Disney is finally making a long-awaited change, and we’re just a wee bit nervous.
Carousel of Progress
At the 2025 D23 Ultimate Fan Event, Disney made a surprise announcement that major changes were coming to the iconic Carousel of Progress at the Magic Kingdom. A Walt Disney animatronic — similar to the one that debuted at Disneyland earlier this year — will now be part of the attraction’s pre-show, and the entire presentation will be updated, likely with a new finale.
I’ve been covering Disney’s theme parks for 6+ years — and visiting them for 5X as long — and for most of that time I’ve been banging the drum for the Carousel of Progress’s dated 1994 finale to be updated. Yet, the news out of D23 — while welcome — has me feeling a bit apprehensive.
I’m 100% on board with the Walt Disney animatronic as, arguably, there’s no attraction where he belongs more than in the Carousel of Progress, plus the concept art indicates he’ll be in a mock-up of the Imagineering studio set from the classic 1960s Disney television series, complete with several classic easter eggs.
©Disney
Also, as stated above, I’m all for the attraction’s dated 1994 finale to be replaced. (Apologies to all the fans of Resident Flying Ace Grandma.)
The “Resident Flying Ace” is about to be grounded.
So, what am I concerned about? Well, in Disney’s official announcement of the attraction change, they wrote, “There are still plenty of additional details to be revealed, including what John, Sarah, and the rest of the family are up to. Disney Imagineers love this attraction and the heart of it will stay the same while introducing the Carousel of Progress to an entirely new generation of fans, showing them that a great big, beautiful tomorrow is just a dream away. “
While that sounds well and good on the surface, I must admit that the tone concerns me a bit. Carousel of Progress is a unique attraction in Disney history. Since its debut at the 1964 New York World’s Fair — and through moves across the country to Disneyland and then back to Walt Disney World — the attraction has been both a progress-focused look at the future, while at the same time being a nostalgic look at the past. That latter element has become even more important to the presentation in the last three decades, as the show has been treated almost as a museum-style tribute to Walt Disney.
Carousel of Progress celebrates its own past
My slight fear is that, while some changes are necessary, Disney may alter the first three acts of the show so much that they don’t resemble the classic version of the show, and in turn lose that aforementioned museum-like tribute quality. This would be especially ironic considering the addition of the Walt animatronic.
“That’s progress for ya'”
All of that said, however, I am overall excited for the Carousel of Progress refurbishment. The show has needed one for a long time; the addition of the Walt animatronic introduction makes perfect thematic sense, and a new future finale depicting a modern take on the “Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” is much-needed. I’m just hoping that the mid-portion of the show doesn’t change too much. Stay tuned to DFB for more on this project.
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I 100% agree and CoP is my favorite Disney attraction. I will say, though, that I think they could redo the scripts of those middle portions to take the emphasis away from the appliances and focus more on technology in general, as GE is no longer a sponsor. It would be really interesting to hear John reflect on more than just the over and laundry situation.