Patch Notes // latest change 2026.08.15
Tomorrowland · Magic Kingdom · Walt Disney World
Ride · opened 1975 · Magic Kingdom · 12 changes on record
Biggest recent change: At D23 2026 Disney set the reopening for late spring 2027 and revealed the new voice cast: Bryan Cranston as Dad and Disney Legend Jamie Lee Curtis as Mom, replacing the 1994 cast. Concept art showed the reworked acts, including the 1980s scene and a summer-1969 scene built around the family watching the moon landing. (Aug 15, 2026)
◆ Latest milestone
At D23 2026 Disney set the reopening for late spring 2027 and revealed the new voice cast: Bryan Cranston as Dad and Disney Legend Jamie Lee Curtis as Mom, replacing the 1994 cast. Concept art showed the reworked acts, including the 1980s scene and a summer-1969 scene built around the family watching the moon landing.
Walt Disney Imagineering files permit for general construction at Carousel of Progress; ride closed for major reimagining with timeline shift and new Audio-Animatronic.
The attraction undergoes its most ambitious overhaul since 1994, shifting its timeline to iconic decades and adding a Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic.
Disney revealed a July 6, 2026 closing date and the scene plan for the attraction's biggest reimagining since 1994: a 2027 reopening with re-themed acts (1969 moon landing, Halloween 1985, New Year's Eve 1999, and a new future finale) plus a new opening scene featuring a Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic.
The 1994 version officially closed on July 6th, 2026. Due to no wristbands being distributed, there was a bit of chaos over who got to ride in the final show. However, when the final theater exited, the crowd came together to sing "It's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow."
The finale-scene audio-animatronics received new outfits packed with Disney Easter eggs (a Progress Tech sweater, a Mineral King ski top, a Food Rocks reference, and parade-reindeer slippers); costumes only, no script or animatronic changes.
Exterior repaint replaced the gears-and-cogs scheme with bold futuristic color "strikes" (orange/blue/magenta); the building also gained a new entrance sign and logo.
Following the post-9/11 attendance drop, the show closed in October 2001 and shifted to seasonal operation, returning to a near-daily Magic Kingdom schedule by 2003.
A major 1993 closure for New Tomorrowland overhaul followed by a 1994 reopening with new voice cast, script, and return to the original theme song.
Closed for a major refurbishment as part of the "New Tomorrowland" overhaul.
Reopened as "Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress" with a new voice cast (Jean Shepherd as the father/narrator), re-recorded scenes, a redesigned "House of 2000" Christmas finale, and a return to the original theme song "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow."
General Electric's decade-long partnership with Carousel of Progress, from Magic Kingdom debut to sponsor exit and product removal.
Opened in Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland (relocated from Disneyland) in a new rotating-theater pavilion, debuting the new theme song "The Best Time of Your Life" under a 10-year General Electric sponsorship.
General Electric's sponsorship contract expired and was not renewed; the attraction subsequently closed to strip out GE product and branding references.
The final act was reworked into a "New Year's Eve in the Home of the 1980s" scene, updating the show's future segment; the attraction closed briefly to install it.
That's every change on the record on Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress since 1975.
The spotters in our Discord catch the next one first — and the record only grows when someone notices.
Per the documented record, Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress at Magic Kingdom opened on Jan 15, 1975.
The most recent closure/refurbishment documented for Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress is dated Jul 14, 2026: Walt Disney Imagineering files permit for general construction at Carousel of Progress; ride closed for major reimagining with timeline shift and new Audio-Animatronic.
The latest documented change (documented Aug 15, 2026): At D23 2026 Disney set the reopening for late spring 2027 and revealed the new voice cast: Bryan Cranston as Dad and Disney Legend Jamie Lee Curtis as Mom, replacing the 1994 cast. Concept art showed the reworked acts, including the 1980s scene and a summer-1969 scene built around the family watching the moon landing.
12 documented changes, dating back to 1975 — the fan-kept ride changelog nobody else keeps.
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