Re-furbish Tomorrowland in the 2020's!........please?

[Robo]

I think what we NEED is for the final scene to depict the theme and purpose of what the creators intended. If that was to depict the "future", then it should do that. If the creators intended the final scene to depict the "present", then it should do that. If the creators intended it to depict 1970, (or the 1964 vision of 1970), then it should do that. The third option would result in a static tableau. The first two options necessitate periodic change. Personally, I don't know what the original intent was. But I am sure that Disney does. The fact that the final scene has not remained static hints at one of the first two options. Either way, currently the final scene fails all three options. It isn't the present. It isn't the future, and it isn't 1970 as seen through the eyes of someone attending the 1964 World's Fair.

We have a disagreement, on this.
The reason the ORIGINAL show did have a modern-day component is that the original sponsor, General Electric, wanted
guests to go out and buy a new GE fridge.

In fact, when they moved the "GE Carousel of Progress" to WDW, GE commissioned the Sherman Brothers (they wrote the original song, Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow) to write a NEW song that said, "NOW is the Time, Now is the Best Time, NOW is the Best Time of your life!"
ostensibly to tell guests not to wait until the "Beautiful TOMORROW..." to buy, they should do it NOW.

After GE dropped their sponsorship, Disney Imagineers decided to "restore" the original song to the attraction as a tribute to when Walt Disney, himself, was directly involved with the show.

(Lots of interesting and complex history involved in Carousel of Progress.)

 

[goofyernmost]

Don't think of it as "today."

Consider that scene, as all of the other scenes, frozen it it's own time.

We don't NEED a scene that tells us about "today's tech" (we all HAVE today's tech.)
Just look at what was considered state of the art when that last vignette was first created.

I don't need them to reshoot the end of the Wizard of Oz to include a scene when the Wizard gives Dorothy an iPhone to FaceTime with Glinda, the good witch.

I can appreciate the magic of the work... as it stands... a very special example of the creativity of the producers at the time.

We have a disagreement, on this.
The reason the ORIGINAL show did have a modern-day component is that the original sponsor, General Electric, wanted
guests to go out and buy a new GE fridge.

In fact, when they moved the "GE Carousel of Progress" to WDW, GE commissioned the Sherman Brothers (they wrote the original song, Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow) to write a NEW song that said, "NOW is the Time, Now is the Best Time, NOW is the Best Time of your life!"
ostensibly to tell guests not to wait until the "Beautiful TOMORROW..." to buy, they should do it NOW.

(Lots of interesting and complex history involved in Carousel of Progress.)

You are absolutely correct, but, it is an exercise in futility to attempt to explain that to anyone. It had it's time of life and now gives us all a look at what was. They cannot grasp that kids that were born in 2000 are now 16 and have their head firmly planted on their I-phones. They have no clue as to what life was like in the 1900's and it is important to know that. Not to mention that it doesn't have the chance of a snowball in he** of Disney ever spending money to upgrade it again. There are two options, in my opinion. Leave it as a historical, classic example of the beginnings of Disney Theme Parks or management will be more then happy to level it and all that history will be in the landfill.

 

[JimmyV]

You are absolutely correct, but, it is an exercise in futility to attempt to explain that to anyone. It had it's time of life and now gives us all a look at what was.

An exercise in futility? I think i can grasp high level concepts fairly well. While Robo points out the history behind some of the changes, none of these changes comport with your explanation of how the attraction is designed to show us what "was". Let's look at the two song choices. One is: "It's A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow". The other is: " Now Is The Best Time". So you have two choices--either Tomorrow or Now. Neither is rooted in the past. There is simply no way that the attraction's intent is to portray a final scene that is locked in the past. The other scenes do a fine job of that. If all of the scenes are intended to lock into the past, then why have they updated the final scene numerous times over the years? If your theory of "designed to show us what was" holds true, what was the reasoning behind the updates? If the intent is to show us what was, then they could have left the attraction in its 1975 state. I saw it at the '64 World's Fair, and in 1975, and in almost every year since. It has evolved. And I am dead bang certain that it will again...when they eventually get around to it. Whether the changes will portray Tomorrow or Now is unknown. But I am certain that the changes will not portray what "was". That isn't one of the song choices.

