Carousel Wall

We spent last week inside the Carousel of Progress before it closes down for refurbishment and major reimagining after July 5th. Today I thought we’d spend a moment outside the building before we move on. I snapped this picture during my ride-marathon, and all of last week, as I was sharing the interior shots of each scene, it was in the back of my mind that I loved this picture too.

This paint job is actually the opposite of what fans usually talk about when it comes to paint and Disney. The “famous” story about Disney paint is the stuff you aren’t supposed to see. Disney uses what fans call “Go Away Green" or "No See Um Green" and "Blending Blue" or "Bye Bye Blue" to make your eye slide past things that might otherwise break the spell of being here. Utility boxes, backstage doors, and speakers are often shades of green that fall away. The highest parts of the Guardians: Cosmic Rewind and Soarin’ buildings are shades of blue that disappear into the sky.

This wall, on the other hand, like a handful of other well-known photo spots at Disney, shouts at you. Tomorrowland as a whole, like the last scene of Carousel of Progress, keeps repainting itself to chase the future. The Carousel exterior itself has seen a few repaints over the years. During its first years at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, it was a series of white and deep-blue stripes of varying widths. In the 1990s, with the launch of “New Tomorrowland,” the stripes were buried under painted cogs and gears, sprockets and bolts, in the bronze and copper shades that drenched the whole land. Then, with the mid-2010s refurbishment, we got this.

This wall belongs to a specific moment in time. It seems likely that it, like the inside of the attraction, will go away after the July closure.

In my last poll last week, 70% of you said you couldn't make it to say goodbye but wish you could, so I'm especially glad we could spend this time there together.

Taken at 50mm, 1/50 second, f/5.6, ISO 100 and then smoothed and sharpened until all that was left was the simple colors of the wall. Silly as it sounds, this is one of my favorite things I've done in a while.