Rumor Tom Hanks rumored to be new narrator for the Carousel of Progress

[NelsonRD]

Funny how Hanks voice makes you think of Woody. He's played so many different types of characters. My first recollection of Hanks was in the sitcom, Bosom Buddies.

My young girls won't ask why Bosom Buddies is narrating CoP, but they may wonder why Woody is.

 

[2bornot2be]

COP is in need of updating, especially the last scene, it is almost sad to see “the future” as they envisioned it years ago.

I hope Disney is actually taking a real look at updating the show and Tom Hanks would be a great choice as the voice.

 

[CaptinEO]

I actually wouldnt mind this (even though I'm not a fan of Hank's live acting). His voice does fit closely with Jean Shepard.

 

[pumpkin7]

The current narrator wasn't even the original.

I love the original narration of CoP. It's so wonderfully sexist! I can totally see why they had to change it.

My favourite part is where John tells the Mrs to get back to ironing his shirts, and she's just 'yes dear'. Good wifey.

 

[Lorne82]

It’s rumors like this which I enjoy this forum for very much. Whether or not it’s true, it’s fun to think of what Hanks might sound like.

Standing by for Jessica Figueroa to steal this rumor and post it on the website which shall not be named to try to impress her obsession Tom Corless after being rejected by him again.

 

[Demarke]

Funny how Hanks voice makes you think of Woody. He's played so many different types of characters. My first recollection of Hanks was in the sitcom, Bosom Buddies.

Why is Alex P Keaton’s drunk uncle narrating this ride?

Real question - with advances in computing and animatronic technology, could there be room now to take one of the two load/unload areas and add a new scene rather than completely rework all the others? Like if you make the current last scene be the 2000’s and add a half-scene-worth of a new future to the unload segment instead of a blank audio recap.

 

[muddyrivers]

I'll play along with the rumor.

Please no, no Tom Hanks, or any celebrity for CoP. He has contributed to too many roles and his voice will only bore me.
I would prefer a non-celebrity voice where there would be no thoughts of Woody, while focusing on the attraction rather than the voice. It is the reason most movies are terrible, the focus is on famous actors and special effects, and lack a good story.

I 100% agree. Think about all the songs from the Disney parks throughout the years we absolutely love, hum, and sing along to. We focus on the music and the words and that's what we love. If a famous person were singing those songs, I don't think it would stick with us as well and put the focus of the song on the artist.

Like music, attractions' narrations should have a focus on the ride and what is being said rather than who it is being said by. If Tom Hanks or any other actor was chosen as the new voice, the attention would be on him and not the Carousel itself.

 

[huwar18]

I'll play How about this guy View attachment 523650 Disney/Pixar seems to have him under contract

Haha Thanks for ruining the CoP for me (kidding). Every time I hear the narration, I’m going to hear Ham or Abominable doing it.

 

[DisneyCane]

Like since at least the late 1980s...

I recognize much of the nostalgia for this show (which I largely share), but they really need to spread out the decades a little farther. Maybe 1900s, 1950s, late 1980s-early 1990s and the present. How many people today can even really appreciate the technological differences between the 19 aughts and the 1920s?

And of course, none of this will ever happen...

A lot of people can't even appreciate the technological differences from the 1990's to today. In a 1990s scene the dad can say, "my son is doing this new thing called texting." The son can respond, "I can write 'hi' by pressing the four key twice and then pressing it three times."

I mean there is nobody alive today that would understand being skeptical about an airplane flying.

 

[WillWrambles]

Just make the new narrator Rex Allen Jr! Come on Disney!

 

[DisneyCane]

Why is Alex P Keaton’s drunk uncle narrating this ride?

Real question - with advances in computing and animatronic technology, could there be room now to take one of the two load/unload areas and add a new scene rather than completely rework all the others? Like if you make the current last scene be the 2000’s and add a half-scene-worth of a new future to the unload segment instead of a blank audio recap.

Is there actually space on the stage side of the load/unload rooms to add a scene? I've always wondered if there are just empty stages behind the curtain that are the same as the other scenes or if there is support infrastructure there for the other scenes.

If the space is there, I don't see why load and unload couldn't be combined by making one door the entrance and the other the exit like at other shows and then use the other room for an added scene. It shouldn't take any longer for a combined load/unload than for the separate versions. It's not like the shows are normally filled to capacity.

 

[GymLeaderPhil]

Is there actually space on the stage side of the load/unload rooms to add a scene? I've always wondered if there are just empty stages behind the curtain that are the same as the other scenes or if there is support infrastructure there for the other scenes.

If the space is there, I don't see why load and unload couldn't be combined by making one door the entrance and the other the exit like at other shows and then use the other room for an added scene. It shouldn't take any longer for a combined load/unload than for the separate versions. It's not like the shows are normally filled to capacity.

It can definitely be accomplished. The only reason there’s a dedicated unload is due to the fact the original show had you going upstairs to the Progress City model instead of exiting to the rear.

 

[GymLeaderPhil]

Also, Tom Hanks is narrating President-Elect Biden’s televised inauguration. He would be a good fit to narrate this too.

 

[WondersOfLife]

Tom Hank’s voice would be perfect. He literally sounds just like the current narrator.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Is there actually space on the stage side of the load/unload rooms to add a scene? I've always wondered if there are just empty stages behind the curtain that are the same as the other scenes or if there is support infrastructure there for the other scenes.

If the space is there, I don't see why load and unload couldn't be combined by making one door the entrance and the other the exit like at other shows and then use the other room for an added scene. It shouldn't take any longer for a combined load/unload than for the separate versions. It's not like the shows are normally filled to capacity.

Fun Fact: The original iteration of the Carousel of Progress (well, at Disneyland) had a Peoplemover-style Upramp that took you to the second story of the building where the "Progress City" model of the original EPCOT concept was on display. This was in place of the stage for the Unload "scene" - it was as if you had watched the family onstage, and now you were able to step up into that space:

That model is now on display in the Peoplemover as the track winds through the Stitch building - albeit, the model has been edited.

Which is to say, there's theoretically at least *some* room in the Unload space, since the original attraction accounted for that space being taken up by the ramp. Though WDW's construction never had this, I can't imagine that space was given over to much beyond storage.

 

[larryz]

I like the idea of Tom Hanks, and he can use voices from his many movies in the various scenes.

For example: when the fuse blows in the second scene: "Houston, we have a problem..." "Momma always said that stupid is as stupid does."

 

[ppete1975]

I had a nightmare last night about COP. It had an IP added.... Wandavision. Each scene was the different eras from the show. And i realized how easy this would be and attractive to Disney.

 

[Homemade Imagineering]

I had a nightmare last night about COP. It had an IP added.... Wandavision. Each scene was the different eras from the show. And i realized how easy this would be and attractive to Disney.

Don’t give them ideas...

 

[Touchdown]

The Scarlet Witch is an X-men and Avenger, she cannot be used on the East Coast. Vision is an Avenger and the big reveal last week has “been in the Fantastic Four Family all along.”

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

Need Joe Pesci. Not Hanks.