lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
Four of the five lands of Disneyland looked to the past. Even the basic organizationals scheme of EPCOT was discussed in 1898.
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Thoughts on Carousel of Progress
- Thread starter Kevin Kuhl
- Start date
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
I'm sorry, but how is that relevant to anything. Anyone connected with building any of the Disney stuff wasn't even born yet in 1898. Technology and the like, were not even realistically imagined. Why would anyone be discussing that at that point of time? Even if true, I don't think that it is out of line for Walt and Company to take the good ideas of others and improve upon them (plus it). That really was the Disney difference.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
Garden Cities of To-Morrow by Ebenezer Howard lays out an urban organization very much like that which was proposed for EPCOT. The work is even referenced in The Heart of Our Cities by Victor Gruen, a copy of which Walt Disney owned and lays out an even closer organizational system. Looking to the past to build upon for the future is the difference between then and now, where the past is discarded as worthless.
Also, Roy Disney was five years old in 1898.
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
Kinda young to be in the discussion don't you think? Must have been a smart youngster!
On the other matter the second thing I said applies, but, I still don't know what it has to do with anything... what is the point without first saying what you just said in your post. Borrowing from the past to create the future. Is that what you are saying?
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
It was offered as a counter to Iger's views being related to Walt's. Walt wasn't so singularly focused just on what is next because the past clearly interested him and was present in his work.Kinda young to be in the discussion don't you think? Must have been a smart youngster!
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
OK, that does fit in. You should have been a little clearer because I did not follow the logic on it's own. I wasn't sure what you were getting at. I do now and it makes sense.
ZodIsGr8
Well-Known Member
The CoP is one of the best rides at WDW!!! It has stood the test of time for 50 years and never gets old. It is also a ride that WAlt was part of that is actually at WDW. I love this ride as you can tell by my picture. If they ever remove this ride I will protest and not renew my passes!!!!!! Thank you for creating this thread!!!!
PAW PAW 70
Active Member
COP is underrated we ride this attraction at least twice each time we go.
Victor Kelly
Well-Known Member
Completely skipped it when we were there this month. We were just too busy this time around.
Ben_since_1971
Well-Known Member
In the "It"ll never happen" column, I'd like to see them completely re-do it with modern animatronics. Maybe some new scenes so you are not going from the 1940s ahead 70 years but to keep the progression moving. Keep maybe the first scene or include some original props in the new scenes as nods to the original, but re-do it as an homage to Walt but also showing off what they can do with animatronics.
I've ridden it, and the last time I was there, I realized it could be a good quick nap time, however I do love the nostalgia of the ride...but it does need to be updated, and is it a ride that I would miss if it is gone, it's hard to say, I've never grown super attached to it but have ridden it every time I've gone to Disney (3 times).
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
The CoP is just historic now. Not only in it's complete story, but, because of the Walt connection. Ironically, If Walt were still alive the chances are that it would have been scrap-heaped a long time ago and replaced by something new and different. It exists now, because Walt doesn't. Funny how that works.
That said, I think it should stay and just for the reasons that I just mentioned. We all need to see not only where Disney came from but where we all came from over the last century as well. This show does a great job of both. New shows, rides or whatever, can update to now or the future, that one needs to stay as it is. New Animatronics and a cleaned up theater, yes! But otherwise the story remains the same. It is a Disney gem and the new kids in management do not have enough knowledge or ability to recognize it. Small point... when was the last time you got to sit and move from scene to scene in a theater? (not a ride) What an amazing thing, especially for it's time. Nothing much even comes close to matching the uniqueness of it, even today.
That said, I think it should stay and just for the reasons that I just mentioned. We all need to see not only where Disney came from but where we all came from over the last century as well. This show does a great job of both. New shows, rides or whatever, can update to now or the future, that one needs to stay as it is. New Animatronics and a cleaned up theater, yes! But otherwise the story remains the same. It is a Disney gem and the new kids in management do not have enough knowledge or ability to recognize it. Small point... when was the last time you got to sit and move from scene to scene in a theater? (not a ride) What an amazing thing, especially for it's time. Nothing much even comes close to matching the uniqueness of it, even today.
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
I can understand that. Not everyone has a moment that makes this particular show become special to them. I had two and neither one had anything to do with the ride or it's Worlds Fair origins.
The first time I saw it I was with my Wife and two young daughters (one was 9 and the other was 7). The song was "Now is the Time" and for me it absolutely was. This was the first vacation that we, as a family, were able to afford to go on. Everything about it was perfect. The weather, the events, the family time, everything. We were able to memorize the song from one showing and sang it all the way back home to Vermont. I loved the show, they loved the show, it had nothing but great written all over it. I have allowed myself to flash back to that time and feeling many times since then and it has never failed to bring me out of a life induced funk that happens to all of us from time to time.
Jump ahead a lot of years and a series of life had forced it's way into my cocoon. I had lost my business through no fault of my own, had to declare bankruptcy, both my daughters had married and left home (a good thing but I missed them), I had gotten a job that I can't even describe the degree of hate that I had for it and my wife had decided that she no longer wanted to be married to me or anybody else. I was, and this is no exaggeration, at the lowest point of my life that I can ever remember. Even my government sponsored year long trip to South Vietnam didn't seem that bad at the time. At least that had an ending date. Anyway, I decided to take a road trip to see if I could find a way to get over this. I went to WDW and one of my first visits was to CoP because I was hoping that I could shake this depression by being part of something that once made me so happy. To my surprise, by this time they had changed the attraction song to "Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow", and the new (old) song struck a nerve with me. Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow made me think that maybe there was a way out of this, maybe things might get better, all I had to do was keep trying. I did, and it did and I am now and have been for a few years now completely happy with my life and how it has turned out. I just needed some reassurance that there was a way.
Now I know that my situation and my reaction to the music and memories is more then likely unique to me, but, that is what gave me the connection to a show with corny dialog and plastic looking robots. It wasn't the show it was what the show meant, at least to me. Both were upbeat, both promised good things. I guess that my loyalty to that show is just my way of thanking Walt Disney for being who he was and doing what he did. People much younger then me do not have that connection. Walt died the year that I graduated from High School, so I knew him via the media very well. It was that show that really told me what he was and how much admiration that I had for one guy. One guy that changed so many things for so many people. Not taking care of that attraction or worse yet, bulldozing it into splinters to me is just wrong. We need a way to remember what he created and trying to come up with a number of people that can appreciate it for what it is and not what they would like it to be. (a thrill ride)
I have loved the COP since I was a child. Admittedly, I am kind of a nerd. When I was a teenager, my favorite park was EPCOT. These were the days before Test Track and Mission:Space. I am going to WDW in less than three weeks. Not sure if I will make it on COP because I am going with a 4 year old and a 1.5 year old and I cant see them appreciating it yet. I think the third scene should be changed to how things were in the 90's and maybe they could do a narrated summation about technology in the future.
hth1917
Well-Known Member
I love the CoP, but it is badly in need of a top-to-bottom refurb. I'd like to see them restore the show to its original 1964 form and give up on the pretense of keeping the last scene up-to-date. The 1960s aesthetic of the original finale would resonate well with audiences accustomed to Archer and Mad Men.
Welcome to the board. May you only waste half as much time as I do on it.It's a great spot for taking a nap! But seriously, my DH LOVES this ride so we do it every trip. Last time we got stuck on it for quite a while. Even he had 'enough' of the song.
Strong first post huh?