My Favorites: Carousel of Progress
By Mike Ellis.
The other day it dawned on me that we haven’t been to Walt Disney World since June 2014! This past summer was when we went to Disneyland for the 60th Birthday, so it has now been roughly 18 months since our last trip to Walt Disney World. That’s crazy to think about, so as a result, these next series of posts are going to be looks at some of my favorite attractions, rides, shows, whatever you want to call them, at Walt Disney World. Today we kick it all off with a look back at the past and the “future” with the Carousel of Progress!
To me, CoP (as the Cast Members know it as) is as much about history as it is about entertainment. In each of the scenes, you experience what life was like in a certain segment of time in American history. While the actual year is not displayed, you can figure some things out. For example, in the opening scene, John talks about those Wright Brothers, so dates things at around 1902, 1903, somewhere in that timeframe. Then, in the next scene, if you look closely, you can see on the back of the Niagara Falls fan that he is using the year. That year, my friends, is 1926.
Of course, the biggest debate among Carousel of Progress fans is whether or not the ride should be updated, especially regarding the last scene, with the futuristic programmable ovens, virtual reality, and all of that. There are reasons for and against on both sides of the aisle for this one, but as for me, I’m of the opinion that it should not be updated. This attraction is one of the last that Walt Disney personally worked on, and to me, despite the words of Walt himself that the parks would never be completed, puts me in the camp of not changing this attraction any more than it has been in the past. But enough of what I think. What do you think? Should the Carousel of Progress be updated? Or should it stay just as it is? To be (updated) or not to be (updated), that my friends is the question! Please let me know by leaving us a comment, and thanks for stopping by today! To close us off, have a look at the attraction in it’s entirety, courtesy of bigfatpanda.com!
Again, one of my favorites, Mike. Of course, it looks like we are both getting older as our favorite rides involve slow movements and sitting down! But I think the last scene could be updated to what we think the future holds from today’s perspective.
I figured I had to disagree with you on something!