There are many unique architectural styles in Disneyland, but perhaps one that stands out the most is the building housing Innoventions. After all, how many other places can you find a building that rotates? You may have visited Innoventions to learn about technology, play games, or even get in out of the sun or rain, but how much do you know about what was there before?
This particular location has an interesting history. During Disneyland’s first summer, in 1955, a restaurant called the Space Bar opened at the eastern edge of Tomorrowland. The Space Bar took up a huge area there, serving basic counter-service food. They had so much room available there that in 1961 the Space Bar Dance Area opened in front of it.
The Space Bar’s days were numbered, though—in that location, anyway. In 1964, Walt Disney and his Imagineers had four attractions at the New York World’s Fair. One of those was a rotating theater attraction called Progressland. After the Fair ended, all of the Disney attractions were brought out to Disneyland (though not much of the Ford attraction made it), and in 1967 Progressland came to Disneyland and became the Carousel of Progress, showing four decades of American life, with 32 Audio Animatronic figures.
The Carousel of Progress lasted until 1973, when it was displaced by America Sings, which opened in 1974 as an early start to the United States Bicentennial Celebration. The Carousel of Progress moved to Walt Disney World, and this six-part carousel of music took its place, with 114 Audio Animatronics celebrating America’s musical heritage. America Sings was the attraction I first experienced in this building, and remains one of my favorites to this day, even though the theme was pretty far-removed from Tomorrowland.
That remained until 1988, and then offices occupied the theater until July of 1998, when Innoventions opened. In a reversal of the journey for the Carousel of Progress, which was moved to Walt Disney World in 1973, Innoventions was imported from Walt Disney World, and provided a place to showcase new technology and innovation.
One fact that has made the Innoventions attraction itself unique over the years is that rather than having one sponsor at a time, it has had multiple sponsors simultaneously. At its opening in 1998, Honeywell, General Motors, and Hewlett-Packard sponsored individual exhibit “zones”, as they were called. Other overlapping sponsors have been AT&T, Segway, Pioneer, Microsoft, Honda, Siemens, Yamaha, and more.
A new exhibit will be coming to Innoventions in April of this year featuring Iron Man! Click here for more information.
For you to discover: The Carousel Theater has been home to over well 100 Audio-Animatronic figures over the years, but now has only one–and that one is rarely seen. Who is it?
You can read more from Randy on his blog, Faith and the Magic Kingdom and listen to his unofficial Disney podcast, Stories of the Magic. Find him on Twitter (@Belgarion42) and on Facebook. Randy is also an independent Travel Consultant affiliated with CruisingCo.com and MouseEarVacations.com and would love to help you with any of your travel needs, for Disney destinations and beyond!
