Carousel of Progress
One of the oldest continuing attentions in Disney World is the Carousel of Progress which made its original debut at the 1964 World Fair. After the fair, it was moved to Tomorrowland Disneyland and stayed there until 1974. In 1975, it premiered in Walt Disney World.
The Carousel of Progress offers Disney guests a unique opportunity to sit in a moving theater and learn about how technology in the 20th Century has improved the American Family.
The entire show is just about 20 minutes long, which makes this a great place for little ones to rest for a bit. My 4-year-old daughter enjoyed sitting through the show and listening to the music.
The Carousel of Progress is a great place to head to when a sudden afternoon rain storm hits. Much of the waiting area is under cover and you won't have to wait too long to get in. If it's still raining after the ride, you can use the People Mover as cover to get something to eat or shopping.
Just about every seat in the theater is a good seat. I have found that the center seats in the back two rows to offer the best vantage point to see everything going on. If you want to look at the details sit in front row.
Photography and videotaping are not permitted during the show. I have been to a couple of shows where I got distracted because of the rear camera screen or the occasional flash photography. If you plan to film the show, please do it in the back row and learn how to take pictures without a flash.
Despite the no video recording policy, Disney Guest still managed to get some good quality videos on Youtube.
Here are some things to pay attention to on your next show:
- In the first Act, "Turn of the Century" there is a calendar on the back wall - near the clock. Check out the month and year. (You may need to sit in the front row to the far right for this one.)
- In the first Act a little girl is introduced helping the mother with the laundry but then is never mentioned again. What happened to her?
- In the 2nd Act look at the fathers shoes, it looks like that he has on two left shoes.
- There is a cat in every Act. You do have to look hard in some Act, but there is a cat showplace.
- The original Imagineers created the dog on the Carousel of Progress to look exactly like Walt Disney's Dog. It's the same dog you see on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, holding the key the prisoners want.
- In every Act there is a well placed hidden Mickey. In the final Act, you can see at least three; include one very well place Mickey Mouse stuff figure by the presents under the tree. Look around the room for other "Hidden Mickey."
- In the last scene, if you look at the billboard you will see a note which says - "Marty called - he wants changes!" This is certainly a poke at Walt Disney Imagineering President Marty Skylar, who always made last minute changes.
- Can you guess where in the United States the Carousel of Progress family actually lives? Hint: It's not California or Florida! Look for clues throughout the show!
Walt Disney was a fan of the Carousel of Progress and told many people that it was his favorite attraction. He did a lot of work for the 1964 World Fair, but he spent most of his time making sure that the Carousel of Progress came out just right.
A really cool thing that Disney did was to add a date to the Carousel of Progress sign in Tomorrowland. This allowed guests the opportunity to take pictures of the sign with a dated milestone of their trip. A few years ago the date was removed from the sign. It's not clear why Disney did this. Currently, there's no milestone landmark that guest can take as a traditional souvenir photo.