"There's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow,
Shining at the end of every day.
There's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow,
And tomorrow's just a dream away.
Man has a dream and that's the start.
He follows his dream with mind and heart.
And when it becomes a reality,
It's a dream come true for you and me.
So there's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow,
Shining at the end of every day.
There's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow,
Just a dream away."
Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress premiered at the 1964 World's Fair and returned for the 1965 World's Fair. Created by Imagineers Bob Gurr, Roger E. Broggie, and others, the show aimed to take guests on a journey from the 1900s all the way to an imagined future, showing progress and innovation throughout the turn of the century, and how things deemed impossible at the time would eventually become excitingly real. The show depicted an optimistic and humorous vision of the past and future. It reminded guests that there is always a great, big, beautiful tomorrow waiting for all of us, and that the wheels of progress are ever in motion.
The Carousel of Progress opened on July 2, 1967 with minimal changes from it's initial version. It would close on September 9, 1973 and move to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World where it would open to guests January 15, 1975. This time extensive changes were made to the production. This iteration would move counter-clockwise opposed to the clockwise rotation of the previous two versions. The original versions featured stunning kaleidoscopic screens in the load and unload theaters. These screens would stretch from one wall to the other and featured a giant GE logo in the center. For the Magic Kingdom show, these screens were replaced with silver curtains and a GE logo in the middle. Colored lights would shine onto the logo.
A new song was written for the Florida show, at the behest of sponsor GE. This song was called "The Best Time of Your Life." The song would be retired in 1994, and replaced by the original song for the attraction, "There's A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" (Both songs were created by The Sherman Brothers). New audio-animatronics (including those for Father and his family) would be created for the Walt Disney World Carousel of Progress, and a new voice cast was hired to voice them. For example: The original voice of Father, Rex Allen, would be replaced by Andrew Duggan, and the breed of Rover would be changed. The sets for each time period would under-go design changes as well, and the finale would be updated to "New Year's Eve in the Home of the 1970s". In 1981, the finale would be changed once again to "New Year's Eve in the home of the 1980s".
GE would choose not to renew their sponsorship of the attraction on March 10, 1985. The Carousel of Progress would close shortly after to remove all references to GE and the GE logo in the load/unload theaters would be covered up by a round blueprint logo for the show. Despite Disney's best efforts, The GE logo could still be seen on a select handful of appliances in the attraction. On August 16, 1993 The Carousel of Progress was closed yet again for an extensive refurb to bring the attraction closer to the theme of "The Future That Never Was". The theaters were re-designed to feature cogs and gears, which were prevalent throughout Tomorrowland at the time, and a Cog/Gear version of the show's logo would replace the blueprint logos in the load/unload theaters, and the finale was changed to "Christmas in the House of 2000". Jean Shepherd would replace Andrew Duggan as the voice of Father, and Rex Allen would return to voice Grandfather in the finale. This version would debut on November 23, 1994.
Speaking of progress, Walt Disney World announced on May 28, 2026 that The Carousel of Progress would be closing July 5, 2026, when it would receive a complete update for 2027. An Audio-Animatronic of Walt Disney would be added in a scene inspired by 1964's "Disneyland Goes to the World's Fair", where Walt first pitched the idea of the carousel. Every show scene would change eras/decades, as well. The first scene/act would now be set in the summer of 1969 and feature our carousel family gathering around the tv to watch the moon landing. The second scene/act is Halloween Night 1985, and Sarah (aka Mother) will take over to show off the different gadgets and appliances in the home. The third scene/act will take place New Year's eve 1999, and will focus on the advent of the internet. The 4th scene/act/finale will zero in on our carousel family in the far future and will feature a helpful robot (Really hope this part isn't pro-AI). Supposedly this final act will draw inspiration from sketches drawn by Imagineer John Hench.
I grew up with the 1994 version of The Carousel of Progress, and it quickly became one of my most beloved attractions at any of the parks. I know I'm not alone in this opinion. Growing up in a troubled family, the show's catchphrase "There's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow, shining at the end of every day" helped to inspire me and get me through rough days. I grew to love our carousel family, and the show became a comfortable, nostalgic blanket for myself. The Carousel of Progress wasn't a particularly popular offering, but it remained beloved and cherished by all. Much like Splash Mountain, it's a Disney staple and a classic attraction that has weathered and stood the test of time. The finale has badly been in need of an update for quite some time now, but there was nothing wrong with the rest of the show. There are rumors swirling that the reason for the total overhaul is because of the controversial and less savory aspects of the early 1900s, and this renovation/re-tool is being done so that audiences will only remember what Disney wants them to, effectively sweeping the displeasing dust of the past under the proverbial rug.
I want to be optimistic about this update, but even with the recent successes of Animation Courtyard and the Muppets' re-theme of Rock'n Rollercoaster, I can't help but be skeptical of the current leadership at Walt Disney World and the Disney Company at large. After all, these are the idiots who killed Splash Mountain because "Racism" and tore out Tom Sawyer's Island, The Liberty Belle, and The Rivers of America because "Them kids just LOVE the Cars films, let's plop a new Cars land down in an area where it doesn't fit". So, for the time being there will be no great, big, beautiful tomorrow shining at the end of every day and only time will tell if tomorrow will still be great, big, and beautiful when the show re-opens next year. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for now, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried.
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