A Greater Big Beautiful Tomorrow: Carousel of Progress Gets a New Lease on Life

Carousel of Progress to Finally Get Shown Some Love By Disney

“There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow, shining at the end of every day.”

This weekend, Disney announced long-awaited updates to the Carousel of Progress, including a new Walt Audio-Animatronic in the intro scene and refreshed details throughout the show. In a year marked by the loss of beloved attractions, this feels like a rare spark of optimism—and hopefully a commitment to preserving one of Disney’s most historic rides.

A Brief History of Carousel of Progress

The Carousel of Progress first debuted at the 1964 New York World’s Fair, a collaboration between GE and WED Imagineering. Its rotating theater and Audio-Animatronic family swept guests through the 20th century in a way no ride had before.

After the fair, it moved to Disneyland in 1967, anchored in Tomorrowland for six years before moving to Walt Disney World in 1975. Here, it became a cornerstone of Tomorrowland—a long lasting tribute to the late Walt Disney’s sentiment that it was his favorite attraction.

A Time of Closures

This update arrives during a challenging time for park preservation. Disney has steadily retired or reimagined long-standing attractions in favor of new IP. Even the classic Country Bear Jamboree received a major overhaul, which we covered in No More Blood On the Saddle: Country Bear Musical Jamboree Misses An Opportunity.

More recently, Disney has misguidedly removed the Rivers of America, including the Liberty Belle and Tom Sawyer Island as we discussed in Paving Paradise: The Loss of Rivers of America, Liberty Belle, and Tom Sawyer Island.

In that context, investing in Carousel of Progress—even modestly—feels meaningful rather than incremental.

Walt Returns to the Stage

The decision to add Walt Disney himself as an Audio-Animatronic who welcomes guests in the opening scene is powerful—he’s no longer just a spirit guiding the show; he’ll be right there in the seat beside you. It signals respect for the ride’s legacy and for Walt’s continuing presence in the park. It’s particular striking because of the iconic video of Walt and the Sherman Brothers introducing/singing the attraction’s theme song- There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow.

Disney just invested in bringing the Walt animatronic at Disneyland to life for a stage show. You can picture the team of Imagineers asking themselves where else they could put him. Maybe Walt himself is new IP in this case. But at least, if he is, he’s helping keep this ride alive with the spirit he originally pushed for it.

Here’s a great cover of it by They Might Be Giants from the soundtrack of Disney’s “Meet the Robinsons”

Updating the Family

The family has been updated several times, including the period when GE was still sponsoring and wanted to focus on today over tomorrow, and replaced the theme of the ride with a new Sherman Brothers song, “Now is the Time” before reverting to the theme of progress.

Details are being refreshed throughout the show, which is welcome, especially since while there have been discussions by fans about updating the first three acts to later time periods to remain relevant, the first three acts (early 1900s, 1920s, 1940s) remain charming. But the final “future” scene?

It’s long been the weak link—gimmicky and outdated. This update is a chance to reimagine that finale into something that actually reflects tomorrow—not retro-futurism, or at least to return to the original retro-futurism of 1964 and bring the family back to Progress City.

A Commitment Worth Celebrating

At a time when so many original attractions are being repurposed or replaced, this is a reason to cheer. Disney hasn’t scrapped the Carousel—they’ve upgraded it. Let’s hope they follow through and give the final scene a future as bright as the promise this ride once delivered.

Because there’s still a great big beautiful tomorrow—and maybe, just maybe, it still belongs in Tomorrowland.