 

[DVCcurious]

Maybe they could write a song about how we looked at the future in the past, kinda like this:

There used to be a great big beautiful tomorrow
Then it arrived and we realized it sucked

 

[Jennasis]

I enjoy Tomorrowland...but I'm a nostalgic kinda chick when it comes to WDW. That said, it IS time for some changes. BIG changes. If I were in charge?

1. Speedway would be toast as it is. It would get a major overhaul and become an indoor Tron-themed ride IF it stays in Tomorrowland. Or they could give it a Sugar Rush total overhaul and let it be considered part of Fantasyland.

2. Goodbye Stitches Great Mistake...hellooooooooooooo Guardians of the Galaxy attraction.

3. Carousel of Progress gets a facelift on the final scene and the whole building gets incorporated into a Stark Expo area at the back of the land utilizing the empty space behind the attraction. Add in an omni-mover ride of some kind to eat up crowds.

4. Tomorrowland Terrace becomes a TS restaurant.

5. The whole land gets a facelift. Freshen it up.

 

[goofyernmost]

An exercise in futility? I think i can grasp high level concepts fairly well. While Robo points out the history behind some of the changes, none of these changes comport with your explanation of how the attraction is designed to show us what "was". Let's look at the two song choices. One is: "It's A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow". The other is: " Now Is The Best Time". So you have two choices--either Tomorrow or Now. Neither is rooted in the past. There is simply no way that the attraction's intent is to portray a final scene that is locked in the past. The other scenes do a fine job of that. If all of the scenes are intended to lock into the past, then why have they updated the final scene numerous times over the years? If your theory of "designed to show us what was" holds true, what was the reasoning behind the updates? If the intent is to show us what was, then they could have left the attraction in its 1975 state. I saw it at the '64 World's Fair, and in 1975, and in almost every year since. It has evolved. And I am dead bang certain that it will again...when they eventually get around to it. Whether the changes will portray Tomorrow or Now is unknown. But I am certain that the changes will not portray what "was". That isn't one of the song choices.

You are not reading my posts correctly. When CoP first started at the 64 New York Worlds Fair, it contained three scenes that were definitely history and one that projected into the future. In 1964 the world was moving much slower then it is now. It was not all that difficult to look at what we had and imagine the possibilities of tomorrow. That time is done. It is impossible to imagine anything in the future that wouldn't be obsolete by the time the scene was changed. Even if it were possible to do the show still contains only those four scenes. In order to change it with any chance of being a futuristic look, it would have to skip way to many decades that are important to understand what progress we have made since the turn of the 20th century. It is a time capsule if you will. New attractions can be built to convey the current century and if that is what they want to do, they certainly can. It doesn't appear that is what they want, since the last effort made to do that was Horizons.

So, if we want it at all, and frankly I do not understand why we wouldn't want to see where we were in the past to get a better perception of where we are, it must become 100% historical. Also, taking reality into account, they are not going to spend any more money to upgrade it, especially if it means a new upgrade every time society changes. They will bulldoze it long before that happens. Even if you forget all the things that I just mentioned. It is one of the more technologically filled shows that had ever been produced up until that point. It showcased Walt Disney's talent and laid the foundation for what Disney Theme Parks became. It deserved to be preserved. In this country we are all to quick to destroy the past to make way for the future, however, this is one thing that doesn't need to be destroyed. There is plenty of room to add to the parks without taking out its heritage.

The concept of "Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" is not a literal thing in the sense that it means the day after today. It means looking ahead things will continue to become better with each passing year. CoP highlights just what did happen during those 100rd years and basically says... wait until the future, it will be even better.