Marathon Weekend 2024

[SheHulk]

SAFD Answer:
a) Never
b) How dare you

Tomorrowland needs a lot of work but this isn't it. Not that I have any great ideas what to do to bring this land to meet its promise...

 

[JAMIESMITH]

SAFD: we didn't make it to COP until our third trip. It's a nice place to cool off and escape afternoon crowds. The rotating theater aspect is pretty cool. The show itself is very dated.

 

[GreatLakes]

I love the attraction but it needs a referb. I don't think it needs to change a lot, and I'm perfectly ok with that last scene being the future as seen at the time it was made, but anamatronics have come a long way and the ones in that ride could use some love.

 

[marty3d]

SAFD: CoP is a must do for its on almost any trip. The only change I’d suggest is for the last scene - either go all in with nostalgia and try to recreate the scene as it was when the attraction first premiered or try something completely different.

 

[matt and beth]

SAFD: See Ya!

 

[GuinnessRunner]

SAFD: Love CoP. 20 minutes of wonderful air conditioning and comfy seats...what's not to love? It, along with Country Bears, is one of the most polarizing rides in our family with several members loving it and the others loathing it. Absolutely no in between. While I agree it could use some updating, if they did that I might actually have to keep my eyes open to watch so not sure how I feel about that!

 

[accm]

SAFD: I will riot if Disney even mentions replacing CoP. It's a ride we go on at least once every trip. I may be in the minority, but I like that the last scene feels so outdated now as a future. I think it would be weird if they changed it, since there would be such a big jump in scenes.
Some of the audiomatronics needs some love, but I wouldn't want them to be updated to what they're doing now. I love the nostalgic part of CoP.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

SAFD: As several others have mentioned, I think the strength of Carousel of Progress has very little to do with the actual "show" and everything to do with the opportunity to sit in the A/C for 20 minutes when you're tired and sweaty. So I'm another vote for keeping the lines (mostly) (relatively) short by keeping it weird and outdated

 

[softballpooh]

SAFD: it’s a must do for our family and I love the Disney nostalgia. Everything doesn’t always have to include computer animation and perfect graphics. I equally love those new rides too! There’s just something about the imperfections in CoP that are a part of our Disney trips. With that said, I would like to see another room added with current references. They could continue this over time while honoring this original idea of the ride.

But my perspective comes as one who has a house full of antiques from family members. Perhaps I just find comfort in history and memories (and dust and imperfections).

 

[Herding_Cats]

SAFD:
When it comes to COP, I very much enjoy that there's basically never a line, that you get to sit down, and that it has lovely air conditioning. It's a great place to go when you need to put a baby to sleep for a nap, you're not in anyone's way, and it doesn't cost extra (unlike restaurants, which are the semi-equivalent alternative.) I like how quirky the show is, and agree that it would be very odd to see them try to update the final scene. I feel like in order to do that, they'd have to make the jumps larger in the earlier scenes, deleting some of those to add in at least one more modern scene. I enjoy from a "historical perspective" seeing a ride that was likely cutting edge at one point so I can enjoy how far things have come since that ride started.

And tangentially,
I think on rise and run one of the hosts mentioned at the beginning of a podcast that a friend of theirs had died (who was a lifelong disney fan) and they had requested at their funeral that everyone sing "It's a great big beautiful tomorrow" and gosh if thinking about that doesn't get me in the feels every time.

 

[nekonekoneko]

SAFD: It's not so much CoP, but it's the focus of Tomorrowland as a whole. Instead of trying to look at a relative tomorrow from "now," I think it would be great to look at the "tomorrow" from the eyes of when Disney was into "sci fi." Like the version of tomorrow from the 1950s.

This picture is from The Disney 100 The Eviction at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.



If Disney would stop treating tomorrow as a "moving target," then they wouldn't need to keep moving the attractions. A retro-future, as you will.

 

[Novatrix]

SAFD: This is going to get a lot of flack from Disney nostalgia aficionados, but I think it's time for Carousel of Progress to be updated.

