COP should open a few days before, and a couple weeks after, Christmas.
Here are a few messages I found on the COP I thought I'd pass along:
The history of Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress starts in the early 60's when many companies were preparing for the World's Fair in New York City in 1964 and 1965. The Walt Disney Company, then known as WED Enterprises (Walter Elias Disney) was hired by several companies, Ford and Pepsi among them, to design and create exhibits to boldly represent their respective corporations. None, however, so grabbed the founder's heartstrings like the exhibit he was hired to produce for General Electric. Progressland's Carousel Theater would be a completely new experience for Walt, and a challenge he couldn't wait to throw himself into.
Walt immersed himself in the project, even choosing the voices for the show personally, to make sure that the characters reflected the midwestern values and attitudes that he felt so strongly about. (The voices of the father, both chosen by Walt, were Rex Allen and author/actor Jean Shepherd. Most people remember him as the writer and narrator of the movie "A Christmas Story.") Trying his hardest to let the engineers do the work, he took every opportunity to make his point ever so clear about what story the show should convey.
"When we were designing the thing, Walt couldn't resist getting up and doing the work himself," explains imagineer, John Hench. "He jumped in the bathtub for the Cousin that was visiting--the guy who invented air conditioning with the fan and block of ice. And he'd say, `What would Cousin Orville do if he were in here?' Walt turned the tub around to face the audience, and he took off his shoes and wiggled his toes to show us. He went through the whole bit. He did several of the acts and even vented dialogue as he went. He was the best storyman, particularly on the small bits of business, and it's the small individual things that you never forget." (Persistence of Vision Publishing)
Of all of the exhibits that came to fruition, the Carousel Theater was by far the fan-favorite. It is, in fact, often remembered as the G.E. pavilion. In reality, there were five different sections to the presentation, including Fusion on Earth and Electric Living - an on display electric community.
After the fair's end in 1965, the theater was demolished while all of the animatronics and control systems were moved to Disneyland so the show could be put on display in Tommorowland. The name was changed from Progressland to G.E.'s Carousel of Progress. It remained there until the early 70's, when it was closed and moved to Walt Disney World in Florida, being replaced at Disneyland by America Sings. The theme song that had been used since the opening at the fair, "Great Big, Beautiful Tomorrow," was dropped during the transition, and changed to "Now is the Time." A major change was made in 1992 when G.E. removed its sponsorship of the attraction. A dramatic rewrite of the final scene, changed the setting from a late 60's culture to a more 90's look with high definition T.V., Dad in the kitchen, and Mom doing her work at the computer. (Which if you look closely, is scrolling the script along with the animatronic family.) During this revamp, the show was renamed Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress and the original song was returned to it's rightful place. Today, the show has the distinguishment of having more performances than any other stage presentation in the world.
Friends,
The love of the American family was one that Walt carried more than almost any other. He felt strongly about the ties that had bound that same family together for centuries, and the way that different generations adapted to their surroundings. Now, at a time when so many of those ties have been broken in so many different ways, and the focus of the vast majority of our society has shifted from the "we" to the "I," we're on the verge of losing a great resource that promotes the same idea of American perseverance that Walt Disney himself tried so often to convey.
It has been rumored as of late that, in the coming years, Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress will stop turning and fall in the path of "progress" itself. Replaced by a new "Flying Saucers" attraction, one of the last jewels of Walt's own imagination will be lost forever.
Before the words "Walt Disney" became the name of the world's second largest entertainment company, those words were the name of a man. It seems more and more that the people who make such insignificant decisions as deciding what goes where, and why it should be there, are forgetting about him. Little do they realize that there are more things involved in the creation of a place such as the Magic Kingdom than just numbers and statistics.
I myself find merit in the corners of the parks not ventured into by the thrill seekers. "Pirates of the Caribbean" has numbers comparable to the Carousel, yet it wouldn't ever be removed - as well it shouldn't. There are some decisions that you make with sentimental influence - this is one of them.
Some may say that sentimental value isn't enough to go on. Well, friends, that's all we have to go on. My family has been to Walt Disney World at least once a year since it opened, and sometimes twice, three times, four times, or even five. And we're from Northern Kentucky. I'm sure that many of you tell a similar tale. Not once have we missed the "Carousel of Progress," and then walked around the parks all day belting out, "Great Big, Beautiful Tomorrow," and for most of our lives "Now is the Time." And as financial supporters of the company, the people who made it as big as it is today, we all deserve at least the chance to have our opinions considered, and yes, even our emotions, too.
Thank you for your support,
Jacob M. Addison
from
http://carouselofprogress.tripod.com/home.html
with all the talk of it closing down for the past few years.... it never goes away permanently...
