Carousel of Progress Sign Change

[aladdin2007]

I'm really hoping here that a CoP upgrade/redo is in order for the 40th. That and the Jungle Cruise. WDW has so much potential and opportunity to please all of us fanboys...I hope they take a lot of these chances!

Would have been nice but the time window has closed for those things at least for the Jungle Cruise. Theres no plans for CoP that I have heard.

 

[Captain Chaos]

If you look at bottom of the sign, the way it's anchored, it definitely looks temporary. Or they went the cheap route all around.

Well, it is TDO... Cheap is their favorite word...

The sign looks dreadful... Maybe it is only temporary.. Hope it is only temporary... Better be only temporary.... But, we know how temporary works with TDO... 20 - 25 years later, it is still there...

 

[acr123]

I'm really hoping here that a CoP upgrade/redo is in order for the 40th. That and the Jungle Cruise. WDW has so much potential and opportunity to please all of us fanboys...I hope they take a lot of these chances!

Jungle Cruise needs it bad. The boat motors give off awful smoke and fumes and they also need to work on the "guides" on that ride. The experiences on the ride during our last trip a couple years ago were pretty awful. The skippers pretty much made a big joke out of the ride and cracked REALLY lame jokes that didnt pertain to the ride at all. It was hardly and immersive experience. Also I know its Florida and hot but the guide also reaked to high heaven and was sweating all over the place. Like I said the last couple trips on that ride have been awful. They need to have a place near by for the skippers to freshen up and change!

 

[flavious27]

Jungle Cruise needs it bad. The boat motors give off awful smoke and fumes and they also need to work on the "guides" on that ride. The experiences on the ride during our last trip a couple years ago were pretty awful. The skippers pretty much made a big joke out of the ride and cracked REALLY lame jokes that didnt pertain to the ride at all. It was hardly and immersive experience. Also I know its Florida and hot but the guide also reaked to high heaven and was sweating all over the place. Like I said the last couple trips on that ride have been awful. They need to have a place near by for the skippers to freshen up and change!

The lame skipper jokes add to the ride, it is part of why we like it.

 

[stitch2008]

Just had a thought, maybe this sign is in fact temporary while they redo the one that was there into a special 40th anniversary sign version? probably unlikely but :wave:

This. If I remember, the sign wasnt bolted into the ground in one of the pictures shown. Its temporary.

 

[Innoventions]

Obviously temporary. It seems to me its the same shape, could the face of the sign and the rest just be removed for cleaning? If so, i see this as the reason. Funny, if that is the case, The Carousel of Progress (one of my all time favorite attractions) is finally getting much deserved attention. I take this as a positive until i see proof that it is permanent. As of now, this is good news in my eye.

 

[rct247]

UPDATE: As of today (June 9, 2011), the old sign is back in place. It was being refurbished. The paint looks fresh. It is the same colors as it was before. The only thing I noticed that was different was that the year in the top gear is gone completely now as if it was never a feature there. Glad to see the old sign back though.

 

[Scuttle]

Were the walls still up around the star globe in Tomorrowland? As of June 5th they were and I sure hope that thing doesnt go away. I love those small things that give me flashbacks like the shields in the Peter Pan queue do.

 

[rct247]

Yes, as of today as well (June 9, 2011) walls are still up around it. The work behind those walls looks extensive. You can see over the walls naturally by riding the Peoplemover or from the top of the Astro Orbiter. The object was removed completely as well as the concrete around it. There is a large hole with dirt dug up where it was with a few pipes sticking up. Not sure what they are doing though.

 

[Thurp]

Yes, as of today as well (June 9, 2011) walls are still up around it. The work behind those walls looks extensive. You can see over the walls naturally by riding the Peoplemover or from the top of the Astro Orbiter. The object was removed completely as well as the concrete around it. There is a large hole with dirt dug up where it was with a few pipes sticking up. Not sure what they are doing though.

They are refurbishing it. The ball has been wrapped and it's sitting backstage.

