Probably one of the most iconic attractions at Walt Disney World is it’s a small world.
This Fantasyland attraction features a gentle boat ride through a series of rooms that offers the guest a virtual cruise around the world performed by thousands of animatronic dolls and animals.
History
It’s a small world was one of the original attractions that Walt Disney had displayed at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York City.
The ride, originally sponsored by Pepsi for the UNICEF pavilion, was created to display how harmoniously the world could be.
All of the dolls are dressed in costumes from their native country.
The design of the attraction, including the whimsical look of the backdrops, was created by the famous artist Mary Blair who also had a hand in other Disney projects including “Alice in Wonderland,” “Cinderella” and “Peter Pan.”
The Famous/Infamous Song
One of the hallmarks of the attraction, for better or worse, is the song that plays over and over through out the attraction. (It’s even worse if you are stuck on the ride for an extended period of time.)
Walt’s original concept for the soundtrack of the attraction was to feature the various national anthems of the countries that were represented in the attraction. However, the rooms flow right into one another, which created a terrible noise with the various songs bumping up against one another.
Eventually, Walt turned to his right hand men, Robert and Richard Sherman (The Sherman Brothers), who came up with the world famous “It’s a Small World (After All).”
According to a Wikipedia entry, the song might be the most performed and most translated song in the world.
Perfect for Your Mousekatot
If there was ever a family friendly attraction, this is it.
Everyone from toddlers to grandparents will enjoy this slow, dark ride attraction.
Have extra fun with your toddlers and see if they can identify what country is being represented in the particular room of the attraction.
In the final part of the attraction, Walt Disney World, has updated it to be more interactive. Digital screens interact with the passing guest’s magic band and bid them a personalized farewell.
When to Visit
This attraction is able to load a large amount of people at a time and new boats are always arriving. This means that the wait usually isn’t that long, but Fastpasses are available.
In my opinion, it would be best to save your Fastpass for a different attraction and just use the Standby entrance instead.
Mousekatots 