FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress

Image: Disney

As impacting as the popularity of It’s a Small World has been over the decades, it wasn’t the only song for a Disney attraction that the Shermans wrote. In fact, it wasn’t the only song for the 1964 New York World’s Fair! General Electric petitioned WED Enterprises to build a pavilion for what would become Progressland. They paid for this sponsorship well before Pepsi, which is why it’s a bit odd that their attraction became a historical footnote compared to It’s a Small World.

Still, the GE attraction enjoys cultural significance of its own. Disney Imagineers crafted Carousel of Progress for their peers, and it has earned a place at the front of line of Walt Disney-built attractions. In fact, a running joke exists at Walt Disney World, the current home of the exhibit, that if Disney ever tried to close it permanently, guests would riot. Every few years, a rumor pops up that it’s going away, and the reaction is always vociferously passionate. Disney fans are extremely protective of one of Uncle Walt’s pet projects. And one of the reasons why is the sunnily optimistic song.

When Disney commissioned the Shermans to write a song for the Carousel of Progress, they put a lot of thought into what the exhibition represented. They correctly deduced that while other Disney attractions at the World’s Fair were about the people of today, Carousel of Progress should cast a spotlight on how the discoveries of today lead directly to a better tomorrow. The song they produced, There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, is shamelessly positive and energetic. It’s also likely to give anyone at the Carousel of Progress a huge earworm since it plays several times during the show. What is it with the Sherman Brothers and song repetition?

A fitting tribute

Image: Disney

Why has the song stood the test of time? The attraction reveals how much technology advanced from the turn of the century through modern times, which meant the Mad Men era for the original version of Carousel of Progress. Over the past half a century, Disney has updated the ride when appropriate, which is why granny now wears virtual reality headgear while she unlocks achievements in an alien blaster videogame. The song, however, remains the same since it’s gone from the hip tune of the 1964 World’s Fair to delightfully retro more than 50 years later.

The other key is how it links to Disney history. A year after the World’s Fair ended, Walt Disney died from lung cancer. By this point, the Sherman Brothers viewed themselves as keepers of the torch of the spirit of Walt Disney. They were the musical extension of his creativity. In their estimation, There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow fit perfectly with the legacy of their friend and leader.

Disney had always embraced the idea of a better future. He’d invested much of his personal fortune seeing that dream become a reality, and his most ambitious project just before his death was to create a utopian society, the ultimate beautiful tomorrow. The Shermans viewed their lyrics as prescient in their description of Uncle Walt, even if they didn’t recall that being the intention when they wrote the song.

Think of these lyrics in particular: “He follows his dream with mind and heart, and when it becomes a reality, it’s a dream come true you and me.” Ostensibly, those lines apply to all mankind. They seem especially accurate when linked to Disney, though. Even though they’re not, these words could describe the first Mickey Mouse cartoons, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Disneyland, the 1964 New York World’s Fair, or his planned Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. You can understand why the Sherman Brothers came to view There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow as Walt Disney’s theme song.

The one oddity about the piece is that it hasn’t made its way through every iteration of Carousel of Progress. A lot of the changes came down to sponsorship requests from GE. To Disney’s credit, they’ve always kept the Shermans in the loop when they’ve updated it, though. The original version gave way to The Best Time of Your Life in 1974. Then, GE requested another new song from the brothers. They delivered a catchy tune called New Horizons, but GE decided not to substitute that one. Instead, they ditched the Shermans in favor of a song written by – I kid you not – the CEO of GE. Its reception was understandably icy, but it lasted for several years anyway.

In 1994, Disney went back to the future by restoring There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, and it remains the sing-song lyric of your worst nightmare to this day. I last visited a park two months ago yet I still hear that infernal song in my head every time I think of Carousel of Progress. The strange part is how much I love it despite this aggravation. It’s catchy and stubbornly optimistic, two staples of the Sherman Brothers.

 
FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

Comments

Really? There's different background music? Can you please give some examples? This sounds interesting!

Another great article but it could really be expanded. You left out Journey to Imagination (the original ride), the Country Bear Jamboree, Wishes, Main Street Electrical Parade, Even how the background music changes depending on where you are and what time of day it is. Disney has mastered the art of injecting music into your whole experience.

I agree with all of these, although I'm also wondering how Grim Grinning Ghosts came to be as well.
Believe it or not, one of my favourite attraction pieces is the music when riding the Soarin' rides. I was very happy when Soarin' Around the World opened and braught back the main melodical hook of that composition. Add to that the original version was created by Jerry Goldsmith, which would explain why it sounds so grand in nature and just... works, espeically that fanfair refrain that plays near the beginning, as I like to call it, the main melodical hook.

Add new comment

About Theme Park Tourist

Theme Park Tourist is one of the web’s leading sources of essential information and entertaining articles about theme parks in Orlando and beyond.

We are one of the world’s largest theme park guide sites, hosting detailed guides to more than 80 theme parks around the globe.

Find Out More About Us...

Plan Your Trip

Our theme park guides contain reviews and ratings of rides, restaurants and hotels at more than 80 theme parks worldwide.

You can even print them.

Start Planning Now...