I love the message of the CoP, and would want the updated version to continue the theme and scene transitions of "there's a great big beautiful tomorrow," but for me the fun when I was a kid was seeing technology at the level of my grandparents, then my parents, then my own generation.

If I was handling the update, I'd leave the opening scene the same, jump to a 50s/60s household for the next scene, have the technology from a typical 80s/90s household in the next, and then a modern household's technology in the final scene. I'd keep the changing of the seasons in each new scene, with activities and fashions typical of each era.

Walt Disney never intended his parks to be museums, and this ride has already been updated over the years and is not in its original form. Time to bring it up to date so a new generation can think of it as more than an air conditioned break for the next quarter century.

 

[GollyGadget]

SAFD: I used to LOVE this attraction. The song is so catchy. I don’t even mind the outdated technology in the final scene. However, last time I experienced it, I couldn’t help but cringe at many of the lines in the show. I’d like them at the very least to update the script.

 

[Naomeri]

SAFD: it maybe needs a little updating, but CoP has to stay! It’s an easy place to take a quiet break, and the song is a classic!

 

[1lilspark]

SAFD unless they have some super awesome replacement planned my vote is keep it but plus it up

 

[Barca33Runner]

SAFD:

Whenever I consider the loss of an attraction my mind immediately pivots to “If not (insert attraction here), then what?” I think, too often, the reality is that “Nothing” is Disney’s answer.

For Carousel of Progress my answer would never be complete elimination. The footprint it occupies is quite small, so the opportunity to replace it with something “better” would be a questionable prospect.

For an update, I’d be much more interested in the theater and seats being given periodic updates than the scenes being completely redone. If there are script elements or scene elements that should be changed I’d deal with them individually. I’m okay with the timeframes as they are, the mid-century modern prediction of the future that somewhat permeate both MK and Epcot are fine with me as a representation of the parks when they were built. I’d be much more interested in tlc being given to the attraction than an overhaul.

It would be nice if Disney were reinvesting the revenue the parks are generating into the attractions and cast members that make those profits possible rather than redirecting and doubling down on their other businesses. Such is life, I guess.

 

[nekonekoneko]

SAFD:

Whenever I consider the loss of an attraction my mind immediately pivots to “If not (insert attraction here), then what?” I think, too often, the reality is that “Nothing” is Disney’s answer.

For Carousel of Progress my answer would never be complete elimination. The footprint it occupies is quite small, so the opportunity to replace it with something “better” would be a questionable prospect.

For an update, I’d be much more interested in the theater and seats being given periodic updates than the scenes being completely redone. If there are script elements or scene elements that should be changed I’d deal with them individually. I’m okay with the timeframes as they are, the mid-century modern prediction of the future that somewhat permeate both MK and Epcot are fine with me as a representation of the parks when they were built. I’d be much more interested in tlc being given to the attraction than an overhaul.

It would be nice if Disney were reinvesting the revenue the parks are generating into the attractions and cast members that make those profits possible rather than redirecting and doubling down on their other businesses. Such is life, I guess.

When I think about Disney replacing CoP, I think about what they did with the space in Disneyland where the same attraction was before they moved the entire insides to The Florida Project. The building still looks mostly the same at Tomorrowland in Anaheim, but it was replaced with "America Sings" then their versions of Innoventions and now Star Wars Launch Bay.

So if WDW were to remove and replace The Carousel, what would they do with it? What they did with the space in Disneyland means that the prospects wouldn't be very good.

 

[LilyJC]

SAFD: My family insists on heading over to COP. I have some form of narcolepsy, so without fail I get a refreshing power nap.

t was replaced with "America Sings" then their versions of Innoventions and now Star Wars Launch Bay.

The second story will soon open as the first in-park DVC lounge at DLR. Pretty exciting for us locals/west coasters.

 

[DisneyParrothead]

SAFD: keep it with some updating. The last scene doesn’t have to show what could be coming, but instead talk about the advancements made since the previous scene. It’s nice to have quiet attractions to get away from so much hustle and bustle.

 

[pluto377]

SAFD- I would be really upset if they took it out completely. Some updates might be ok, but it depends on the nature of the updates. The theater could definitely use some new seats.