The Carousel of Progress family has all-new outfits in the final scene of the attraction at Magic Kingdom.
In this scene, the family is celebrating Christmas surrounded by relatively modern to futuristic technology.
Near the Christmas tree, grandpa has a new black cardigan, white shirt, red tie, and grey plaid pants.
He’s holding the same patterned tie gift and his pipe from before. His grey hair has been updated.
The daughter, Patricia, has a more modern hairstyle. She has bangs and the rest of her hair is pulled into a messy ponytail. Instead of a pink sweater over a yellow shirt, she’s wearing a grey “Progress Tech” hoodie, a reference to Progress City.
The hoodie says Progress Tech is a “school of urban planning.” When Carousel of Progress was at Disneyland, the same building also housed the original Progress City model, which now sits in the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover. The PeopleMover got new narration today, also referencing Progress City and urban planning.
Patricia is also wearing new pajama pants and slippers featuring a reindeer with its tongue sticking out — a reference to floppy-tongued reindeer originally featured in the parks in the 1960s. The boots in her lap are now brown and resemble hiking or snowboarding boots more than her old white skiing boots.
Compare grandpa and Patricia to their old looks below.
Over by the TV, grandma is wearing a new pink sweater dress with a black cardigan. She has the same holiday brooch on her lapel. She also has new hair, more of a blonde bob than her old style. The cat is still sleeping soundly in front of her.
The son, James, has traded in his striped shirt for a grey and blue pullover. The logo on the left breast features a mountain, sun, and snowflake. It seems to be inspired by a possible logo for Walt Disney’s canceled Mineral King ski resort, which was developed in the 1960s.
His hair seems to have been replaced but is approximately the same as the old style.
He’s still wearing a grey turtleneck and jeans, but the latter are a more modern dark wash. He’s also wearing reindeer slippers.
Compare to their old outfits:
Mom and dad weren’t left out of the makeover. Dad (John) has darker and shorter hair.
He’s wearing a red Christmas sweater instead of a blue one. His green poinsettia apron has been replaced with one that reads “My food rocks!” That’s a reference to “Food Rocks,” which ran at EPCOT from 1994 to 2004. He’s still wearing a white button-up under his sweater.
Mom’s (Sarah) dark brown hair is pulled back and she has new dark-rimmed glasses. She’s wearing a grey sweater instead of a red one.
The scarf around her neck is red, orange, and blue. It’s similar to the old one but is new.
She’s also wearing more modern dark jeans with grey socks and black loafers.
Here’s a picture of John and Sarah in their old looks.
Rover looks the same as always, with a big red bow around his neck!
What do you think of these changes to Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress family? Let us know in the comments!
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Happy it no longer looks like they are waiting for Marty McFly to drive up in a Delorean! Did no one notice they were dressed like the late 1980s all this time?
Loved it either way. Kuddos Disney. Excellent job. It’s just small stuff that y’all do that keeps us smiling. Glad they didn’t overlay this scene with screens lol…
I love it! Carousel of Progress and Tower of Terror are truly iconic, and they will always have a special place in my heart. The makeover is wonderful, and it doesn’t detract from the magical theme of this attraction.
Love the updates!
I definitely did. I was wondering when they were gonna update this “future” that looks more like 30 years ago.
Hahaha!! Yes! Exactly!
Haha I was thinking the same thing! That scene always reminded me of Back to the Future II – the same sort of “futuristic” look.
That’s EXACTLY what went through my mind as well!
Isn’t the Grandfather John and the Grandmother Sarah?
No
Does Dad still burn the turkey?
Hopefully they updated the gifts and technology shown there, too. Voice activated technology is not futuristic anymore, and Grandma looked like she was playing “Space Invaders!”
I’m more than ok with this one! It’s nice to see some simple updates without changing the overall experience…and I hated that kids old sweater anyway lol
I’m actually surprised updating the hair and outfits was all they did. The way Disney’s been going lately (removing “ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls” from announcements, turning Splash Mountain into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure), I half expected for Patricia to now be Patrick.
This was a BADLY needed update. I feel like they made Sarah look a little too old, though.
