Disney4me Posted August 30, 2025 Report Posted August 30, 2025 An animatronic version of Walt Disney will be incorporated into the Carousel of Progress attraction at Magic Kingdom theme park, Imagineer Chris Beatty announced at the Destination D23 event at the Coronado Springs Resort on Saturday. An overlay for the Tron Lightcycle / Run ride also was revealed at the event. The figure will be place in a new scene that precedes the traditional through-the-decades rotating story of an American family. Carousel of Progress was one of Disney’s ideas included in the New York World’s Fair of 1964. That event also was in the development of animatronics with Disney’s “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln” show. The Magic Kingdom addition comes on the heels of the introduction of a Walt Disney animatronic at Disneyland. The figure is now seen in “Walt Disney — A Magical Life,” which debuted in July. First peek: The Beak and Barrel, Magic Kingdom’s pirate tavern “The introduction of a new audio-animatronics figure of Walt Disney in Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress marks an exciting milestone in our shared mission to celebrate the story of the man behind the magic and inspire new generations with his innovations and vision for the future,” said Kirsten Komorosky, executive director of the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. After the World’s Fair, Carousel of Progress operated until 1973. It was introduced at Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland in 1973, and has experienced updates and seasonal closures over the decades. After a refurbishment in 1994, the name was tweaked to become Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress. Disney sets opening date for ‘Zootopia’ attraction, updates coaster plans It’s put two different theme songs into pop culture, “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” and “The Best Time of Your Life,” both written by the Sherman Brothers. No timeline for the animatronic addition was announced. Magic Kingdom's Tron ride will have a new red hue for a limited time. (Walt Disney Co.) The overlay for the Tron ride, which opened in 2023, will begin Sept. 15 and be tied to the “Tron: Ares” film, which debuts Oct. 10, starring Gillian Anderson, Jeff Bridges and Jared Leto. Among the limited-time changes will be the addition of red hues and music by Nine Inch Nails. The group is part of the film’s soundtrack. The overlay also will be added at Shaghai Disneyland in September. Email me at dbevil@orlandosentinel.com. BlueSky: @themeparksdb. Threads account: @dbevil. X account: @themeparks. Subscribe to the Theme Park Rangers newsletter at orlandosentinel.com/newsletters. View the full article Quote
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