Disneyland Review: it's a small world

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: A relaxing ride through a reminder of our shared humanity

Cons: Not everyone appreciates the simplicity and the catchy song.

The Bottom Line:

A simple message

That is simply delivered

And is so much fun

Walt Disney's Small World Still Delights the Young at Heart

Okay, I confess, I am a full fledged Disney geek.  (Mark, that's not a confession.  We already know.)  While I love hitting the fast thrill type rides when I am at Disneyland, I also have to make time for the old classics like it's a small world (yes, that formatting is correct according to Disney).  I loved this ride as a kid (in fact, I got a watch with the song as the alarm and drove my parents crazy with it).  And I still find it absolutely charming now.

The Location and Outside

This attraction started out as part of Disney's contribution to the 1964/1965 World's Fair before moving to Disneyland a year later.  As a result, the ride is off by itself.  If you follow the path between Alice in Wonderland and the Matterhorn and go straight back, you can't miss it.  It's the big white building.  With the expansion in recent years, it is now next to the entrance to Mickey's Toon Town.  But it used to be pretty much by itself.

As I mentioned, the building is big and white.  The exterior is made up of a series of turrets and towers.  If you look carefully, you can see stylized versions of world landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Smack dab in the middle of the building is the clock.  It's got a giant happy face and ticks back and forth.  On every quarter hour, the clock "goes off."  To a great fan fare, dolls representing many nations of the world come out and parade before you before the clock opens to reveal the time.

The area around the attraction is landscaped with bushes cut into the form of various animals.

The line divides into two, but the two lines usually take about the same length of time.  You float through it's a small world in boats that hold roughly 15 people.  While there is a single canal inside, the canal splits in two to allow faster loading, hence the two lines.  I haven't seen the line longer than 15 minutes in recent years.  Even on Labor Day this last year, the longest the line every got was 10 minutes.

There are no height restrictions for the ride, and the slow nature makes it perfect for kids.  Teens will probably get bored with it because they think they are too "cool" for the ride.  Some boats are equipped with restraints for wheel chairs, but you will have to leave your stroller by the entrance to the ride.

The Ride

Once you are loaded on your boat, you cruise through a representation of the world.  Each scene is filled with dolls representing the children and animals of the region and you get to see some of them behaving in traditional ways associated with their region.

You start out with the Arctic, which includes the Scandinavian countries.  Here's you'll see dolls dressed up in heavy coats.  Some are ice fishing.  The next room is Europe where we see the Irish dressed in green, gondoliers in Italy, and Dutch children clicking their wooden shoes together.  Asia finds dolls wearing Kimonos and even one charming a snake as we pass through India.  In Africa, we get a strong drum beat and laughing hyenas.  South America finds a bunch of children doing the Mexican Hat Dance under a giant hat.  Next, we travel to the South Seas where we are greeted by mermaids and Australian aborigines with boomerangs.  This section also features kangaroos and koalas.  Finally, we hit the North America section, which features cowboys and Indians.  The final room is a collection of representatives from all the regions of the world for a grand and glorious farewell.

The dolls were originally designed by an artist named Mary Blair.  They are a bit stylized and not focused on realism.  Some people describe their look as creepy, but I find it quite enjoyable, actually.  You can always tell who or what the doll is supposed to be.  Of course, part of this is the reliance on stereotypes for each region.  Africa is more than its tribal lands after all.  Then again, I think North America gave up the frontier long ago, too, so the ride is equally blind to progress.

And then there's the song.  The entire time you are in the ride, you get to hear a chorus of children singing "it's a small world."  About half the time they are singing in English, while the other half they are singing in a language native to the region you are passing through.  Again, this song is a matter of taste.  I happen to love it, so I don't mind in the slightest.  My only real complaint here is that they tend to do one verse over and over again.  I usually only hear the second verse once the entire time I'm in the ride.  I wish I knew why they didn't play them both equally.

