as they were all before my birth. For all the reasons mentioned above, I will greatly miss the only version I’ve experienced thus far. After the 1964 World’s Fair ended, the Carousel of Progress lived there for some time before being moved to Disney World and, after many changes, became the most recent incarnation. I wish that it could either be relocated to somewhere else in Disney World or sent back to Disneyland as is. That way, anybody who can make it to Disneyland could still experience it; I’d love to get that chance if I’m able to make it to Disneyland someday as I hope to do. If that doesn’t happen, then I’m glad to have so many pictures, videos, YouTube recordings, and memories of this classic attraction. They’ll keep me smiling and feeling hopeful through many great big beautiful tomorrows.