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Disney Reimagines Carousel of Progress with Audio-Animatronic Walt and Four New Era Scenes

D23’s public reveal and new contractor permits show the overhaul has moved into heavy audiovisual and structural work and is set to reopen in late spring 2027.

Overview

  • At D23 on the weekend of August 14–16, Walt Disney Imagineering unveiled concept art, costumes and a prologue that places an Audio‑Animatronic Walt at the attraction’s entrance.
  • The show’s narrative has been restructured into a prologue plus four acts set in summer 1969, Halloween 1985, New Year’s Eve 1999 and a futuristic finale, while keeping the rotating theater and the Sherman Brothers anthem.
  • Disney confirmed Bryan Cranston and Jamie Lee Curtis as the new voice actors for the parents, moving casting and major creative details from rumor to fact.
  • Recent permit filings name Solotech for electrical and audiovisual installation and list scenic and structural contractors such as Mecca Productions, indicating the project is in a deep systems‑integration and fabrication phase rather than a simple refresh.
  • The attraction closed in early July 2026 and Disney has scheduled a late‑spring 2027 reopening, with remaining unknowns including final scripting, effects lists and exact opening‑day operations as installation and programming continue.