I know, I know, the song is an infectious earwig and you're going to spend the rest of the day cursing me for even bringing it into your realm of thought. But bear with me.
photo by Stacy Conradt
The ride is currently under major renovations at Disneyland, and while I admit it's not one of my favorite rides, I was disappointed that my sister-in-law didn't get to experience it on her first-ever Disney trip last month. And now, she may never get to experience the original World's Fair version that has resided in Fantasyland for the past 40 years. Disney says that the main change is a change of boats, but according to insiders in the know, it's actually going to be much more. We'll get to that in a second. The original IASW is based on the idea of world peace. No, really. Walt Disney attended a conference held by President Eisenhower in 1956 about promoting world peace and cultural understanding through world travel. Inspired, Disney recruited Mary Blair to design the attraction, Marc and Alice Davis to design the scenes and the doll outfits respectively, and Joyce Carlson to design the dolls. At first, the ride included the national anthems of all of the different nations represented, but Disney decided he needed one uniting song. Robert and Richard Sherman wrote the now-famous tune and that was that.
photo from feministJulie on Flickr
A couple of quick facts:
• The attraction debuted at the 1964-65 World's Fair in New York.
• Major themes of the boat ride include Europe, Asia, Africa, Central/South America, South Pacific Islands, the Finale and the Good-bye Scene.
• Throughout your 10.5 minute boat ride, you'll hear the repetitive song in Spanish, French, and Japanese, to name a few.
And now the changes: The changes are going to see the rainforest scene – a really detailed, colorful and innovative representation of Mary Blair's artwork – replaced with a massive "Hooray for the U.S.A." scene. Right now, the only American characters represented are a cowboy and an Eskimo. This might seem like the U.S. isn't very well represented, but when you consider that the point of the ride is to explore other cultures, it makes sense. Another big change is that Disney is going to stick its characters in scenes where they "belong". So you might see the Hunchback of Notre Dame in the France section, Simba and Rafiki in the African section and Ariel with the gurgling mermaids at the beginning of the ride (at Disneyland, not Disneyworld). Commercialism at its worst, I guess. I get that it's Disney and its bread and butter is its characters, but the original IASW was not designed to sell Disney product. Walt himself commissioned it with the idea of promoting global understanding, not global marketing.
photo from Re-Imagineering
I guess I'm torn – I can understand the need to update and improve the ride, but maybe not to the lengths they are going. Can't they up the America factor by adding a few more characters instead of destroying an entire classic scene? And what about subtly putting Disney character references into the ride instead of the actual characters themselves, which won't match the dolls in the rest of the ride? For instance, make one of the French dolls wear the simplistic blue-and-white Belle dress and carry a book. Give one of the mermaids red hair. I think it can be done in a way that doesn't rip the integrity of the original design away.
What do you guys think? Horrible updates, or is Small World long overdue for some modernization?
http://calorielab.com/news/2007/10/29/small-world-ride-revamped-for-bigger-passengers/
The article points out that a Disney spokesman is denying that the reason for the boat update is obesity. Of course they're going to deny it...why offend the majority of the American people?
The grandeur and honor of the United States is all over the park. I, for one, do not begrudge the rest of the world their 10.5 minutes of fame.
The modern Disney characters are being placed where they belong as visual clues for youngsters who grew up with those films. Reverse commercialism actually: using a well known character to help educated.
I personally think that the boats are being redesigned to move faster and the finished ride will take about 6 minutes to complete.
(sorry)
I started noticing the the heads where out of sync with the bodies, and would eventually face backwards.
I found a wet napkin floating in the water on the bottom of the boat and amused my self by chucking little wads at the charachers. Some stuck to their heads....I wonder if they're still there?
It was a sad ride back then, I assume it's been falling apart more and more since?
sick.
Uhh... I don't think that came out sounding quite right. Unless the U.S.A. is really proud of destroying rainforests.
But I guess increasing the commercialism and jingoism is a good start.
The attraction was also about celebrating differences and seeing the world outside your backyard. I don't think putting a big fat "USA" scene right near the end of the ride (Hey everyone! We saved the best for last, hyuk hyuk!) is even the least bit in line with what it was originally supposed to be about.
As for whether there should be a bigger American scene, sure, why not? For one thing, the park attracts lots of non-American visitors. Why shouldn't they get to enjoy the presentation of a foreign culture as only Disney can do it? However, destroying the rainforest bit to do it is just groan-inducing.
As for shoehorning Disney characters in parts of the ride, that seems excessive. It's a Disney theme park, the whole place is chock full of Disney characters already. The ride should stick to its own theme and not dilute it.
And as for adding in other disney characters, that's just appalling.
-- Scar
I'm all for them 'repolishing' the ride, fixing stuff, shiny new animatronics, etc, but, man, some of that stuff is wacko.
...
And walt disney is not frozen. that's a big ol' lie.
"did you know that walt disney eats an average of 8 spiders per year in his frozen sleep, and for each spider he eats, bill gates will donate 1 dollar to a dying little girl?!"
...It matches reality...
********
And : StacyBee, thanks for one full day of Disney tune ;p
it's a world of laughter, a world or tears
its a world of hopes, its a world of fear
theres so much that we share
that its time we're aware
its a small world after all
its a small world after all
its a small world after all
its a small world after all
its a small, small world
There is just one moon and one golden sun
And a smile means friendship to everyone.
Though the mountains divide
And the oceans are wide
It's a small small world
I can understand cleaning it up and maybe adding a few more American characters, but it's sad that they're taking away the jungle scene, that one was fun.
And adding Disney characters? I think that's rather ridiculous, unless they're going to keep to the original style.
I know a lot of people find that song annoying, but I think it's rather nice, and the style is very cute.
Oh for the days when the tackiest part of the ride was the departing message:
Where ever you go
Around the world
You're never far
From Bank of America!
Puppets are just creepy...
I also think putting Disney characters in the ride is reprehensible.
http://calorielab.com/news/2007/11/12/parkwide-obesity-refurb-in-store-for-disneyland-disneys-post-small-world-plans/
I know it sounds like an urban legend, but I was told this by more than one cast member at different times. I was a performer, so I didn't work for that division, and they may have been goofing on me, but I only rode it once and I was already losing my mind before I even got through the line and on to a boat. I have no reason to doubt that it's true.
--TwoDragons
Thanks for sharing.
Every time I hear a change its made at the park.. it hurts.
I dont like the new tiki room (florida), and the new pirates (ca), and that they took away the bear jamboree (ca).
Is there a place where we can sign?
Charles Michael Collins
If Walt Disney was alive today, he would be utterly amazed. Disney World made a movie trilogy based on a pirate theme ride, they have creativly added new characters and stories, disney has influenced asians, and they have even built on to their park. But just like Hollywood, Disney World sits on a dangerous spot. I'm obviosly alive and I'm utterly amazed the best tourist attractions are located on the worst places on Earth.