While I can sympathize with those who complain about the song getting stuck in your head (I guess I've been around it too much; I never have that problem), I love the thought behind it.  It, and by extension the ride, are a reminder that people around the world have the same hopes and fears we do.  It's really a call for peace and harmony.  In a perfect world, we really could look beyond our differences and learn to get along.  Alas, we are often too pig headed and stubborn to see that.  (Yep, I'm right up there at times.)

This attraction a bit more than others allows you to see what goes into making the magic.  While the dolls do move, they aren't especially life like.  They aren't trying for realism here; I think it's more about the message.  Occasionally, you can see the wooden beams that are controlling the character.  And the walls are pretty much bare with lights coming from the ceiling.  It feels like a giant warehouse that is decorated at times.  But if you try, you can easily get caught up in the magic and never notice.

The ride itself is close to 15 minutes.  I suspect it's just under that because it takes a few minutes at the end to unload.  You can get quite jammed if things are going slowly, in fact.  But if the clock is going off when you get on the boat, odds are good it will be going off again when you get off.  I always like to hit this ride in the middle of the afternoon.  Not only does it give me time to rest and relax, but the inside is air conditioned, which is a nice break from the normal Southern California heat.

it's a small world holiday

Every year during late October/early November, the ride closes down for two weeks so it can be turned into it's a small world holiday.  If you are ever there during this season, be sure you catch it.

Everything gets changed.  Every line on the facade is covered outlined with lights.  The bushes are covered with net lights.  You absolutely have to go by it at night.  It looks amazing.

Inside, the changes are applied a bit unevenly.  The first room is decked out as Santa's Workshop complete with giant snowflakes.  Europe is decorated with traditional decorations from the various lands.  But Africa and Asia are left pretty much alone.  There are fireworks in the sky in Asia, but the changes are pretty superficial.  The final room is again really decked out again with more snowflakes and festive costumes on the dolls.  There's even a giant Christmas tree.

They also change the soundtrack.  In addition to "it's a small world," the dolls sing "Jingle Bells" and "Deck the Halls."  The trio do blend together quite well.  It's probably not enough to help those who hate this ride because of the song, but it definitely puts you in the festive mood.

The ride usually closes during the beginning of January to transform itself back to normal.

The 2009 Controversy

After the holiday version of the ride closed in 2008, the ride stayed closed for most of the year.  Rumor had it (and keep in mind this is a rumor) that boats were getting stuck quite regularly, so they had to widen the boats and the canal to make them float better.  I don't know if this is true or not, but I've heard it from multiple sources.

During this time, they also added almost 30 new dolls to this ride.  Now, as you go through, you can see Peter Pan and Tinker Bell flying above you in England, sail by Pinocchio in Germany, wave to Aladdin and Jasmine on a flying carpet in Arabia, the Three Caballeros are in South America, and see Nemo and Dory in the South Seas.

They tried hard to stylize the Disney characters to match Mary Blair's designs from 40 years ago.  For the most part, they succeeded.  Alice and the White Rabbit blend in nicely.  I almost look past Mulan when we come to China.  Ariel blends in well with the other mermaids in the South Seas.  And Simba, Timon, and Pumbaa look like they have always been in Africa.  There are a few that stand out horribly, however.  The most noticeable, at least to me, are Jessie, Woody, and Bullseye in the North America section.

Speaking of which, the North America section is also new.  The rainforest scene that used to be there has been moved to a little earlier in the ride.

All these changes angered some Disney purists who thought the only point was to make more people want to go on the ride.  And I can partially see their point.  After all, why mess with something that has been fine for 40 years.  And if the point was to increase the lines, that certainly didn't happen.

The first time I went on the ride after it reopened, I was prepared to hate the changes.  But I must admit, it wasn't that bad.  True, these changes weren't needed.  But they don't detract from the message and the charm of the ride.  And playing "spot all the characters" can add some fun to repeat rides.

Conclusion

I fully realize this ride isn't for everyone.  But it does hold a great appeal to young kids and the young at heart.  Heck, can you really go to Disney and not experience this ride at least once in your life?

So plan to visit it's a small world at least once during your next trip to Disneyland.  Heck, if you keep an open mind, you might find you actually enjoy it.