Carousel of Progress

[goofyernmost]

I

Thats a rumor that keeps popping up but since they just spent money refurbishing it its not likely to happen anytime soon. Its only a rumor at this point. Plus they now have the Timekeeper building and the Tomorrowland stage area available if they want to add anything new.

I believe that it is a pretty much excepted fact now that CoP came close to closing a few years back. They had put it on as seasonal and it was closed most of the time. There was a huge outpouring of complaints about that and when Alien Encounter went down for rehab CoP was opened full time to "fill the gap".

CoP is now listed as a regular attraction and I suspect will remain until it falls apart, which won't be very long. I went to it last week and in scene one, the daughter is brushing her hair and her hand is just swinging away unattached to anything. In the third scene the "father" is apparently practicing his Edgar Bergan imitation because his mouth never moved during the entire segment. The TV with grandma watching the fight also was just a black screen.

CoP probably holds more emotional memories for me than any other Disney attraction. When I first saw it at WDW the theme song was "Now is the Time" and my kids and myself sang it all the way back from Florida to Vermont in the car. Later when I was feeling down, after my divorce, they had changed the song to "Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" and that also helped, in some way, to get me through. To think of CoP as no longer being there is not a pleasant thought but I think Disney Management is determined to let it fall apart so they can say, "we didn't want to close it but it just got to old to operate". This is a shame because it is a very strong historical link to Walt himself. I would like to think that in a perfect world Disney Corp. would see the need to preserve some of the history that made Disney great. They have plenty of land to expand too, if they want more and certainly should be able, judgeing by the crowds, to afford to fix the place.

 

[Randy K]

I've seen someone post about the song changing before and I am confused about that. "Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" is the original song from the Disneyland version that opened in the 1960's. I even have a CD recording of the whole show. Did they change the song when it moved to WDW and then change it back later? But the line "Now is the Time" is part of the same song. So are people thinking of the same song or I have also heard there was a similar song used on Horizons in Epcot which is now closed. Maybe that song is being confused with COP.

 

[Randy K]

Just got an answer to my question in another thread:

It's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow is the original Song. It was replaced when it moved to WDW to reflect more of General Electric (the then sponsor)'s slogan. THat song was "The Best Time of Your Life." After the sponsorship ended, they went back to the original song.

I guess that explains it.

 

[goofyernmost]

And given that "now is the best time" is the first one I ever heard it is, of course, my favorite. I like it better than GBBT simply because it is, if you can believe it, more upbeat and says "hey, each moment you live is the best time".

My children and me knew it by heart and still, 23 years later, can sing it and remember most of the words.

It was used when they first moved CoP to WDW and was in place until the 90's when they updated the final scene and put the original song back in place. Don't get me wrong, I like that one too. I just prefer MY original.

 

[JessicaMom]

Does anyone know if there is a CoP pin, and where it would be sold?
Thanks-

 

[MaBelle]

In 1974 when Disneyland decided to change COP to America Sings, COP moved from Disneyland to Magic Kingdom but Progress City did not come with it. Progress City was a small City at the end of the Show that was still narrated by Mom and Dad from COP. It showed new GE technologies on the way for communities. I haven't seen it since I was 8 years old but I remember really liking it. So it was one of the things I was really looking forward to when I was going to see COP of progress again on my 1st WDW trip in 2001. So I was really dissapointed when it was not there. It was still great to see COP again for the 1st time in 27 years and I look forward to it again on my next trip. I believe the City you see in TTA is a small part of the original Progress City. You can still hear the Progress City part on Disneyland CD's.

I am so sad....It's been probably 33 years since I saw COP, so I was probably my daughter's age. I loved to just stand and watch all the little cars on the roads and the ferris wheel and the little lights flickering on and off. It's too bad that's gone. But I am happy that at least the COP is operating for our trip in May. I'm sure it is a bit dated, but it's a piece of Disney history. It not only shows the progress from early 1900's to the 1960's debut of the ride, but it also shows how far animatronics has come since then! Here is a link to some info: http://www.allearsnet.com/tp/mk/mk_cop.htm
I just read something there that says Progress City IS viewable from the TTA! Just another reason to ride that again and again
I'm happy again

 

[ndelaware]

There is a model city you can see on the TTA. I always thought that it was Walt's original idea for EPCOT, since EPCOT was supposed to be a real community with people living there.

 

[LISAMWDW]

It's always been closed while I've been there! It's amazing that I've never actually done that attraction! However, I'm leaving in 2 days and I know it's open!!!!

