Carousel of Progress Rumors

I love it the way it is!

If there were a way they could add more "slices" ... I would be OK with that. Just don't don't touch the other scenes.
 
I love it the way it is!

If there were a way they could add more "slices" ... I would be OK with that. Just don't don't touch the other scenes.

They'll never do this, but the only way I can think of to add more scenes would be to build a 2nd floor and either raise and lower the stage or raise and lower the seats, and either solution make it to where you couldn't load the next group at every scene change like it is now, so it would basically cut the capacity in half, though I guess waiting 15 minutes for CoP would not be the worst thing in the world.
 
The last rumor I heard about COP was about 20 years ago when a CM who worked there insisted to me that it was closing "in the next few months". I asked her if enough of us wrote to complain, they night change their minds. I was told that it was too late for that, their minds were made up. Still waiting!
 


COP changes would move forward if a new sponsor would show up. Which company is best suited to sponsor the update? Apple for entertainment value? Who makes the NEST thermostat? Would LG be talked into displaying fridge with built in LCD display on when milk expires? Can anyone suggest someone different?
 
COP changes would move forward if a new sponsor would show up. Which company is best suited to sponsor the update? Apple for entertainment value? Who makes the NEST thermostat? Would LG be talked into displaying fridge with built in LCD display on when milk expires? Can anyone suggest someone different?
Sponsorships are rare these days in the theme park world.
 
Does anyone know of any rumored upcoming plans for The Carousel of Progress? I'm always anxious that they'll do away with it (if they tried that I'd chain myself to the building). I've heard of planned updates for the final Christmas scene, but that never seems to happen. I've also heard a rumor that they will move it to the unused Wonders of Life pavilion in EPCOT, does anyone know anything about that?

We can now put the "moving to Wonders of Life pavilion" rumor to rest. :)
 


Actually, you're right. There are 6 stages, one for load and one for unload. There's no reason that couldn't be truncated so that people enter on one side and exit on the other in the same slice. Interesting thought.

Bear with me on this, but what if you changed the duration of each section (i.e.time slice). It would be "relatively" less complex to add dialog and animtronic(s) interaction for each time slice to ensure that the critical path of load/unload is less compromised. It adds uniqueness to each time period and another slice at the same time.
 
I hope they never get rid of it. The history of the ride is epic.

Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress is a rotating theater stage show attraction that is located in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdomtheme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida just outside of Orlando, Florida. Created by both Walt Disney and WED Enterprises as the prime feature of the General Electric (GE) Pavilion for the 1964 New York World's Fair, the attraction was moved to Tomorrowland at Disneyland in Anaheim, California as Carousel of Progress, remaining there from 1967 until 1973. It was replaced in Disneyland by America Sings in 1974, and reopened in its present home in the Walt Disney World Resort's Magic Kingdom in 1975.

Steeped in both nostalgia and (in the past) futurism, the attraction's premise is an exploration of the joys of living through the advent of electricity and other technological advances during the 20th century via a "typical" American family. To keep it up with the times, the attraction has been updated five times (in 1967, 1975, 1981, 1985, and 1993) and has had two different theme songs, both written by the Sherman Brothers (Disney's Academy Award-winning songwriting team).

Various sources say Walt Disney himself proclaimed that the Carousel of Progress was his favorite attraction and that it should never cease operation. This can be somewhat supported by family and friends, who knew of his constant work on the attraction. Of all the attractions he presented at the 1964–1965 New York World's Fair, Disney seemed especially devoted to the Carousel of Progress.

The Carousel of Progress holds the record as the longest-running stage show, with the most performances, in the history of American theater.[1] It is one of the oldest attractions in the whole Walt Disney World Resort. It is also the oldest attraction at Walt Disney World to have been touched by Walt Disney himself.

copied and pasted from wikipedia.
 
I would be so sad if they changed this too much. Love CoP and was so sad that we didn’t get to experience it on our MK day last trip. It was down all day and never figured out why.
 
I think we got lucky with the TRON coaster - Tomorrowland really needed something for the 50th. Going outside the berm for the new ride may be why Carousel of Progress is still safely spinning.
 
The best part of this ride is the air conditioned break :) j/k I do it and think of Walt the entire time!
 
Actually its about 1904, 1920's, 1940's, 1980's so not quite accurate on your part.
If it was completely updated it really wouldn't have the same impact.
If you want Horizons then why n ot push for Horizons to come back vs making COP Horizons?
Agreed. Look at the timing between scenes in SSE. It’s more about telling a story than recreating a historical timeline.
 
COP changes would move forward if a new sponsor would show up. Which company is best suited to sponsor the update? Apple for entertainment value? Who makes the NEST thermostat? Would LG be talked into displaying fridge with built in LCD display on when milk expires? Can anyone suggest someone different?
I’m not sure that any of these companies would sponsor a ride that promotes other company’s products. Although the branding has diminished over the years it is still present.
 
There are things that I tell my kids from my childhood that they find hard to believe that show up in the final scene - like VCR's and the time before microwaves, even CD players. Those things need to be in the second-to-last scene. The final scene needs to be those blue sky things that are believable, but not reality - yet. Think Hyperloop transportation, smart, driverless cars, a nationwide high-speed rail, regular missions to the moon or even Mars, a cure for cancer - the list is endless. I'll take the out-dated COP over the alternative though. Just look at what happened to the America Sings building in DL. You don't want that - trust me!
 
Wee nitpick: the final scene isn't the 80s, it is 1993. It was meant to represent "present day" at the time of the last complete refurb, which finished in 1994.

The last refurb actually rolled some of the details of the earlier scenes back to the way that Walt had approved them during his lifetime ... Thank God. Look at this version from 1992, just before the refurb -- it was excruciatingly earnest:
)

My annoyances with the present version of COP are: what happened to the other daughter (who is working the washing machine in the first scene), and why on earth could they not (take your pick), a) hear the oven temp increase announcement or b) smell the food burning?
 

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