Credit: Jeff Krause, FlickrWalt Disney World has no shortage of major projects right now. New attractions are coming, familiar areas are being reworked, and Disney continues finding ways to bring older experiences into a newer era.
Now, another longtime attraction could eventually find itself in Disney’s sights.
Nothing has been announced, but a major decision at Magic Kingdom offers an interesting clue about how Disney may approach attractions that have been around for decades.
If Disney is willing to make substantial changes to one of its most historically important classics, another aging attraction may not remain untouched forever.
Disney Is Giving Carousel of Progress a Major Overhaul
Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress has always held a special place at Magic Kingdom because of its direct connection to Walt himself.
Rather than retiring the attraction, Disney has chosen to overhaul it while keeping its basic identity intact.
The attraction closed in July 2026 and is expected to return in 2027 with major changes, including updated scenes, technology, and Audio-Animatronics.
The revamped attraction will begin around the 1969 Apollo 11 era before moving into an 1980s Halloween setting and a New Year’s Eve scene around the turn of the millennium. The final scene will jump farther ahead, imagining the family living in an off-planet future.
Disney is also adding an Audio-Animatronic Walt Disney to a new introductory scene.
It’s a substantial overhaul for an attraction with such a strong historical connection to Disney. The company is effectively replacing the current version with a technologically updated interpretation.
And that approach could matter elsewhere.
Disney May Be Ready to Modernize More Classics
Carousel of Progress gives Disney an interesting blueprint for aging attractions.
Instead of choosing between leaving a classic untouched or demolishing it, Imagineers can preserve its central idea while replacing outdated scenes, figures, effects, and technology.
That could open the door for similar projects across Walt Disney World.
Several attractions still rely heavily on technology and design choices from earlier eras. Some remain popular because of nostalgia, while others have devoted fan bases despite showing their age.
At EPCOT, one attraction immediately comes to mind.
Journey Into Imagination With Figment Could Be Next
Journey Into Imagination With Figment occupies one of EPCOT’s most recognizable pavilions, and Figment remains one of the park’s signature characters.
The current attraction sends guests through the Imagination Institute alongside Dr. Nigel Channing, played by Eric Idle. Figment repeatedly interrupts the tour as guests travel through sensory labs focused on sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste.
The experience eventually becomes Figment’s chaotic lesson in imagination before ending with “One Little Spark.”
The current ride is already the third major version of the attraction.
The original Journey Into Imagination opened in 1983 with Dreamfinder and Figment. Disney replaced it with Journey Into YOUR Imagination in 1999, then introduced Journey Into Imagination With Figment in 2002.
The pavilion has already proven Disney can reinvent the attraction while retaining its broader theme.
What a Modern Figment Ride Could Look Like
Disney wouldn’t necessarily need to demolish the building or abandon Figment to create something dramatically different.
One obvious improvement would involve the figures themselves. Newer Audio-Animatronics can create movements and expressions that older figures can’t match. Frozen Ever After shows how Disney can revisit an existing attraction with newer technology.
Figment could benefit enormously from that treatment.
Disney could also introduce a new host or doctor to replace Dr. Nigel Channing, creating a fresh storyline without abandoning the Imagination Institute concept.
More interactive environments could make an even bigger difference. Guests could trigger effects or watch Figment physically interact with the surrounding rooms.
Updated projections, lighting, practical effects, and larger sets could make each scene feel more alive. Smoother vehicles and track improvements could also modernize the physical ride experience.
The replacement doesn’t have to mean replacing Figment. It could mean replacing the current version of his attraction with something much more ambitious.
Figment Isn’t the Only Aging Attraction
EPCOT has another attraction that could eventually receive similar attention: Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros.
Disney could preserve its Three Caballeros theme while introducing updated figures, effects, scenes, and technology.
Then there’s “it’s a small world” at Magic Kingdom.
Few Disney attractions carry more historical importance, which makes a complete replacement difficult to imagine. But Carousel of Progress shows that historical significance doesn’t necessarily prevent Disney from making substantial updates.
Modernized Audio-Animatronics, refreshed scenes, improved lighting, and updated effects could extend the life of “it’s a small world” without eliminating what generations of guests recognize.
Disney’s Next Generation of Classics Could Be Coming
Disney hasn’t announced a replacement for Journey Into Imagination With Figment, Gran Fiesta Tour, or “it’s a small world.” For now, any major overhaul remains speculation.
Carousel of Progress, however, changes the conversation.
Disney is taking a historically significant attraction and replacing its current version with new scenes, modern technology, updated Audio-Animatronics, and a story designed to carry it into the future.
That signals Disney may be increasingly comfortable modernizing classics instead of preserving them exactly as they are.
And if that philosophy spreads to EPCOT, Journey Into Imagination With Figment could become one of the most obvious candidates for Disney’s next major old-meets-new overhaul.