 

[CaptainWinter]

UPDATE: As of today (June 9, 2011), the old sign is back in place. It was being refurbished. The paint looks fresh. It is the same colors as it was before. The only thing I noticed that was different was that the year in the top gear is gone completely now as if it was never a feature there. Glad to see the old sign back though.

Pic please! TIA.

 

[packwingfn]

I'm really bummed that they got rid of the year. That was my favorite part of the sign. Since 2007, I have been taking photos of me in front of the sign with the year every year to see my progress over the year so it would be cool compare myself from 2007 to 2037. I can't believe they got rid of the year. I'm really bummed. I'll still continue to do this but i'll just have to make a sign that says the current year when I do it in 2012.

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/228758_608425039709_52802705_33365179_7114187_n.jpg

 

[allgar]

UPDATE: As of today (June 9, 2011), the old sign is back in place. It was being refurbished. The paint looks fresh. It is the same colors as it was before. The only thing I noticed that was different was that the year in the top gear is gone completely now as if it was never a feature there. Glad to see the old sign back though.

Wow! This change (taking out the year) is purely designed to reduce effort. I'm simply amazed at some of the moves Disney makes to save money. In the forever search for maintaining/growing profitability margins the Disney product continues to be diluted. As a businessman, I understand the bottom line and as an investor in many many companies I am guilty of demanding profitability from the companies in which I invest, but in any business one has to be weary of the "shrink yourself to greatness" mentality. i.e. If you have to slowly erode and disolve the customer value which built the profitability in the first place there will be a tipping point when you begin losing customers because of it. I fear the day when Disney reaches that point.... or are they already there?

I know it's just a sign, but the small detail of the sign is just one of the thousands of details which make up the magic. If it weren't for the details Disney wouldn't be Disney. I don't care about the year being gone personally, I've never really held it in much regard. I do care, however, that the minor details are disappearing. It makes me sad, and makes Disney feel too much like a business and a lot less like the "friend" I've known and loved my whole life. Sorry this is way off topic on this thread but I couldn't control my disappointment.

 

[NewfieFan]

I know it's just a sign, but the small detail of the sign is just one of the thousands of details which make up the magic. If it weren't for the details Disney wouldn't be Disney. I don't care about the year being gone personally, I've never really held it in much regard. I do care, however, that the minor details are disappearing. It makes me sad, and makes Disney feel too much like a business and a lot less like the "friend" I've known and loved my whole life. Sorry this is way off topic on this thread but I couldn't control my disappointment.

I have to agree with this! No, the date being removed is not going to ruin my next trip and I'm sure the casual guest will never know or notice... but like you said, it's the details that make Disney special. They might be small but they add up to something bigger!

I am glad the sign is back, though... I assumed the other one was temporary!

 

[theguitarman]

Not sure why they had the year on there in the first place. It's not like they updated any scene to make them the "current year", so CoP 2010 = CoP 2011. My guess is that someone asked why are we doing this, and no one could answer!

That being said, I really do like the idea that packwingfn had, taking the annual picture! Sorry that you can no longer do that!

 

[Compass East]

I believe the year originally changed to show changing times - it would go from the early 20th century through the end of the century. Does anyone remember that?

 

[mightynine]

Considering how slapdash the placement of the year has been on that sign in recent years, I'm fine with them getting rid of it.

 

[JustInTime]

I'm really bummed that they got rid of the year. That was my favorite part of the sign. Since 2007, I have been taking photos of me in front of the sign with the year every year to see my progress over the year so it would be cool compare myself from 2007 to 2037. I can't believe they got rid of the year. I'm really bummed. I'll still continue to do this but i'll just have to make a sign that says the current year when I do it in 2012.

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/228758_608425039709_52802705_33365179_7114187_n.jpg

AWW! That is really sad for you!

 

[packwingfn]

The thing is I can STILL do it, I just need to make my own sign on a giant piece of paper (so that the camera can see it) and do it then. It won't stop me! At least the sign itself didn't change!!!

I live down in Florida now so it's really easy for me to take a new photo every year.

 

[Thurp]

New sign - taken today.