New Horizons

On March 10, 1985, GE’s 10-year sponsorship deal expired, and the attraction briefly closed to remove references to GE and its logos. In actuality, GE hadn’t abandoned their exploration into progress and optimism; they’d simply moved onward.

Image: Disney

It’s ironic: Disney and GE had really gotten their start together at the New York World’s Fair in 1964, and in the tradition of the best carousels, things had come back around again. In 1982, Disney opened its own “permanent World’s Fair” as the second theme park at Walt Disney World – EPCOT Center.

Like the World’s Fair that so influenced Disney history, EPCOT Center was populated by pavilions dedicated to areas of science and industry, sponsored by corporations: communication (Spaceship Earth), innovation (Communicore), ocean exploration (The Living Seas), agriculture (The Land), Imagination, transportation (World of Motion), health and wellness (Wonders of Life), and energy (Universe of Energy).

Image: Disney

But one attraction was developed as the keystone: the “thesis” of EPCOT Center’s Future World, intentionally combining all of those areas of exploration into one single, epic dark ride into humanity’s future. General Electric swapped their sponsorship to the king of all Lost Legends: HORIZONS. Make the jump to that in-depth feature to pick up the story… literally. Because aboard Horizons, guests watched the family from Carousel of Progress adapt to expanding explorations of the seas, the land, and space…

In other words, while Carousel of Progress followed one family through the 20th century, Horizons picked up the story by tracing the same family in the 21st century… in the photograph above, you might recognize the mother, father, and even Rover! Horizons was a truly inspirational spiritual sequel that will forever live on as a shining example of EPCOT Center’s idealism and futurism.

And by the way, it isn't the only way the Carousel of Progress lived on in EPCOT Center... After all, the park's Japan pavilion was built with (and to this day, still contains) a revolving theater meant for a four-act Audio-Animatronic show; one that never opened... at least, in the United States. But that's a story for later...

Science or science fiction?

Image: Disney

Believe it or not, Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress outlived its own sequel. When the look of the ‘70s-born future faded from interest in the 1990s, Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland was redesigned from scratch in one of the most intriguing original mythologies ever written by Imagineers.

Redeveloped as a “future that never was,” the land left its scientific roots behind. The sleek, white, geometric walls and white-and-red NASA rockets disappeared. Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland was recast as a metallic alien spacesport of landed UFOs, silver fins, technicolor interstellar antennas, mechanical palm trees, and pulp serial Buck Rogers rockets. In other words, the land once centered around science turned instead to science fiction, inviting the likes of Lost Legends: The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter and Timekeeper to wrap the entire land in one overarching story. Tomorrowland became a “living” alien spaceport as envisioned by 20th century comics.

Image: Disney

Carousel of Progress survived, albeit with a new "cogs and gears" exterior only loosely tying it to the rest of the new mechanical sci-fi land. Along with its gentle recasting in this New Tomorrowland '94, its finale was updated once again... this time to “Christmas in the House of 2000."

Image: Disney

But for Disney fans, this mid-90s update is most important for another reason. Carousel of Progress was given a retro touch thanks to the grand, triumphant return of “There’s a Great, Big, Beautiful Tomorrow.”

When the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City halted most tourism to Walt Disney World, the Carousel of Progress closed briefly, re-opening in the dreaded and doomed “seasonal” operation that so often marks the imminent end of an attraction… however, it returned to full-time work soon after and continues today.

Image: Disney

Fans forever stress over the ride’s future, certain that its valuable real estate will eventually be called upon to host the hottest intellectual property. And indeed, it’s worrisome that the ride’s finale – ostensibly meant to showcase the possibilities of the future – has been moored at “Christmas, 2000” for about twenty years too many, when a simple set rebuild, new costumes, and some new talking points would make the scene fresh once more… a simple update tops the wish list for many Disney Parks fans.

Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress is humorously (but accurately) celebrated as the longest running stage show (and with the most performances!) in the history of American theater... a pretty phenomenal label! We invite you to sit back and enjoy this spectacular point-of-view video of the entire show as it currently exists:

 

Just a dream away!

But now, even as Tomorrowland readies for another transitional shift, Carousel of Progress seemed poised to survive. And that’s the way Walt wanted it… he called it his favorite attraction and decreed that it should never cease operation. And you can see why. Deeply rooted in his own ideals of progress and optimism, the ride is a living, breathing reminder of Walt Disney's philosophy. And, steeped equally in nostalgia and futurism, the ride is perhaps the best reflection of Walt's spirit, too.

That’s the reason the Sherman Brothers say their original song is the closest they’ve gotten to capturing a "theme song" for him.

Image: Disney

And indeed, as long as the Carousel of Progress keeps turning, we can imagine that there truly may be a great, big, beautiful tomorrow shining at the end of every day.

Now we want to hear your thoughts. Use the comments below to share your experiences with the Carousel of Progress. Have you had the chance to experience this Walt Disney original? Does it capture a piece of Walt's legacy and hopes for his parks that's otherwise dwindling away? Or is it an antiquated remnant of yesteryear that represents fans' misguided hopes of turning Disney Parks into "museums" of dated, stagnant attractions? How could, should, and will this classic evolve as Tomorrowland continues to shift around it?