Rover is the family dog in the Disney Parks attraction Carousel of Progress.
Background[]
Development History[]
The Carousel of Progress (or Progressland as it was originally called) was created for a sponsorship from General Electric to be featured in the 1964 New York World's Fair where Rover was featured in each scene of the attraction. The Carousel of Progress would later be integrated in Tomorrowland at Disneyland in the Carousel Theatre for the New Tomorrowland integrations of 1967. In 1975, it was moved to Tomorrowland at Walt Disney World at the behest of ride sponsors, General Electric. Over the years, new scripts, scenes and integrations have been implemented into it, still featuring Rover in the attraction.
Appearances[]
Carousel of Progress[]
In each scene throughout each decade, Rover would lie on the floor near his owner, John. In the final scene, he is sitting and wearing a Christmas bow.
The Ghost Gallery[]
In the 1990s, Walt Disney World cast members created an unofficial but influential backstory for The Haunted Mansion. In this story, Rover would be revealed to have been from a litter of five puppies with the each of the different scenes' dogs in Carousel of Progress being a different dog with their names being: Rover, Queenie, Sport, and Spot who lived in the attraction.
These dogs were the sibling of Bony, the Caretaker's dog from the Haunted Mansion and that they were the pups of, "Loki", the ghost dog seen by the mummy in the ride. They were the grandpups of Master Gracey's pet, Hellhound, and also descendants of the dog from Fort Sam Clemens on Tom Sawyer Island and the Prison Dog from Pirates of the Caribbean.
Trivia[]
- In 2017, Rover was the subject of the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom card "Rover's Christmas Carousel of Progress" given out exclusively at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. It is modeled after his position in the final scene. However, unlike in the attraction where he is wearing a Christmas bow, he is wearing a virtual reality headset that appears to be shooting out digital Christmas images.
Gallery[]
