For those of you bored with my WDW Trip report, I will offer you a small reprieve with a post about the Progress City model. Formerly part of the Disneyland Carousel of Progress attraction, it now resides in Walt Disney World, visible while riding the PeopleMover...oh, excuse me...the Tomorrowland Transit Authority! The first photo is a vintage shot of the model with the following information:
“In capsulized realism is this 6,900-foot scale model of the city of the future provides a detailed example of city planning using today’s latest technology with more than 4,500 buildings and 2,450 moving vehicles in a myriad of forward looking transportation systems. The all-electric city is a new feature of General Electric’s Carousel of Progress at Disneyland.”
Here are two other vintage shots, showing Walt proudly telling the world about his ambitious plans for EPCOT and Disney World near Orlando:
And to keep things current, here’s the Progress City model today:
See more Disneyland Carousel of Progress photos at my regular website.
When I was a kid my Grandad gave me a box full of cars that were retired from the model to play with. They had holes drilled through them where a peg on a moving track would pull them along and some had tiny lights with wires for the headlamps, others just reflective paint.
ReplyDeleteLove that Progress City model! My understanding is that the version currently on display in Florida is only a part of the original huge model.
ReplyDeleteThe photos remind me of Futurama from the New York World's Fair!
Good to see the 'City' again. Thanks, she looks good!
ReplyDeleteOMG William, do you still have some of those cars???
ReplyDeleteI loved Carousel of Progress and Progress City. I say bring it all back to DL and restore it properly! Unfortunately, Major is right....what's at WDW is only a portion of the model that was at DL.
Who could possibly be bored with your WDW trip report? Can't wait to see more!
Here is a short video of the construction of the original Progress City:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8OfPzmnU6Q
In this video, if you skip ahead to 2:00, you get a few seconds showing how the model "came alive" section by section for guests:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCn9nZ1PoSI