Amazing Find! Vintage CoP pictures!

[Expo_Seeker40]

MUWAHAHA after months of searching I have finally found vintage color photographs of the General Electric Carousel of Progress at Disneyland! This was the second version of the 1964 world's fair performance, and was atleast 90% or more the same as it was. These pictures were taking in 1973. Only months later the ride would close.

So be amazed first timers to see how the show originally ended [somewhat] with christmas 1960 with mother and father and rover sitting in their living room with a futurisitc approach with the city of EPCOT behind their windows. Sorry but the pictures were a little dark to show the actual backdrop.

Be surprised to see Father actually sitting on a stool in the house of 1940. For some reason, the disneyland version brought him out on a stool.

And of course the 1900 and 1920s scene are nearly identical as to what they are now, but look at the physical features of Father. "Somewhat" different to the current 1994 version of father that plays in today's show.

Here are the links: :sohappy: :wave:

http://www.hanthorn.com/disneyland73/dl7347.jpg Father in 1900.

http://www.hanthorn.com/disneyland73/dl7350.jpg Father in 1920

http://www.hanthorn.com/disneyland73/dl7352.jpg A much different viewpoint of Father in 1940

http://www.hanthorn.com/disneyland73/dl7353.jpg Notice how the original 1940 kitchen had a very different alcove, or "nook" as we call it.

http://www.hanthorn.com/disneyland73/dl7354.jpg A slightly different Rover in the kitchen of 1960/EPCOT City concept

http://www.hanthorn.com/disneyland73/dl7355.jpg Father in the house of 1960

http://www.hanthorn.com/disneyland73/dl7356.jpg Mother in the house of 1960, notice that it's Christmas.

I give honor and praise to whoever took these pohotgraphs. I merely found them again after loosing track of the website some time ago. I hope everyone enjoys these. I sure did!

 

[NemoRocks78]

Great find! Thanks for the sharing that!

 

[WDWScottieBoy]

I've always wanted to know how that ride has changed through the years. I've never taken the time to search for images, so thanks for sharing them. As long as they don't touch that ride (for the worse) I'm a happy guy! :sohappy:

 

[General Grizz]

To think that this show came out only a year after Audio-Animatronics were created. . .

I love Walt Disney more and more every day.

(I can't wait till tomorrow! )

 

[marni1971]

I love these `vintage` websites. Thanks for the link. For anyone who dosn`t know, check out www.nywf64.com - contents, then pavilions. Click on General Electric for a whole load of detail about the concept, design, construction and operation of the original CoP!

 

[monorail_driver]

Wow! I've been searching for photos like this!! AWESOME!! Another reason to SAVE THE CAROUSEL - because this truly shows the progress at work during the years at Disney!! Thanks for sharing!!

 

[One Lil Spark]

The 60's one was really neat! Thanks for the links.

Rover looks a little familiar to me, but I always seem to remember the one at WDW changing a little when the songs changed. I can remember being like "Hu? That's not the same kitchen appliance..." or something along those lines right when the songs changed.

Is this true, or am I just imagining??

 

[Expo_Seeker40]

I think "One Lil Spark" you might be thinking of the two different versions of "Now is the Time".

When the Carousel of Progress opened in 1975 here in WDW it automatically began with the new theme song "Now Is The Time". Now remember this was when General Electric still sponsored the attraction. Outside was a tall tower with the GE logo on it, and inside in the load and unload theaters was the GE logo emblazed on the silver curtain.

The original ending for "Now is the Time" ended with the family celebrating New Years Eve 1970 in the contemporary great room in ACT IV. Gone was Mother and Father celebrating Christmas 1960 like it was in the 1964 and 1967 carousel of progress.

In the 1975 Carousel of Progress, General Electric and "Bringing Good Things To Life" were of course mentioned. The room had fake wood paneling. Brown carpeting, grey furnaiture, and indian style wall paper boarders.

Grandpa sat in his own chair where he does now. Jane [now called Patricia] sat on the grey couch playing the guitar with Grandma sitting next to her on the couch. Now back then Jane had long black hair, and wore a white shirt with blue bell bottoms.