Now if we could just get rid of the references to car phones and laser discs…
Unhappy. The point was that it wasn’t accurate, it was a prediction of what they thought the future would be. New outfits are very dull.
It was absolutley not a prediction, it used to be a 1960s look, in the original world’s fair version, this setting was the 1990s or early 2000s update.
Did Grandpa get Sarah’s old pants?
Like the new makeover.
Love the new updates
Carousel of progress is a great place to get out of the heat and take a nap. Otherwise it is a waste of time.
I love COP!!! Dland’s has been gone for years!! I wish they would bring it back. The replacements are boring.
Used to be really cold in there. Not so much anymore.
Thrilled about this update, it was was MUCH needed! I went on about 3 months ago and remember thinking, “my goodness, this needs a facelift”… well, yay! Thx for the detailed breakdown and covering this so well!
Been coming every other year since 1976 , DVC members since 94 and we always welcome the changes you guys make around the resort.
Nice. Thanks for the update.
I like they updated the attraction.. this is a great ride nor really a ride more of a show. This gives it a much better update.
I still prefer the old mom she’s gone dowdy
We were there this weekend, before you made the change. What a transformation. I love it.
Finally! Looks much better.
Here’s my thoughts… Grandpa could have been changed with only his hair and realistically been fine; maybe changing the color of the vest.
Patricia’s hair was absolutely dated and her gift was dated but her outfit was timeless lounge more-so than the hoodie and plaid pajama bottoms.
Grandma’s hair and outfit is going to look dated very quickly.
For James the only thing different I would have done is kept the more faded jeans. Lighter jeans might not always be “in style” but they are always worn by people because they look WORN.
Dad (John) looks okay. I like his old hair better personally but to me neither hair screams a time Era.
Mom (Sara) I’m not keen on but then I didn’t like her original look either. To me they both looked like what an alien would draw a stereotype of a suburban mom to look like if you were trying to go AGAINST stereotypes but still BE stereotypical.
A chance in clothing is just not enough. And by being brought into this century is not a look at the future! They need to update them to the 22 century! THAT is a future set! Come on Disney I don’t mind paying the new prices but don’t do something this lame and expect praise. I love you so love me back with REAL changes.
It looks like they also updated the decor behind the mom in the kitchen!
Love the update. I never got to see the original in person but rides like this need to their looks updated from time to time.
Time to bring back the old song, prior to the last replacement. It was more catchy.
The whole scene still looks to be from 1998. That future is now the past. Disney stop being afraid to change these legacy rides. You charge to much for tickets. New hairdos and clothes. Yawning.
“Now is the time, now is the best time, …” In the new People Mover narration, at the very end when almost time to disembark, there is a throwback to this original COP theme. Listen for it!
I have been visiting the carousel of progress since it was at the New York worlds fair! Loved it then still love it. I was at WDW in March and visited my other favorite ride the Wedway people mover! Love COP, it brings back great memories.
It is important to note that the Carousel of Progress is designed to show the progress through the 20th century, so as long as the last scene (which was the future, but is now the past) does not become too modern and reflects a future through the lens of the past (not quite a “future that never was”), I am good with it.
One of my all time favorites. Stood the test of time. Thank you Disney
Mom’s laptop FINALLY got an update as well!! I wonder if the video game is still the old Atari looking thing? I personally hope they left the car phone reference in. It amuses me too much… 😆
We only would ride this to get some A/C🤣🤣
Update is nice. Glad this attraction is still there. Don’t ever remove or replace it. Walt would not approve. Bring back original song please.
It still looks outdated to me. For as much as they are charging for their parks, hair and clothes are very weak updates.
Am I the only guy here that thinks Patricia looks even better now then in years past? And she’s just an Audio Animatronic. Just to realistic if you ask me..
I was disappointed with the update. It literally goes from the 60s to the present. Like the 70s, 80s, & 90s never happened.
We were there earlier this week and I noticed that something was different.I just wasn’t able to put my finger on it. So “thanks” for the update on the updates. Still my favorite MK ride, and ride song.
as long as Jean Shepherd is still the voice of John i don’t care how they look.