Remember yesterday’s article about Sci-Fi City? The one that also talked about what’s supposedly in the works for “The Timekeeper” and the “Carousel of Progress” attractions at WDW’s Magic Kingdom .
Well, while it appears that “The Timekeeper” ‘s time has indeed run out (According to informed sources in Orlando, that Tomorrowland show will close for good in November once “Stitch’s Great Escape” officially opens. Though WDW management has supposedly put off the gutting of this Magic Kingdom show building ’til the late Spring / early Summer of 2005. With the idea being that — should record crowds come to that theme park over the holiday 2004 season and/or Spring Break 2005 — that the Magic Kingdom would then have the option of dusting off Timekeeper & Nine Eyes and then throwing open “From Time to Time” to help deal with that theme park’s capacity issues. Anyway … ), it looks like Disney World’s “Carousel of Progress” has just recently won the briefest of reprieves.
To explain: Let me share some info that I recieved via e-mail yesterday from a friend who works deep inside Walt Disney Imagineering:
First of all, this unnamed individual had some nice things to say about yesterday’s Sci-Fi City article. How that piece brought back some pleasant memories of working with Eddie Sotto. Sotto (for those of you who don’t know) is another one of those truly talented guys that WDI was stupid enough to let walk out the door a few years back.
Anywho … My guy inside WDI chided me for not mentioning his favorite part of Eddie’s plans for Sci-Fi City. That — as part of TDL’s Tomorrowland redo — Sotto was trying to sell Oriental Land Company executives on the idea of building a clone of “Encounters.” You know, that super-cool, science fiction themed restaurant that’s located inside LAX’s Theme Building. Eddie — leading a team of WDI designers — helped create that stylish eatry back in the early 1990s. And Sotto supposedly had hopes of getting a second version of this out-of-this-world restaurant built just off of Sci-Fi City’s Cosmic Way, near the side entrance to World Bazaar.
Anyhow … After saying nice things about the Sci-Fi City portion of yesterday article, my Imagineering pal then took me to task for using some somewhat out-of-date info in the “Timekeeper” and “Carousel of Progress” -related parts of that same story. You see, while “From Time to Time” is tentatively scheduled to close as soon as “Stitch” gets up and running in November, “COP” recently won a stay of execution. That Tomorrowland attraction is now expected to stay open through at least January of 2006.
“Why January of 2006?,” you ask. Well, you have to understand that — as part of next year’s worldwide “Golden Celebration” — the Walt Disney Company is looking to celebrate Disneyland’s contributions to the world. And — at Walt Disney World — there’s no more obvious way to link the Anaheim theme park to the Orlando resort than the “Carousel of Progress.” After all, this is the Disneyland show that the Imagineers had shipped off to Florida in the early 1970s to make way for “America Sings.” As well as help hide the fact that Disney World’s Tomorrowland was virtually attraction-free ‘way back then.
Anyway … The plan — as it stands now — that WDW’s COP will play a key role in the Florida portion of Disney’s worldwide “Golden Celebration.” That’s why — over the past month or so — Disney’s been spiffing up the place. Replacing a lot of the chairs in the theater-go-round building. Adding flat panel plasma screen monitors to the attraction’s external queue. All in an effort to freshen up this Tomorrowland show in time for the May 2005 kick-off of next year’s year-long-plus celebration.
Mind you, we’re not talking about a really big budget here, folks. The small amount of money that’s been allotted for “Carousel” ‘s clean-up will only go so far. So — while “COP” ‘s sets & the AA figures will be spruced up some — the show itself will remain basically the same.
Besides, since Jean Shepherd passed away back in October of 1999, making any significant fixes to this Tomorrowland attraction has become a logistical nightmare. Were Disney to even want to try & redo COP ‘s extremely dated Act Four sequence, that would mean the company would have to find a Shepherd soundalike. And — given that “Carousel of Progress” ‘s appeal is pretty evenly divided these days (I.E. Some WDW visitors go to this show because they first saw it at the ’64 Worlds Fair and/or caught COP while they were vacationing in Anaheim. Other folks go to this Tomorrowland show because they think that it was Walt’s favorite attraction. While still others now go to “Carousel” because they’re huge “Christmas Story” fans) — removing Jean’s distinct vocals from this attraction is really no longer an option.
“So what happens now?,” you query. COP stays right where it is through January of 2006 (And possibly longer. Should the Walt Disney Company opt to extend Disneyland’s “Golden Celebration” into the Spring of 2006). After that … There’s still a lot of talk of dismantling the “Carousel” and using some large sections of that show as the centerpiece for a new walk-through attraction for Epcot’s “Innoventions” area. But — to be honest — that Future World addition is still very much in the “Blue Sky” (I.E. Just talking about it) phase.
But what is obvious is that the “Carousel of Progress” occupies a prime piece of real estate within WDW’s Magic Kingdom. Which is why — given Disney World’s current attitude toward this Tomorrowland attraction (I.E. We’re only willing to spend so much to keep this show up & running) — I don’t think that it would be all that wise to put off your next trip on Disney World’s “Carousel” for too much longer.
Because — in spite of its recent reprieve — it still looks like COP may still be DOA by the Spring of 2006.
Anyway … Just to recap here: “Timekeeper” is to officially close in November of this year. It may re-open over the 2004 holiday season and/or Spring Break 2005 depending on the crowds at the Magic Kingdom. But — after that — this Tomorrowland show building is slated to be gutted in late Spring / early Summer 2005 to make way for WDW’s “Flying Saucer” ride.
Whereas WDW’s “Carousel of Progress” … Due to the fact that this Tomorrowland attraction is one of the only pieces of Disneyland to be reconstructed virtually intact in Orlando, COP has won a temporary stay of execution. The theater-go-round building show will continue to spin ’til January of 2006 and/or when the Walt Disney Company officially pulls the plug on Disneyland’s worldwide “Golden Celebration.” After that … All bets are off.
Sooo … If you’re a real “Carousel of Progress” fan, my advice is start planning to take a trip to Orlando fairly soon. For — once January of 2006 rolls around — there may not be all that many spins left in Tomorrowland’s theater-go-roudn building.
Your thoughts?