James sat on the bar stool like he does now. He wore a red sweater and plaid pants. Father of course was making dinner in the kitchen with the brown appliances and double decker stove. :lol:

Mother sat at the desk where she does now, only there was no Macontosh Computer, she was writing a note to someone, and the TV set, which at that time was enclosed in a brown furnature pice sat close to where the current TV is now.

Now when GE dropped sponsrhsip in 1985, all refrences were lost and the first three Acts remained the same, with slight changes to taking out GE.

Act IV became New Years Eve 1980. This is the more memorable version.

Jane had blond hair and was playing guitar in that hanging basket/chair. Grandpa sat in his own chair, and Grandma sat on the steps holding the cat.

James wore a orange track suit and had black hair. Mother worked on her Macontosh Computer.

 

[One Lil Spark]

Well, I'm only 21 so I don't think I could remember that stuff since I was born in '83. (Eekkk, I'm a youngin...)

But I really remember the switch over from song to song and I remember distinct differences between sets and such. I even remember going "where's Jane??" when I was younger! Maybe I had Walt's vision in my head and I didn't even know it?? :lol:

 

[Expo_Seeker40]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh LOL :hammer: :lol: You must be talking about when the Carousel of Progress closed and reopened in 1994 or maybe it was 1996? :veryconfu

Yes during the conversion to the new Tomorrowland at WDW, it was decided for the 30th anniversary for the Carousel of Progress [so it had to be 1994], that the show would be updated to respresent the year 2000 invisioned from the thinkers of 1994. The original theme song would also come back, that being "There's A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" came back, including a whole new cast of voices. The show would also mention its routes at the 1964 New York World's Fair.

Interesting though, the current version isn't exactly something I favor. Not only do we have an oudated and inacurate ending, you still have a 60 year gap between 1940 and 2000. The first three acts though similar, still aren't like what they were in 1964, and there's hardly any original narrative script left. The kaleidophonic screens never came back, Christmas 1960 never came back, nor was the show expanded and moved to EPCOT Center when Disney still had money before 9/11, and even though I like the Carousel of Progress, the show must be changed somehow, for the current version, though still taking in very respectable crowds, just doesn't do justice for this ride's better early years.

 

[One Lil Spark]

That makes sense... I would have been about 11 and that was when I was going to WDW one weekend a month when we lived in St. Pete!

Thanks for the clarification!

 

[General Grizz]

Carousel of Progress reopened in 1993 as the "New Tomorrowland" GBBT version. (Something is still telling me 1994. How frustrating! Definitely not past 1994.) Jane became Patricia and adopted a brand new Statue of Liberty outfit.

 

[wardrobeguy]

Hey... Thanks so much for the links to the vintage photos! I love the lucite chairs in the kitchen of 1960.

 

[Woody13]

Act IV became New Years Eve 1980. This is the more memorable version.

Jane had blond hair and was playing guitar in that hanging basket/chair. Grandpa sat in his own chair, and Grandma sat on the steps holding the cat.

James wore a orange track suit and had black hair. Mother worked on her Macontosh Computer.

WOW! CoP was way ahead of the real world! The Apple Macintosh was not even announced until January 24, 1984. CoP had one four years earlier! Simply amazing!

 

[Expo_Seeker40]

Yea and the talking oven, visioned in 1994 has yet to become a major feature in the public's home, even if you do *accidently* tell your oven to 975 degrees! :lol:

 

[General Grizz]

Yea and the talking oven, visioned in 1994 has yet to become a major feature in the public's home, even if you do *accidently* tell your oven to 975 degrees! :lol:

Oh well. Another Christmas turkey ruined.

Anyone for pizza? :lookaroun

 

[Steamboat_Kevin]

Great pictures!!! Very interesting to see how it has changed :sohappy:

 

[One Lil Spark]

Yea and the talking oven, visioned in 1994 has yet to become a major feature in the public's home, even if you do *accidently* tell your oven to 975 degrees! :lol:

I can't even get the voice dial recognition on my cell phone to work! I'm sure that when I'd be dialing a number outloud I would blow my kitchen up!!

"525-3326"

"KABOOM!!!"

 

[Expo_Seeker40]

LMAO!!! :sohappy: :lol: :hammer: :hammer: :hammer:

.......hey Grizz....or anyone for pizza?! :lookaroun