10 Things You May Not Know About the Carousel of Progress

1. Edison Square

Carousel of Progress was originally proposed as an attraction for a new area of Disneyland to be called “Edison Square.” This area, which would be an offshoot of Main Street U.S.A., was intended to be a tribute to Thomas Edison and his contributions to society. The area would consist of 1920s-style houses surrounding a small park with a statue of Edison in the middle. The square was also going to feature an attraction called Harnessing the Lightning, which would show how we used electricity throughout past decades (sounds familiar, right?).
Originally, Guests would walk from theater to theater to see each part of the show (that would change, of course). Unfortunately, the idea for Edison Square was eventually scrapped, but when Disney was approached to provide attractions for the upcoming 1964-65 World’s Fair in New York, Harnessing the Lightning was given new life.

2. Progressland

The attraction was reimagined for the 1964-65 World’s Fair in New York and became Progressland, with sponsorship provided by General Electric. One of the major changes was eliminating the need for Guests to walk from theater to theater; instead they would enter in one area to be seated, and they would stay in that section as the entire seating area revolved around the central stage. This allowed more Guests to watch the show simultaneously, and allowed for a smooth transition between scenes, since Guests would now remain seated. After viewing the show, Guests would walk upstairs where they could see a scaled model of Walt Disney’s Progress City, the key component of Epcot, Walt’s vision for a working community of the future. Another key component of the show was the theme song, “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow,” written by Robert and Richard Sherman specifically for the new attraction. Throughout 1964 and 1965, the attraction was immensely popular. But even after the World’s Fair had ended, Walt had future plans for his famed show.

3. Disneyland

Renovations for Tomorrowland at Disneyland were being planned for 1967, and Walt thought it would be the ideal setting for his incredibly popular attraction, which was all about progress and the promise of tomorrow. Unfortunately, Walt passed away in December 1966 and was not able to see the completion of the new Tomorrowland, but GE and the Walt Disney Company worked together to bring his plan to fruition. The new attraction had two levels, just like the World’s Fair version, but now featured a built-in speed-ramp to transport Guests to the upper level and Progress City. The attraction’s name was also changed from Progressland to the General Electric Carousel of Progress.

4. Moving to Florida

After six years in Disneyland, audiences were starting to dwindle, and GE was questioning their continued sponsorship of the attraction (surmising that the majority of the audience had seen the show multiple times and thus the message was losing its impact). It was decided that the show would move to the Magic Kingdom, and the show components were packed up and moved into the new theater built for the attraction. Unlike the Disneyland version, the new building was only one-story, though it did include a loft that was used for the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. The Progress City model was dismantled and partly reassembled in a special display area that can be seen from the TTA. With the newly revamped attraction, GE also wanted a new theme song to encourage people to buy their new GE appliances today, instead of looking ahead to tomorrow. The new song, “The Best Time of Your Life,” was written by the Sherman Brothers as a new theme for the attraction. (In their hearts though, the Sherman Brothers much preferred the original, as to them it not only perfectly reflected the spirit of the attraction but was more or less Walt Disney’s personal theme song, at least in their eyes.) A new cast was assembled for the show, and the Christmas scene was slightly updated. (This scene would undergo another update in 1981.)

5. Revamping the World of Progress

GE opted not to renew their contract when it expired on March 10, 1985, and the attraction closed briefly to remove most of the General Electric references (however, you can still see the occasional GE logo here and there, most notably on the refrigerator in the 1940s sequence). In August 1993, the attraction was refurbished to better reflect the new concept for Tomorrowland, “The Future That Never Was.” A gear motif, prominent in the new Tomorrowland design, was added to the signage and show building, and the attraction was renamed Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress. To the delight of nostalgic fans, “It’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” was brought back as the show’s theme, and a new voice cast was brought in. The Christmas scene also underwent some changes, bringing it more in line with modern day technology. (This scene has always presented the same problem as Tomorrowland itself, how do you depict the future-or present day-without becoming out-of-date? Even today Disney fans debate the final scene, and while it is a favorite among many, there’s always a murmur that the technology should be updated.)

6. An Instant Hit at the World’s Fair…

Throughout the 1964-65 World’s Fair, an average of 45,000 Guests saw the show every day (250 every four minutes!). Over the course of the entire event, about 16 million Guests saw the show.

7. …And an Instant Hit in Disneyland

When brought to Disneyland, the theaters could sit 3,600 Guests per hour. During its run from 1967-1973 in Disneyland, over 31 million people saw the show.

8. Traveling Through Time

Astute viewers will note that as you progress through the years during the show, you also progress through the seasons. The first scene takes place around Valentine’s Day, the second around the Fourth of July, the third around Halloween, and the last at Christmas.

9. Bringing Our Favorite Family to Life

Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny, voiced Cousin Orville, one of the few occasions he did voice work for Disney. (He also did minor vocal effects for Pinocchio.) Rex Allen, who voiced the original father in the Disneyland version, was hired to voice the grandfather in the Christmas scene of the current version.

10. Iron Man

In the film, Iron Man 2, Tony Stark hosts a “Stark Expo,” much in line with the New York World’s Fair. The map of the Stark Expo shows the same building that Progressland was in (though here it is referred to as the Kodak pavilion). Richard Sherman also wrote the theme song for the Stark Expo, “Make Way for Tomorrow Today.”