Florida – October 24, 2026 -- Disney's Carousel of Progress is closed for now, and its overhauled version is set to debut in late spring 2027 with new voices for Mom and Dad, an Audio-Animatronics Walt Disney, and four new time periods.
Jamie Lee Curtis and Bryan Cranston step in as Mom and Dad
Host Neil Patrick Harris announced the casting at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event. Disney Legend Jamie Lee Curtis and Emmy-winning actor Bryan Cranston will voice the family's mother and father. Harris also previewed one new scene, set in the 1980s.
Walt Disney appears in the attraction that carries his idea
Guests will see Walt Disney himself, brought to life with Audio-Animatronics technology. His scene is inspired by the 1964 special "Disneyland Goes to the World's Fair," where he first introduced Carousel of Progress. Imagineers are sourcing and replicating props from that special, including the prototype Tiki bird, a Tower of the Four Winds model and a doll from "it's a small world."
Four new acts move the family into fresh decades
Every scene is moving to a new era, chosen because guests have personal connections to those years. "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" will keep playing between scenes.
- 1960s: In summer 1969, the family gathers around the TV to watch the moon landing.
- 1980s: On Halloween night 1985, Sarah takes center stage for the first time, explaining how new appliances and gadgets make life easier. John hands out candy on the porch, and Uncle Orville complains of "no privacy around here!" in the bathroom.
- New Millennium: On New Year's Eve 1999, the Internet draws John, Sarah, Jimmy and Patty closer together. Grandpa dozes off before the countdown, and Grandma sneaks the TV over to wrestling.
- Possible Future: The family appears in a space-age home with a helper robot and space travel. Imagineers drew on original concept sketches by Disney Legend John Hench.
The team is working to keep physical props, painted backdrops and practical effects, with appliances and artwork true to each decade. A new attraction poster pays homage to the original from the Disneyland debut.
Sixty years of updates came before this one
Walt Disney's team reworked an unbuilt Disneyland concept, Harnessing the Lightning, into Carousel of Progress for the 1964–1965 New York World's Fair. The fair debuted the rotating theater and the anthem by Robert B. and Richard M. Sherman. The show reached Disneyland in 1967 and Walt Disney World in 1975.
In Florida, the show used "The Best Time of Your Life" in place of the Sherman Brothers' song for its first two decades. The last major update came in 1994, which added a new finale and brought the original song back.