Carousel of Progress

[desertdweller]

I had the pleasure of seeing GE's Carousel of Progress at the New York Worlds' Fair in '64 along with Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln, It's a Small World, and the Ford Pavillion that featured the primeval world. The Disney touch certainly made the fair memorable and it was wonderful to see many of the attractions make their way to DL.

Although I thought "America Sings" was a solid replacement for the GE show, I think the original was very entertaining and educational while providing a link between past and future which was a good addition to TL. AS never seemed like it belonged in TL even though it was a very good show. Innoventions on paper must've sounded like a great idea, but the times I've visited it produced nothing but yawns or shrugs from the tiny audience it attracted.

Anyone have fond memories of the GE Show? I thought it could've been slightly revised with some decades overlapping others and the last scene kept current with the very latest like flat screen tv, home theater and state of the art refrigeration. In its original version it still would've been relevant to the theme of TL.

[Gemini Cricket]

Unfortunately not, but I do hope they bring back something like it and get rid of that rotating commercial called Innoventions. Bleh.

[Stargirl]

I would dig it. I never got to see it at Disneyland, however, I was fortunate enough to be able to see it at WDW and I really enjoyed it. I think it could be a real crowd pleaser...the concept of the moving theater adds something special, and I think it could very well be updated and made timely. Plus, it would be nice to have another show to sit at and relax...no People Mover, No Country Bears, and I am still bitter that they took the song out of great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (America, spread your golden wings...) which is leaving soon anyway...

However, since the one at WDW keeps threatening to close, I don't know if it would happen...but I truly think it would be a nice use of that building (or a show of any kind) and really, what wouldn't improve Tomorrowland?

[Cousin Orville]

Reminicences..

As Cousin Orville, one of the performers in the show ("As usual he's taken over the coolest part of the house") Walt Disney actually acted out my role in the bathub for the programmers. This character was purportedly one of his favorites. I recall atydsineyland hanging out with this kind of eccentric kid who had a new fangled stereo tape recorder. He was there in 1973 to tape the last day of the show. i happily paid him 3 dollars to dub me a copy of the show in Stereo and to my annoyance found out that he NARRATED it from time to time. This really made me nuts. I was also there the day the girl was crushed in the turntable in America Sings.

On thr family side.. My grandfather who died at 83 was an eternal optimist and a 20's vaudevillian singer. I found in his personal effects a copy of the 45 rpm record of "Great big beautiful tomorrow". It was his favorite song. he loved the show and laughed every time the dog barked and roared when Father said "quiet...while mother's interrupting".

[Alan]

I saw that show over and over again and never got tired of it. It always had crowds waiting to go in. It was educational and very upbeat which during that time we really needed.

Disney did have reason to believe innoventions would be popular. The WDW version was so why not Calofornia. I guess someone forgot to tell Disney that we are more technologically aware in this state and most of the innoventions were like... I got one of those type events.

[Club 33]

Unfortunetly for me, I was born after the original CoP. I have seen videos of the Old show, and I've seen the current one at WDW. Personally, I think that the original had better voice acting and that the music recording was better. I'd love to see CoP return to Disneyland, but I know it's not going to happen . Admittedly, whenever I go to Innoventions and Tom Morrow starts singing "There's a Great Big World of Innoventions" I automaticly start singing the CoP lyrics. Let's just hope the CoP manages to survive at WDW, since its been off and on for a few years now. It would really be a pity to see another one of Walt's creative attractions be replaced by corparate sponsorship. Again.

[brian9549]

I was able to see it in Florida in '98 and '03. Still a great show and would love to see it make a return out here someday.

[niki0619]

I'm all up for a return of CoP. I, too was born after its demise but have seen videos and pics of the show, and I think it's a great concept that could still work now. Like the OP said, you can add a scene of today's modern home, or you could develop a completly new show that focuses on the development of communication, so you can focus on things like the telegraph, telephone, the internet, etc. Either way, I'd be really supportive if something like that came into plan.

[NWRREngineer]

I was there in 1969 (five days BEFORE the Haunted Mansion opened, dagnabit) and I saw it then. I was totally in awe of the entire thing.

After my brothers finished their spin on the autopia (I was too little), we walked past the Carousel of Progress. I saw the big "GE" sign up top and pretty much threw a fit demanding that we go on it, whatever it was. My folks agreed so on we went. It was totally amazing, from the opening flourish (I still remember those colorful, synchronized lights before the first act) until the very end. I didn't remember the dialog, but I did remember Rex Allen's voice clearly. Fortunately there are several web sites out there that have audio and video of the original show.

My brother told me that all the people on stage (and the dog) were robots and I remember being totally blown away by that concept.

Now, my poor kids have heard "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" so many times that they know all the words. They keep begging me to take them to WDW so they can actually see the show there before it heads to Yesterland.

[wolfy]

Is the one in WDW exactly like the old one in DL?

[Jspider]

Is the one in WDW exactly like the old one in DL?

the one in WDW is the exact SAME one that was in Disneyland, they litteraly lifted it out and shipped it over to WDW

just like Disneyland's was the exact SAME carousol used in the world's fair (just like our Small World and Great moments with Lincoln are also from that fair)

[NWRREngineer]

Well... it's close.

They re-did the end of the show, changed the script quite a bit, added some characters and re-did the voices.

But other than all that, yeah, it's the same.

Check out www.carouselofprogress.com for more info on that.

[Villains Fan]

This was always one of my favorite rides growing up. Today when I hear the music on one of the Disney station on line (I'm such a geek ), I miss it even more. Although America Sings was cute, I didn't like it nearly as much. I guess I'll just have to schedule a trip to WDW to take a trip down memory lane .

[Tom Chaney]

I remember CoP well and always enjoyed seeing it. I agree that America Sings was cute, but being a bit of a pop culture buff, liked CoP better. I vividly remember my disappointment with Innoventions. It seemed to be rather like going to Circuit City.

[innerSpaceman]

Sorry to digress, but I found CoP to be a hokey piece of totally outdated theater that I would not like to see revived. I don't object to the concept of moving through past decades to arrive at the future, but the cornball script and the shameless product plugging on behalf of General Electric would have to be left out of any future version of this show if it were to be successful in modern times. Oh, and the fiction of Mother and Father remaining practically ageless, much less still alive, from the 1890's all the way through the 1980's was absurd and a little insulting to the audience's intelligence.

I, too, saw Carousel of Progress as part of the Progressland pavillion at the 1964/65 New York World's Fair. It was hardly the most amazing portion of that much more immersive and exciting entertainment. Now, if they'd bring it back complete with the Skydome Spectacular, then we'd really have something!