Progressland

Images: Disney

There's something hypnotic about the mid-century style of General Electric's pavilion at the 1964 - 65 New York World's Fair. With its criss-crossed lattice dome glowing gold, the winged cornice around its circumference, the brilliant ramp leading to its upper stories... The $17 million pavilion sponsored by GE contained multiple pieces and parts centered around the power of electricity. Fitting, since Post-World-War-II America's booming manufacturing industries were setting the stage for a booming middle class and their purchase of household electric appliances.

That left GE with a new market of potential customers... and Walt Disney was just the showman to sell it.

 

By far the biggest draw to GE's pavilion would be General Electric PROGRESSLAND – A Walt Disney Presentation. There couldn't be a better time or place for this collaboration. Progressland is a one-of-a-kind technological marvel, ushering guests into a lavish, spectacular auditorium seating nearly 240 people before a glowing, psychedelic "Kaleidophonic" screen of diffraction lenses, flashing to the spectacular tune of the ride's original song: "There's a Great, Big, Beautiful Tomorrow."

There's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow shining at the end of every day!
There's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow, and tomorrow is just a dream away!

 

And now, as the song continues, something curious begins to happen. Slowly but surely, a gentle, distant rumbling can be heard, and the lights of the Kaleidophonic screen begin to drift away. Of course, it's all a matter of perspective... in reality, we, the audience, are on the move! Our auditorium of 240 people is just one of six situated around the outside of the pavilion's core, looking inward toward six stages.

Man has a dream, and that's the start.
He follows his dream with mind and heart,
And when it becomes a reality,
It's a dream come true for you and me!

Now, the theater begins to slow as the auditorium aligns with the second stage in the theater: a living room, albeit, and old one. Our first view is of our host – father, John – sitting in a seat with a paper fan in hand. You might do a double take... the "man" on stage isn't a man at all. He and the rest of his family are Audio-Animatronics... new age inventions straight from Walt Disney himself. He's singing along to the song:

"So there's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow shining at the end of every day!
There's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow just a dream away!"

Image: Roger W, Flickr (license)

It's the 1890s, and in this four minute vignette, John walks us through the "wonders" of the era: automobiles, phonographs, telephones, those zany Wright Brothers and their "aeroplane" ("it'll never work!"), and even twenty-story skyscrapers – innovations simply unimaginable even a decade earlier.

Each member of John's family pops in, too, thanks to two turntables on either side of the screen, concealed by scrims until lit from behind. 

And while John and his family may think they've got it made, progress keeps marching on. That's why he sends us on our way, and as the chorus begins again, the ring of theaters begins to roll onward as well...

Images: Gorillas Don't Blog (above), Disney (below)

By all accounts, Progressland's ride mechanism makes it the most efficient and guest-friendly attraction ever. With six theaters (each holding nearly 240) rotating to welcome new audiences every four minutes, Progressland could handle a theoretical capacity of 3,600 guests per hour – higher even than the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean, which otherwise top daily throughput among Disney attractions... Plus, the semi-continuous loading keeps queues short and the experience intimate!

There's a sort of brilliance to the theater's four acts perfectly timed so that that catchy "There's a Great, Big, Beautiful Tomorrow" syncs up between each scene. And now, the audience realigns to the next stage...

We're off to the 1920s with transatlantic flight, sports stadiums, radios, electric fans, and indoor plumbing, catching up with each member of the family once more. Progress – and the wonderful products of General Electric – have sure made life easier! It seems that things could simply never be better than this! But then again... "There's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow..." And off we go as the theater revolves once more, each audience shifting toward the next stage.

"...just a dream away!" Ah, it's the 1940s and life has never been simpler – dishwaters, television, and food mixers are cutting edge! It's almost-unbelievable to think that these inventions seemed so remarkable just 20 some-odd years ago. But just as importantly, we watch as the American family changes... the continuing splendors of GE's domestic invention make life easier, simpler, and sweeter.

But still not sweet enough. Because "there's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow..." And on we roll to the house of today – yes, it's a mod Christmas in the 1960s for a finale showcase of the groovy, far-out GE products available now... and maybe a few to watch out for in the years to come.

Image: Disney

Oh, there's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow shining at the end of every day!
There's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow just a dream away!

One more rotation returns the audience to the flashing Kaleidophonic screen (actually a sixth position – a carbon copy theater next door loads a new crowd), but our first-hand view of the wonders of General Electric isn't over yet! After all, any trip through progress to today incites one important question: what's next?

Exiting from the carousel's sixth and final position, guests are invited up a speed ramp to a futuristic display of nuclear fusion (a great introduction, of course to the Atomic Age) and finally into the pavilion's magnificent dome, hosting GE's Skydome Spectacular – the largest projection screen on Earth!

Driven by Walt Disney's name, GE's innovation, and the spectacular Audio-Animatronics technology it displayed, GE's Progressland was among the most-visited pavilions at the World's Fair. Even moving more than 3,000 people per hour with ease, guests would queue for an hour or more to experience the 45-minute attraction (and its headlining 22 minute carousel show).

Of course, we didn't go into much detail about Progressland's scenes... because, as progress dictates, everything was about to change... 

Coming Home

The 1964 - 65 New York World’s Fair had kicked off an unprecedented period of innovation at WED Enterprises… the four attractions Disney had developed for the Fair were spectacular enough that, for a time, Walt considered leaving them in New York after the Fair’s closure and operating it as a “Disneyland East.” Eventually, however, he decided that the four attractions should come home.

He had Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln duplicated during the Fair’s second summer, so that it was showing both in New York and in a custom-built theater in the Main Street Opera House at Disneyland.

Image: Disney

After the Fair ended, “it’s a small world” was shipped West and installed in Fantasyland with its remarkable and beloved Mary Blair inspired exterior.

While, at first glance, it appears that the Ford Magic Skyway didn’t get to Disneyland, it did make the trip to California… just in pieces. The dinosaur dioramas were installed along the Disneyland Railroad, expanding the Grand Canyon diorama to include the new Primeval World. The technology behind the ride’s constantly moving aerial highway was borrowed too, and we suspect most Disney fans will recognize its Californian cousin…

New Tomorrowland 1967

Click and expand for a larger and more detailed view. Image: Disney

Armed with the advances of the New York World’s Fair, Walt got to work on a long-languishing project: finally revitalizing Tomorrowland. If Disney wanted Tomorrowland to sincerely represent cutting-edge innovation, American ideals, and the promise of tomorrow, it would need more than a facelift. Walt’s grand visions for the land meant it would need entirely reimagined.

New Tomorrowland opened in1 967 with new buildings, new colors, new textures, and new attractions. Dressed in the sleek, white, symmetrical look of the Space Age, New Tomorrowland was truly a vista of ‘60s and ‘70s futurism: white and red, with streamlined Googie architecture, sprawling planters, white spires, and a form and function united.

Image: Disney

A “World on the Move,” New Tomorrowland was a world of kinetic energy and frenzies motion, with eyes drawn ever skyward. Beneath the spinning Rocket Jets, the Magic Skyway technology was transformed into Walt’s idealized mass transit of the future and dearly departed Lost Legend: The Peoplemover.

And there, at the end of Tomorrowland’s grand entry, stood a circular building, slowly rotating…

Image: Disney

Read on…