Carousel of Progress appreciation thread

[JusticeDisney]

Will always be my absolute favorite!

 

[graphite1326]

I love it but mainly because I remember seeing it at the 1964 Worlds Fair. My DW rolls her eyes when I tell her we MUST go on this ride.

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

One of my favorites and a must do for me. Great way to relax and take a load off.

 

[NormC]

I love it and if Disney ever needs a curator or onsite maintenance guy for it they can call me. I will keep all of those animatronics in working condition until I can no longer twist a screwdriver. It is a museum piece.

 

[MaximumEd]

Petition for thread title change.....A Salute to all Rides, but Mostly Carousel of Progress. It’s a must do for us every trip, and we then randomly sing the song for days after.

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

I have the theme song on my iPod

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Does anyone here remember the original iteration of the attraction at Disney World? Apart from some minor plot changes, the biggest differences were that another actor besides Jean Shepherd played the father (we called him "Mr. Johnson" because he looked exactly like "Dr. Johnson" at Mission to Mars), and the song was "The Best Time of Your Life", not "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow". I personally prefer the former, but that's probably because it's the one I knew as a kid.

I love the OG COP. We still have a video tape of the original show somewhere in our boxes in storage. Mom carted around one of those HUGE video cameras back in the early nineties and ended up taping COP along with several other rides (Horizons, World of Motion, the Original Journey into Imagination and Dreamflight) Gotta get that tape made into a DVD sometime so I can watch it again. The Best Time of Your Life will ALWAYS be the REAL COP song to me and my family

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Add me to the list of people who considers this a MUST DO on every trip. Usually we do it once per day that we are at MK. Mom and sister also love it!

 

[actioncookbook]

If you dont love COP, then you're a jerk and all your stories suck.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

One of my absolute faves, must do!

Gotta find a Christmas ornament of the dog.

 

[KaliSplash]

When my soon-to-be wife took me to Walt Disney World in 1979, the first thing I rode, other than the parking lot tram and the ferry boat, was the WEDway People Mover. Then we headed over to COP and I fell in love. Hope it always stays in place. Would be happy with a later scene update of course, but LOVE COP

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

I'm always singing Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow in my head.

 

[Jeff456]

I love it, do it multiple times every trip for me it's just classic WDW

 

[Phil12]

CoP is a testament to how slick advertising and marketing can sell product. But the attraction is getting old. Every time I ride it, it blows a fuse in Act 2. They need to get that NormC fella to get out his screwdriver and fix it!

 

[JIMINYCR]

We enjoy it enough that we make sure we visit it several times in a trip. I cringe whenever there is a mention from those haters that say its outdated and no longer has a place in MK. This segment of people dont have a real appreciation for what it brings to the park or the enjoyment this type of attraction holds. Long live CoP!!!

 

[NormC]

They need to get that NormC fella to get out his screwdriver and fix it!

I'd be glad to do so. I think the son does a good job on that though.

 

[redsfan4life]

Now is the time now best time be it a time of joy or strife ……. cheer be glad your here cause this is the best of your life

 

[danyoung56]

Now is the time now best time be it a time of joy or strife ……. cheer be glad your here cause this is the best of your life

"There's so much to cheer for, be glad you're here . . . . ."

 

[danyoung56]

Does anyone here remember the original iteration of the attraction at Disney World? Apart from some minor plot changes, the biggest differences were that another actor besides Jean Shepherd played the father.....

I'm pretty sure that was Rex Allen Sr., the current voice of Grandpa in the final scene. The show used "Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" in its initial run at the Fair and also at DL. When it moved to WDW they changed the theme song to "Now Is The Time", which I never warmed up to. I guess you like whichever you heard first!

 

[Walt Disney1955]

It was open "seasonally" in 2003 when I went which meant it was closed and on the chopping block.
My parents and I filled out a petition to get it off the chopping block.
I like to think it helped since its still around and I'm so happy that in recent years I'm surrounded by others in the theater that used to be so empty.

My brother in law said the same thing when he went in 2004. He said there was someone outside the ride asking for his signature to save it. I am glad it has stayed, what a shame that would have been, so much history and moments frozen in time. It makes me wonder, why even ask the public in the first place? Snow White and Mr. Toad never got that luxury, they just got rid of them without asking any fans at all. I am glad they did ask the public though, but why even consider it in the first place? It is vintage Disney. How much of that is left?