Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress is now closed at Magic Kingdom for a multi-year reimagining that Disney expects to wrap up sometime in 2027. The attraction had its final show in its current form yesterday, July 5th. You can revisit our farewell coverage with full photos and video of the show. Here’s a closer look at what’s closed, what’s coming, and when it all returns.
Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress Is Now Closed at Magic Kingdom For 2027 Reimagining
IN THIS ARTICLE:
- A look at the closed Carousel of Progress at Magic Kingdom
- The reimagining scraps the entire timeline and pushes the finale off-planet.
- A Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic is joining the attraction for the first time.
We stopped by Tomorrowland this morning to see how the attraction looks now that it’s closed. The short version is that Disney has already moved in. Construction walls are up at the entrance and exit, blocking the main doors. The Carousel of Progress marquee out front is untouched for now.
The walls themselves carry a Pittsburgh Paints placard with a line that fits this ride better than any other in the park: “Well, that’s progress for you.” It’s a small touch, but a fitting one for an attraction whose entire theme is moving forward, and it’s the first physical sign of the reimagining taking shape.
A Look Back at the Carousel of Progress
Before we get into what’s next, it’s worth remembering how much history is wrapped up in this attraction. Walt Disney and his Imagineers built the Carousel of Progress for the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair, where it anchored the Progressland pavilion and introduced the rotating theater system. It also debuted “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow,” the anthem written by Disney Legends Robert B. and Richard M. Sherman. The Carousel of Progress was a personal project for Walt, and it was an enormous hit. That said, it has changed quite a bit over the years.
The show moved to Disneyland in 1967, then arrived at Magic Kingdom in 1975, where Disney restaged it with a different theme song, “The Best Time of Your Life.” That song carried the attraction through its first two decades in Florida before the 1994 update brought back the original Sherman Brothers’ tune and refreshed the finale. That 1994 version is the one guests rode right up until Sunday evening.
What’s Changing in the Reimagining
Rather than retire the attraction, Disney is reimagining it. The headline change is a shift of the decades that we’ll be visiting with the family. The current show runs from the early 1900s to a finale stuck somewhere in the 21st century. The reimagined version moves that window forward some 60-70 years, spanning the 1960s through the far future. Here’s how Disney describes the new scenes:
- Act 1 opens in the summer of 1969, with the family gathered around the television for the moon landing.
- Act 2 jumps to Halloween night 1985, with Sarah taking center stage for the first time.
- Act 3 rings in the new millennium on New Year’s Eve 1999.
- Act 4 is a complete reimagining of the futuristic finale, moving to an entirely different planet
Act 4 is the big one. Disney is scrapping the dated 1990s virtual-reality bit in favor of an off-planet, high-tech home inspired by original concept sketches from Disney Legend John Hench. The attraction overhaul also folds in the previously announced Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic, placed in an opening scene modeled on the 1964 television special “Disneyland Goes to the World’s Fair.”
In announcing the changes, Disney said the update honors the attraction’s original spirit, noting that “Carousel of Progress was designed to celebrate change, not to stand still.” That’s the pitch, and it’s a fair one. Whether the new version keeps the heart that people love about this attraction remains to be seen.
This is also more than a show refresh. It appears to be a structural update as well. Construction permits filed for the project point to heavy work on the building itself. I will say that it’s encouraging to see this level of investment in a classic attraction.
When Will It Reopen?
Disney has not given a firm reopening date, only a target of 2027. On the official Walt Disney World website, the listing now reads that the attraction is “temporarily unavailable beginning on July 6th, 2026,” with a reopening “expected” in 2027. Given the scope of the structural work involved, a mid-to-late-2027 return would not be a surprise. We’ll track the permit filings and construction as it happens!
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!