Is Carousel of Progress closing?

[Clyde Birdbrain]

Last week I exited CoP when I overheard a young girl, perhaps 10-years-old, tell her mom excitedly: "That was great, I really liked that!", to which her mom answered dryly: "Really? I almost fell asleep."

I thought it was sweet that the girl liked it so much, and I think it shows that even though CoP hasn't been updated in nearly 20 years it is still being enjoyed, even by young people. The show was quite full, perhaps a third of the chairs were taken, and this wasn't even a very busy day.

 

[ParentsOf4]

WHAAA? seriously. Even the potential and rumors of this happening make me sad. We just finally discovered and fell in love with this attraction on our last trip at the end of May. It was so stinkin' hot out that we went on it at least a couple times every day we were in the MK, entertaining for its nostalgia and the connection to Walt, it would be awful to lose this attraction!

COP lines are non-existent because guests are rushing to the more "glamorous" attractions in Tomorrowland. By the time they've experienced Space Mountain, Buzz, Speedway, Laugh Factory, Astro Orbiters, Stitch, and TTA, they are "done" with Tomorrowland, ready to move on elsewhere. COP gets lost in the hustle.

Few try COP on their first, second, or even third trips. It's tucked away, unadvertised, and misunderstood. Since most visit only a few times in their lifetimes, they simply feel they don't have time for COP. But after riding Space Mountain for the 14th time, people finally give it a try.

And they quickly realize COP is one of the "undiscovered gems" of WDW. It's not like Tiki, HotP, or CBJ. COP is entertaining.

People who experience it recognize that COP is one of Walt Disney's best. They appreciate the ride for what it is; a connection to Walt himself. A trip through time Walt's generation would have experienced. WDW is built around nostalgia and, more than any other attraction, COP is pure nostalgia.

 

[ChrisFL]

Well part of that is, unlike every other attraction in Tomorrowland, COP is difficult to see. Peoplemover, Astro Orbiter, Space Mountain, Stitch and The Laugh Floor are IN YOUR FACE. Even Buzz has props nearby "advertising" that its there. COP is kinda lost in the background from a physical standpoint.

 

[BrightImagine]

I love CoP, down to the old building smell. There were so many good points in this thread. It is true that it represents the progress made in a generation... Walt's generation. "Updating" the ending just messes up this generational flow. But it doesn't belong in "tomorrow" any more... It's a historic piece.

It would be heartbreaking to remove it, and several have pointed out that no one's going to dismantle and move it. (Although for a few minutes I had vision of someone acquiring and setting it up privately like that documentary about The Rock-Afire Explosion...)

The only acceptable solution I can think of is... Let it stand. Restore it to its original version and then disengage it from Tomorrowland. Designate it a mini-land... "Walt's tomorrow." Flank it with things like the Florida Project film, the EPCOT model, and displays about the original DL Tomorrowland attractions.

 

[Clever Name]

CoP, CBJ and the Tiki Room need to have their own area called Antique Animatronic Land.

 

[unkadug]

CoP doesn't draw crowds. It's an historic relic.

CoP, CBJ and the Tiki Room need to have their own area called Antique Animatronic Land.

Haven't you been on this bandwagon before? It seems very repetitive...

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

I've ridden CoP in both slow and busy seasons at WDW. It always at least has a fair amount of people attending. Last time I rode was the 24 hour day and the theater was actually pretty packed (so was the Tiki Room too), very few empty seats.

 

[TalkingHead]

It's always suspenseful to see the COP, because you're wondering which act(s) you'll have to see multiple times from the people getting up and walking out of the show.

Can't remember the last time I watched it without seeing a repeated scene or two.

Last time I saw it, we watched the second scene THREE times. That wasn't annoying. At all.

 

[JWG]

It's always suspenseful to see the COP, because you're wondering which act(s) you'll have to see multiple times from the people getting up and walking out of the show.

Can't remember the last time I watched it without seeing a repeated scene or two.

Last time I saw it, we watched the second scene THREE times. That wasn't annoying. At all.

In 12 trips have done this attraction probably 20 times - have NEVER had this happen. Interesting. My 6 year old sings the song though.
The could really expand the cast member parking lot if they'd level this thing. OR keep it, and have a hidden 2 level parking ramp.

 

[unkadug]

In 12 trips have done this attraction probably 20 times - have NEVER had this happen. Interesting. My 6 year old sings the song though.
The could really expand the cast member parking lot if they'd level this thing. OR keep it, and have a hidden 2 level parking ramp.

