Another classic Disney attraction is getting an overhaul. Walt Disney World has confirmed that major updates are coming to Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress in Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom. Early announcements focused on the addition of a Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic figure. New details now show the project will involve the biggest reimagining of the attraction since its opening with the park.
Disney first announced the Walt Disney figure during the Destination D23 event in 2025. At the time, the company shared limited information about the scope of the refurbishment. On May 28, 2026, several outlets reported that the attraction will receive updated scenes, new time periods, and a revised finale. Disney also confirmed a closure timeline for the current version of the show.
According to reports citing Disney Imagineering presentations, Carousel of Progress will close on July 6, 2026. The current version will operate through July 5. Disney expects the updated attraction to reopen in 2027.
BREAKING: July 5 is the final day to experience the current version of Carousel of Progress at Magic Kingdom.
The attraction will reopen in 2027 with all-new scenes and decades:
• 1969 — moon landing
• 1985 — Halloween night
• 1999 — New Year’s Eve
• “The Possible Future” pic.twitter.com/xYsJ6jnimc— Drew Smith (@DrewDisneyDude) May 28, 2026
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The attraction has a long history within Disney parks. Walt Disney and his team originally created Carousel of Progress for the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair. The show later moved to Disneyland before Disney relocated it to Magic Kingdom in 1975. The attraction follows an American family across different decades while highlighting changes in technology and daily life.
The Changes
Disney’s new plans appear to shift the attraction’s timeline significantly. The original scenes set in the early 1900s, the 1920s, and the 1940s will be replaced. The updated version is expected to begin in the 1960s during the Space Race era. Additional scenes reportedly will take place in the 1980s and on New Year’s Eve 1999. The finale will depict a more distant future.
The first scene in Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress – YouTube, DocumentDisney
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The Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic figure will reportedly appear in a new opening sequence. Disney Imagineering said the scene draws inspiration from Walt Disney’s 1964 television special “Disneyland Goes to the World’s Fair.” Imagineers plan to include references to several historic Disney projects, including “it’s a small world” and the Tower of the Four Winds.
Disney also confirmed that some familiar elements will remain in the attraction. The Sherman Brothers song “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” will continue to serve as the show’s theme. The attraction’s central family characters, including John, Sarah, and Rover, are also expected to stay part of the storyline.
The broader scope of the project surprised some observers because Disney initially promoted the Walt Disney figure as the headline addition. Instead, Disney now appears to be planning the attraction’s largest updates in decades.
The second scene in Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress – YouTube, DocumentDisney
Carousel of Progress has received updates before. Disney changed scenes and technology references several times after the attraction debuted at the World’s Fair. However, the current version has remained largely unchanged since the 1990s. That long gap has led to ongoing discussions about whether the attraction should modernize again.
Disney representatives reportedly said the goal is to preserve the attraction’s core message while updating its depiction of progress for modern audiences.
Modernizing the Classics
The attraction also holds historical importance within Walt Disney World. It remains one of the few attractions connected directly to Walt Disney’s original creative involvement. Because of that history, any major update often draws strong reactions from longtime park visitors.
The planned Carousel of Progress overhaul also reflects a broader shift across Walt Disney World. In recent years, Disney has closed or replaced several longtime attractions that dated back to the resort’s earlier decades. Splash Mountain closed at Magic Kingdom in 2023 before reopening as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in 2024. Disney also permanently closed the Liberty Square Riverboat, Rivers of America, and Tom Sawyer Island in 2025 to make way for the new Cars-themed Piston Peak expansion.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios also lost MuppetVision 3D, one of the last major projects connected directly to Jim Henson before his death in 1990. It’s planned replacement, “The Glob,” is a Monsters Inc. themed attraction.
The finale of Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress – YouTube, DocumentDisney
Because of those recent changes, some longtime visitors view Carousel of Progress as one of the remaining links to Walt Disney’s original creative era.
Some of have embraced the changes as the necessity of time, that technology has already caught up with Walt’s vision of the future and that it is time to dream again as to what this generation’s future holds. Others question whether losing Walt’s dreams is actually “progress.”
Conclusion
Disney has not yet announced an exact reopening date for the refreshed attraction.
For now, the latest announcement makes clear that the project extends far beyond the addition of a Walt Disney figure. Disney is preparing to revise the attraction’s timeline, update its storytelling approach, and introduce a new finale while retaining several classic elements tied to the original show.
What do you think of the potential changes to Walt’s classic Carousel of Progress? Let us know your thoughts about the attraction in the comments below.
