page_title: Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress
section_title: Post-GE years
hierarchical_section_title: Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress / History / Post-GE years
caption_attribution_description: English: Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, Florida, United States
context_page_description: Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress is a rotating theater audio-animatronic stage show attraction that is located in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom theme 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 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 Magic Kingdom in 1975.
  Steeped in both nostalgia and 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 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 proclaimed that the Carousel of Progress was his favorite attraction.
context_section_description: On March 10, 1985, General Electric's contract expired, the company chose not to renew. The attraction closed shortly thereafter so that all General Electric references could be removed 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 GE logo on the silver curtain was covered with a round sign with the blueprint logo and the name Carousel of Progress. The GE logo still exists on several household appliances throughout the attraction, like the refrigerator in Act 3. This is one of the remaining logos that can still be seen today.
  On August 16, 1993, the attraction closed and many blueprints at the time showed a new "Flying Saucers' ride inside the show building. But this idea never came to fruition to being over-budget and it was decided to update the Carousel of Progress to better reflect the theme of the New Tomorrowland: "The Future that Never Was." Gears and other mechanical symbols were being prominently featured throughout New Tomorrowland, so the Carousel of Progress theater was redesigned to feature them. The attraction and show were renamed 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 it was envisioned in 1993. A new cast was hired for the narration recordings, with American writer, raconteur, and radio personality Jean Shepherd as the voice of the father of the family, John, as well as the ride's narrator. 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 on November 23, 1993 and was the first updated attraction for the New Tomorrowland, which was unveiled in phases. Since then, the attraction has undergone many slight mechanical and cosmetic changes.
  Because of a decrease in attendance following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress closed in October 2001. It was reopened soon afterwards on a seasonal basis, causing fans to become concerned for the attraction's future. Although numerous "permanent closure" rumors still plague the attraction, Disney has consistently said that there are no plans for permanent closure or any closure at all. For various reasons, the attraction has had some minor refurbishments in recent years. The Carousel of Progress has remained open nearly every day of the year and during the Magic Kingdom's regular park hours since 2003.
  The Sherman Brothers write in their joint autobiography regarding the history of the pavilion:
  Three years after Walt Disney World opened, the Carousel of Progress moved east from Disneyland to Florida, and we were invited to write a brand new theme song: "The Best Time Of Your Life". In 1996, as a special tribute to the dreams of Walt Disney the Carousel of Progress was "updated" back to its original show, featuring our original theme song, "There's A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow".
  As of 2016, the gears-and-cogs paint scheme is being replaced by futuristic "strikes" of various different colors. The attraction's name is now painted on the rotating part of the building.
caption: The entrance sign to the attraction prior to its 2016 refresh
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