The Experience: Traveling through four eras of American history

The Trick: Telling a story through narration and Audio-Animatronics

Image: DisneyEdison Park is famously a Disneyland themed land that never came to pass. Walt Disney fell in love with the idea of encapsulating a century of American society in a single place. He wanted to tell the story of the start of the 20th century, the time of his youth. Uncle Walt intended to follow it by demonstrating how much the world had improved by the time he was a young man 20 years later. And then he would display modern society along with a prediction for the future of America. 

While Disneyland never built Edison Park, the idea morphed into a World’s Fair pitch. When GE contacted Disney about an attraction, Uncle Walt championed this idea of commemorating the past while projecting the brightest of futures. He sold them on the premise by emphasizing the importance of GE technology in all of these moments in American history.

The structure of Carousel of Progress closely follows this pitch. After the pre-show, the turntable carries guests to Act 1. The narration here is done by a father and family man, proudly describing how much innovation has improved the lives of Americans. He cycles through a laundry list of emerging technologies like automobiles, motion pictures, and gas lamps.

Image: DisneyThe beauty of Carousel of Progress is how well it demonstrates that while much has changed over time, some aspects of society are timeless. A happily married person teases their spouse and their children. The family dog happily lounges on the floor beside his human. Everything on display is a detailed Audio-Animatronic capable of simulating human (and canine) movement. The viewer feels as if they are visiting the home of a kind and optimistic man, someone who cannot believe how good he has it.

Act 2 plays out similarly. The setting now is the 1920s, and the same man happily recounts how much the world has improved thanks to technology. Thomas Edison has invented the light bulb, and GE has mass-manufactured it. The trans-Atlantic flight is on the cusp of occurring, although John the narrator is dubious about its chances. Cars start without cranks, and motion pictures now include talkies!

As John interacts with his family, something becomes apparent. Even 20 years later, social interactions haven’t changed. He still bickers lovingly with his wife, Sarah, and goads his daughter, Patricia. It’s a slice of Americana from the days when Walt Disney was inventing Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Mickey Mouse.

The third act is similar, although it does exemplify how much the world improved during a 20-year period. The setting is now the 1940s, and movie theaters are the most popular form of entertainment in society. Television has become an emerging threat, though. And automobiles have gone from a novelty to ubiquitous. There’s even a reference to interstate traffic.

During these 40 years, Carousel of Progress demonstrates the dream that Walt Disney had for Edison Park. It shows how much daily society changed thanks to technology. Washers and dryers replaced outdoor clotheslines, refrigerators reduced the reliance on canning, and indoor plumbing and electricity became a part of everyday life. Since Disney witnessed all of this, it’s easy to understand why he marveled at such revolutionary changes.

Image: DisneyThe huge difference occurs during Act 4. Disney Imagineers have maintained the initial timeline for the first three acts, which means that everything happens from 1900 through the 1940s. There’s an extended gap to modern times in Act 4, as Disney hasn’t wanted to change the stories that Walt Disney established.

This part isn’t the future that we know today. Instead, it’s the one that Imagineers predicted 25 years ago. This scene hasn’t changed since then. During Act 4, a family celebrates Christmas in a household that no one could have predicted in the age of Act 1.

One person types on a computer while others gaze at the Christmas tree. During Act 1, Americans relied on gas lamps to illuminate the darkness. A century later, they decorated a holiday tree using hundreds of miniature lights. References are made to car phones and laser discs. The dated nature of these items is possibly the best indication of how far society has progressed. Those two electronic devices have been outdated for years! The story of Carousel of Progress proves just how far we’ve come.