Now most carousels just go round and round without getting anywhere. But on this one, at every turn, we’ll be making progress. And progress is not just moving ahead. It’s dreaming and working and building a better way of life. Progress is the sound of a motor, the hum of a turbine, the heartbeat of a factory, the sound of a symphony, the roar of a rocket. Progress is people getting release from drudgery, gaining more time to enjoy themselves and live richer lives. And as long as man dreams and works and builds, this progress will go on…in your life and mine.
And with those words, Rex Allen began the original “Progressland” attraction hosted by General Electric at the 1964-65 World’s Fair in New York. Progressland is more familiar to us as the theatre portion of the experience – the Carousel of Progress. In truth, there was quite a lot more to the World’s Fair exhibit and we go over all of its retro-fabulous history. While we may all be able to recite the current iteration of the classic Carousel of Progress attraction, it does have a very interesting and storied past, including Walt Disney’s personal involvement in its creation.
General Electric’s Progressland pavilion – a Walt Disney Production – from the 1964-65 World’s Fair in New York
In this episode of Up the Waterfall podcast, we journey back to the very beginnings of this beloved attraction, the changes it has experienced over the decades, and what we hope will happen for its future. We hope you enjoy this info-packed episode, I know we loved recording it!
General Electric’s Progressland pavilion at night
You can listen anywhere you download and listen to podcasts, including:
(If there’s a podcast service where you can’t find our show, let us know and we’ll get it added there!)
You can also watch on our Up the Waterfall YouTube Playlist– where you can see our fun opening sequence and some fun images of the Carousel of Progress over the years. Here’s the latest episode:
Feel free to comment below with your memories of Carousel of Progress, any questions or info you’d like to add, or if it’s easier, head to the Zannaland Facebook page and join the discussion there with fellow Carousel of Progress fans!
Early concept art for the Progressland energy-filled future
Artist rendering of the incredible drama of nuclear fusion from the Progressland exhibit
Here are some of the books and recordings mentioned in this episode (the links will go to the item on amazon.com and are affiliate links – meaning no extra cost for you but a small portion goes back to zannaland if you make a purchase – thank you for supporting our site!):
The images from this post are from this CD set and booklet an amazing trove of Disney history!Designing Disney – Imagineering and the Art of the Show by John Hench Walt Disney Imagineering – A Behind the Dreams Look at Making Magic Real
FOLLOW THE ZANNALAND FAMILY ON SOCIAL MEDIA, WATCH OUR VIDEOS, VLOGS AND PODCAST TOO:
This week we take a stroll back in time…and space. Space Mountain that is. Pull back on your safety bar and sit back as we explore the history of this beloved attraction, from concept art to present day, and everything in between.
Space Mountain concept art by John Hench from the Top of the World lounge at Bay Lake Tower
Scott takes us on a journey through the years and the historic milestones of the Space Mountain attraction in Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and beyond. Believe it or not, I only rode Space Mountain at age 31. Crazy, right? Anyway, we hope you enjoy our chat and stories along the way as we share some fun facts and history of this iconic attraction that is the cornerstone of Tomorrowland (or Discoveryland) in every Disney park.
Disneyland Paris Space Mountain in Discoveryland
For this episode, we highly recommend you watch the video version as well, Christian has added some great images of the topics we bring up, from the many books Scott brought out for this episode. We will link to those books on amazon below, some of which may be through 3rd party Marketplace Sellers on Amazon, or you may find them on ebay as well:
We hope you enjoyed this episode, if you did, please share with a friend so they can discover us too. What are your favorite memories of Space Mountain? We’d love to hear about it either in a comment below or on social media. Feel free to comment wherever is easiest for you with the hashtag #UpTheWaterfallPodcast. We thank you for listening and for your support of our passion project – Up the Waterfall.
FOLLOW THE ZANNALAND TEAM ON SOCIAL MEDIA, WATCH OUR VIDEOS, VLOGS AND PODCAST TOO:
Walt Disney Imagineering – A Behind the Dreams Look at Making Magic Real
