*Sung lyrics in bold.
(Theatre begins to rotate from Act III.)
FATHER & CHORUS
There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow
Shining at the end of every day.
There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow,
And tomorrow is just a dream away.
Man has a dream and that’s the start.
He follows his dream with mind and heart.
PATRICIA
And when it becomes a reality…
GRANDPA
It’s a dream come true for you and me.
FAMILY
So there’s a great big beautiful tomorrow
Shining at the end of every day.
FATHER
There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow…
FAMILY
Just a dream away.
(Theatre finishes rotating.)
FATHER (Spoken)
Isn’t it a pleasant holiday? Oh, turkey’s in the oven, it’s peaceful and quiet.
JIMMY (Playing virtual reality game)
Yes! Three hundred points, my best score yet!
SARAH
Well, it was peaceful until Santa brought that new virtual reality space pilot game.
(JIMMY’s viewfinder lifts.)
JIMMY
Your turn Grandma. Let’s switch the image over to the TV so the resident flying ace can show you how it works.
(GRANDMA’s viewfinder goes down as the TV comes on to show the game.)
JIMMY
Now, it’s a little tricky. Just use your game glove to fly behind the other guy and blast him with your laser blaster!
GRANDMA
Laser blaster? Well, I’ll give it a try.
JIMMY
Take a look around Grandma. You’re in the ship!
GRANDMA
Feels like I’m really there!
JIMMY
Okay, get ready, you’re about to blast off!
GRANDMA
Here goes nothin’.
(The ship on the TV blasts off an passes a ship. The game continues.)
JIMMY
All right, here he comes! Ooh, you missed him!
SARAH (Looking up from laptop computer)
Hey everybody, I’m done programming our new voice activation system.
FATHER
Now all our household items will do anything we tell ’em to do.
GRANDPA
Great, tell the refrigerator to bring me a root beer.
SARAH
(Chuckles.) Well, it can’t quite do that. But I’ll show you something it can do. (To Computer.) Tree lights, thirty percent brighter.
(The lights brighten and the family reacts.)
GRANDPA
Aw, that’s no big deal. Anybody can do that voice activatin’ stuff. Watch this. (To ROVER.) Rover, speak!
(ROVER barks.)
SARAH
John, the oven should respond to your voice commands now. Give it a try!
FATHER
Ah, okay, here goes. Temperature to 375.
OVEN
Temperature increased to 375.
PATRICIA
Look at that! It even talks back.
FATHER
Reminds me of certain people I know.
PATRICIA
Yeah right, Dad!
JIMMY (to GRANDMA as he watches her play the game)
You’re gonna lose him, Grandma! Bank to the right!
PATRICIA
Remember Dad’s turkey last year?
GRANDPA
Yeah, that thing really smoked up the place when it burned, didn’t it?
PATRICIA
We ended up microwaving frozen pizzas.
SARAH
Well, no need to worry about the turkey this year. Not with an oven that will do anything your father tells it to do.
JIMMY (to GRANDMA)
Ooh! Good shot!
GRANDMA
Did you see that?!
JIMMY
Dad, Grandma’s up to 550 points!
FATHER
Did you say 550? Hey, she’s getting the hang of that thing.
OVEN (Unnoticed by FAMILY)
Temperature increased to 550.
GRANDPA
I can’t believe all the new gadgets they’ve got now. Do you know in my day—
PATRICIA
Oh no! You’re not going to tell us about the old days when you didn’t even have a car phone.
GRANDPA
(Chuckles.) Hey Trish, for a while we didn’t even have a house phone. Not to mention laser discs and hi-def TV. Everything is automated these days, including…
(Toilet flushes offstage.)
GRANDPA
Well, including that.
UNCLE ORVILLE (Offstage)
No privacy at all around this place!
GRANDPA
Sorry, Orville. Anyway, you guys don’t know how good you’ve got it nowadays.
SARAH
You know, my grandpa told me the very same thing when I was a kid.
GRANDMA (to the game)
Take that you nincompoop!
JIMMY
Hey check it out, Dad. Grandma’s up to 975 points.
FATHER
Wow—975!
OVEN
Temperature increased to 975. (Begins beeping.) Overload! Overload! Command overload!
SARAH
John, what’s wrong with the oven?
FATHER
What? Uh…
(Oven door slams open and smokes.)
OVEN
Bake Mode complete. Enjoy your meal.
PATRICIA
Anyone for pizza?
SARAH
Oh, another Christmas turkey ruined.
(ROVER whimpers. GRANDMA’s game ends and her viewfinder lifts.)
GRANDMA
Man, what a game! I really smoked those guys. Looks like I’m resident flying ace now.
JIMMY
Best two out of three Grandma?
GRANDMA
Later kid! Boy that was fun. What will they think up next?
PATRICIA
Who knows? We’ve got a whole new century waiting for us out there.
SARAH
Yeah, and maybe sometime in the new century, your father will learn how to talk to our oven.
FATHER
Well, maybe by then ovens will read our minds. But hey, as long as we’re all here and happy and together for the holidays, who cares if I burned our Christmas turkey?
GRANDMA
I do! I’m starving.
(FAMILY laughs.)
JIMMY
Don’t worry, Dad. Someday, everything’s going to be so automated, you won’t ever have to cook another Christmas turkey again.
(Theatre begins to rotate to exit.)
FAMILY
There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow
Shining at the end of every day.
There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow,
And tomorrow is just a dream away.
SARAH
Man has a dream and that’s the start.
FATHER
He follows his dream with mind and heart.
CHORUS
And when it becomes a reality,
It’s a dream come true for you and me.
So there’s a great big beautiful tomorrow
Shining at the end of every day.
There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow,
Just a dream away.
(Theatre finishes rotating.)
NARRATOR
Thank you for joining us on Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress. We hope you’ve enjoyed this tribute to the 1964 Carousel of Progress from the New York World’s Fair. Please gather all your personal belongings and exit through the doors located at the back of the theatre. Have a great big beautiful day, and remember, tomorrow is just a dream away.
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