 

[estnh]

It hasn't been rehabbed--I was amazed last year just how shabby this ride had become. The seats were all ripped and the theatre itself was in abominable shape. It's hard to believe that they are going to keep it open in that state that its in!

 

[grimley1968]

It hasn't been rehabbed--I was amazed last year just how shabby this ride had become. The seats were all ripped and the theatre itself was in abominable shape. It's hard to believe that they are going to keep it open in that state that its in!

ITA

It really is a shame, and I think W.E.D. would be very upset about its condition. I hope it's a ride that will be around forever, but it desperately needs a 9-month or so rehab. It needs new carpet, new seat upholstery (or plastic seats that are easier to clean), new theater drapes, some new AA's to replace ones that don't work well, updated rotation machinery to run more consistently than what's there. Finally, they need to update the story line. I know this means changing the props, scenes, etc. but I think it needs it. The eras depicted right now are circa 1900, 1920, 1940 and 2000. These eras should be more evenly spaced out, IMHO, so it's more like 1900, 1935, 1970 and 2005, or something more even than the 60-year gap between the 3rd and 4th shows now. When the attraction was built 20-year gaps made sense, since it debuted circa 1960, 20 years after the 3rd era.

At any rate, a physical rehab is badly needed.

 

[Randy K]

The Rehab was reported in this forum awhile back I believe it started in December. I'm not sure if its finished but they were doing it theater by theater. There are 5 or 6 different theaters. So some people were reporting it was in bad shape still but that was because they were in a theater that had not been done yet. Supposedly the rehab is just carpet, seats and motors but nothing to the show itself.

 

[MaBelle]

The Rehab was reported in this forum awhile back I believe it started in December. I'm not sure if its finished but they were doing it theater by theater. There are 5 or 6 different theaters. So some people were reporting it was in bad shape still but that was because they were in a theater that had not been done yet. Supposedly the rehab is just carpet, seats and motors but nothing to the show itself.

I guess we'll just have to go on it 6 times to try and check out different theatres Well, maybe it's not THAT good. But we'll definitely try it more than once! We'll be at WDW for about 10 days this time. Does anyone know if there are there 4,5, or 6 different stages? I read something about 1900, 1920, 1940, turn of century, and finale....

 

[lorrainesy]

The Rehab was reported in this forum awhile back I believe it started in December. I'm not sure if its finished but they were doing it theater by theater. There are 5 or 6 different theaters. So some people were reporting it was in bad shape still but that was because they were in a theater that had not been done yet. Supposedly the rehab is just carpet, seats and motors but nothing to the show itself.

LOL I really hope it is open when I go.....I honestly must be the only person who has never been on this ride. I didn't know there were theaters.....so you have to ride it times to see it all.

 

[MaBelle]

LOL I really hope it is open when I go.....I honestly must be the only person who has never been on this ride. I didn't know there were theaters.....so you have to ride it times to see it all.

How to explain this.....
There are about 5 different theaters in a big round building. The stages are at the center of the building, and are stationary. The theaters actually revolve around the different stages. So you see the whole show, but you're seated in one theater, while another audience can be in the theaters on either side of you. Each stage has a different scene of the story.
Hope that makes some sense....

 

[PolyPal]

Just had to chime in to add more detail on the history of COP.

Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress premiered in 1964 at the New York World's Fair and was the centerpiece of General Electric's pavillion which I believe was called "Progressland". COP along with "Great Moments with Abraham Lincoln (part of the State of Illinois pavillion at the NY World's Fair) represented the most advanced audio-anamatronics then yet developed by WD Imagineering. Walt actually used the success of COP at the 1964 /65 World's Fair to gauge public acceptance of an east coast Disneyland type experience. Well, COP was a hit in New York and shortly thereafter land was being bought up in central Florida. So, COP was actually the "spark" that set into motion Walt's plans to build a bigger, better Disneyland that we know today as Walt Disney World!

After the NY World's Fair closed, COP was moved to Disneyland. I do not know exactly when "Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" was changed to "Now Is The Time". I like both versions, but GBBT is my sentimental favorite.

I was a small child when I went to the NY World's Fair, but I remember that COP was my absolute favorite part of the Fair. I did not know that COP was at WDW before we made our first trip there in 1987. I was so excited to discover COP in Tomorrowland on that first trip! My wife could not understand my excitement until I explained how I had seen COP in NY over 20 years before (and made my much older brother "ride" it over and over!)

I took my 7 year old on COP 2 weeks ago. It was sad to see the theater in its thread bare state. The CM was also less enthusiastic in her introduction than they used to be. I wish they would give the attraction the major refurb it deserves. I believe Walt would want it that way.