The cast members already have a huge parking lot. The parking lot that is inside the park is for the privileged few that should be parking where the rest of the CM park.

That whole area should be re-imagineered to become new attraction space.

 

[celluloid]

Yes it was a really lame move on how they leveled the Galaxy theater area and shoved all of that parking behind Carousel of Progress. Why anyone would want to park their car there is beyond me anyway. A lot of people rolling around very heavy trash carts and ya know...things happen. They also turned the AAA lounge into sort of a classroom/auxiliary area for Cast Member Services. So that being said if they did in fact level COP there would not be a ton of room to do anything worth while.

But that also being said the thing is in dire need of a refurb. Even looking past the redo factor of being up to date(which it so desperately needs) just an actual refurb.

 

[aladdin2007]

The cast members already have a huge parking lot. The parking lot that is inside the park is for the privileged few that should be parking where the rest of the CM park.

That whole area should be re-imagineered to become new attraction space.

TRUTH!! taking away a perfectly good theater space for parking was ridiculous, while putting up a horrible screen box thing in the middle of tomorrowland--- A ugly mess. Just out of curiosity how does one rate to get to park behind main street and tomorrowland? managers?

 

[Paul jr]

Why anyone would want to park their car there is beyond me anyway. .

Just out of curiosity how does one rate to get to park behind main street and tomorrowland? managers?

If you look on Google Map you can see that those parking spot are for diseable.

 

[Goofyernmost]

It's always suspenseful to see the COP, because you're wondering which act(s) you'll have to see multiple times from the people getting up and walking out of the show.

Can't remember the last time I watched it without seeing a repeated scene or two.

Last time I saw it, we watched the second scene THREE times. That wasn't annoying. At all.

By contrast I have ridden it more than multiple times since 1983 and have never been caught in a repeat scene. Not even once.

 

[sublimesting]

I love it. It's a refreshing break from the heat. The last scene though should be changed to either: update it frequently or go back to the 70's stop it at the birth of WDW and discuss the future. It's kind of silly to see early 90's technology that looks so outdated now 20 years later.

 

[pumpkin7]

The only thing wrong with the Carousel of Progress is people don't understand it's history. People don't understand that it's an older attraction. They need to educate the public! What does the video play just before you enter the CoP? If it's a history video, they need to start playing it big and bold for everyone to see. Otherwise the only mention to the rides age is at the beginning and not everyone catches it.
They've removed rides that didn't stay long enough, they keep rides that should have gone a long time ago and they change things that don't need to be changed.This is an attraction that needs to stay, it just needs to be looked after better. It could pull a big crowd but it doesn't because people just think it's dated. Update the animatronics and the last scene, please TDO! Don't get rid of CoP. It's such an interesting attraction and building, and has so many big fans, and fans in waiting.

 

[TalkingHead]

By contrast I have ridden it more than multiple times since 1983 and have never been caught in a repeat scene. Not even once.

I think it only repeats the scenes if the doors in the theater open within a couple minutes of the rotation, so it's quite possible people got up and left shows that you were in but didn't trigger the "freeze" that prevents the rotation.

 

[BrightImagine]

I love it. It's a refreshing break from the heat. The last scene though should be changed to either: update it frequently or go back to the 70's stop it at the birth of WDW and discuss the future. It's kind of silly to see early 90's technology that looks so outdated now 20 years later.

I love this idea so much! Walt didn't live to see the Magic Kingdom, but his brother did and someone of his age could have. A scene with the main character (forgive me, i forgot his name!) mentioning the "new" Magic Kingdom would be perfect. This would provide the link between the COP and its ultimate home.

 

[SoupBone]

WDW1974 said this on Tuesday...

"The first part is VERY troubling given that TDO is looking to shutter CoP in the near future. But, again, this is their MO. You don't update attractions, you don't maintain them, you don't advertise them and then you use the lower guest counts as an excuse to do what you always wanted to do to begin with."

I know many people say this, but I'm a multi times a year visitor to WDW and spend plenty of money there. If they were to can this attraction, Disney would lose me for a long time. I'm not saying I would never go back, but I would take a several years break from going if this were to ever happen.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I think it only repeats the scenes if the doors in the theater open within a couple minutes of the rotation, so it's quite possible people got up and left shows that you were in but didn't trigger the "freeze" that prevents the rotation.

Could be, but it it didn't stop, I have no problem with it.