Permit Watch · Updated
The Carousel of Progress Is Closed Until Spring 2027
And Walt himself is coming back. The attraction closed July 6, 2026, and Disney expects it to reopen in late spring 2027 with four all new scenes and an Audio-Animatronics figure of Walt Disney welcoming guests to the show.
Take your seat in 1964Scene 00 · Flushing Meadows
1964
It started at a World's Fair
Walt's own attraction, built for the 1964 New York World's Fair
Long before it found a home in Tomorrowland, the Carousel of Progress was Walt Disney's pet project for the 1964 New York World's Fair, sponsored by General Electric and built around a simple idea. The audience would sit still while the theater itself revolved around a set of stages, each one a snapshot of how electricity changed family life across the twentieth century.
The theme song, There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, was written by the Sherman Brothers, the same pair behind Mary Poppins. Walt was personally involved to a degree that is rare for a single attraction, which is a big part of why fans treat this one as close to sacred.
Scene 01 · The first stage
1900s
A turn of the century parlor
Gas lamps, a hand-cranked wash, and a promise of what is coming
The first stage opens around the turn of the twentieth century, in a home lit by gas and oil. The father introduces his family and the gadgets of the day, marveling at how modern life has become, while the dog watches from the floor.
The joke that runs through the whole ride is already set up here. Every era thinks it has reached the peak of convenience, and every revolution of the theater proves it wrong.
Scene 02 · The theater turns
1920s
Into the roaring twenties
Electric light, the icebox, and the radio arrive
The theater rotates and the same family reappears two decades on, now wired for electric light. The novelties of the last stage are ordinary, and a new wave of appliances has taken their place.
This is the rhythm of the attraction. You do not move. The world turns around you, and progress is something you watch arrive scene by scene.
Scene 03 · The theater turns again
1940s
A nineteen forties kitchen
Automatic everything, and a few jokes that never quite work
Another revolution brings the family into the nineteen forties, surrounded by the labor-saving machines of the era. The gags about appliances that misbehave have been making audiences groan and grin for sixty years.
By now the pattern is the whole point. The future the first father dreamed about has simply become the everyday, and the next one is already on its way.
Scene 04 · The last stage
Today
The present day, for now
The scene that has aged the most, and the reason for the refresh
The final stage lands in the present, or at least the present as it looked the last time the scene was updated. It is the part of the ride that dates fastest, and the part fans most expect a refresh to touch.
That is where the update comes in. Disney has confirmed that every stage is being replaced. The new show opens in the summer of 1969 with the moon landing on television, then moves to Halloween night in 1985, New Year's Eve in 1999, and a distant future with a helpful robot and space travel.
Scene 05 · The next revolution
2027
And now, a great big beautiful 2027
Confirmed by Disney, an Audio-Animatronics figure of Walt Disney himself
Here is the part everyone is talking about. Disney announced at Destination D23 in August 2025 that an Audio-Animatronics figure of Walt Disney will appear in a brand new introductory scene, inspired by the 1964 special Disneyland Goes to the World's Fair.
At D23 in August 2026, Disney added the new voices for the family. Jamie Lee Curtis and Bryan Cranston take over as mom and dad. For an attraction Walt built himself, a Walt who greets you at the door is a fitting kind of progress.
Planning Tomorrowland while it is closed
The rest of Tomorrowland is open. Plan around the walls until the show returns.
- Magic Kingdom wait times and crowd calendar See how busy Magic Kingdom is the week you visit, before the Carousel closes.
- What time rope drop starts at Magic Kingdom Beat the crowds to Tomorrowland for one last ride.
- The permit tracker The public-records filings we watch for Walt Disney World, in one place.
- Disney's anonymized body tracking patent Another Disney filing we read cover to cover, with a wave that follows you without knowing who you are.
The Carousel of Progress, answered
Is the Carousel of Progress closed?
Yes. Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress closed on July 6, 2026 for a major update. Disney's attraction page says it expects the show to reopen in late spring 2027. Disney has not announced an exact date.
Has Disney officially confirmed a Walt Disney animatronic?
Yes. Disney announced at Destination D23 in August 2025 that an Audio-Animatronics figure of Walt Disney will appear in a new introductory scene. Disney has since confirmed that all four scenes are being replaced, and at D23 in August 2026 it named Jamie Lee Curtis and Bryan Cranston as the voices of mom and dad.
What are the new Carousel of Progress scenes?
Disney says the new show moves through the summer of 1969 with the moon landing, Halloween night in 1985, New Year's Eve in 1999, and a distant future with a helpful robot and space travel.
Why does it matter that Imagineering filed the permit?
Most routine Magic Kingdom work is filed under Buena Vista Construction Company. When Walt Disney Imagineering files directly, it usually signals show changes, new media, or new audio-animatronics rather than maintenance, which is why a fire protection permit drew so much attention.
What is the Carousel of Progress song?
There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, written by the Sherman Brothers for the 1964 World's Fair version of the attraction. It is one of the most performed songs in Disney history.
When did the Carousel of Progress come to Walt Disney World?
After its run at the 1964 World's Fair and a stint at Disneyland, the attraction moved to the Magic Kingdom in 1975, where it has run in Tomorrowland ever since.
Rope Drop News · There's a great big beautiful tomorrow