This article recently appeared in the weekly newsletter. But due to the hectic holidays, I’m reprinting it as a blog to give myself a break. For those of you who have already read it, there are pictures included here that were not printed in the newsletter. Thanks for understanding that I need a week off.
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The idea for “it’s a small world” (IASW) had played in Walt’s mind for many years. He wanted to create some sort of show that featured the children of the world singing in harmony and peace. But when an opportunity for his dream presented itself, the idea was almost snuffed out before it began.
In February 1963, representatives of Pepsi-Cola spoke with Admiral Joe Fowler, the man who’s will, determination, and fortitude helped Walt build Disneyland. Pepsi explained that they wanted to sponsor a pavilion at the upcoming New York World’s Fair in conjunction with UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund. With the fair’s opening date only a year away, “can do” Fowler turned them down. He told them that there simply wasn’t enough time to undertake such an enormous project, especially since the company was already committed to three other fair projects, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, Progressland (Carousel of Progress), and Magic Skyway (Primeval World). When Walt learned that Fowler had sent Pepsi away empty handed, he was furious. He let Fowler know of his displeasure in no uncertain words and told Pepsi that Disney was up to the challenge.
One month later, in March 1963, construction began in New York on the building that would house IASW, even though the Imagineers still only had vague concepts as to what would be built in its interior. Back in California, a studio soundstage was converted into a mock-up area for the new attraction. With precious little time left, the ideas and concepts of Mary Blair, Marc & Alice Davis, and Joyce Carlson were turned into showpieces and animated dolls. As soon as a doll was completed, it was set in place along the “canal” that Claude Coats had devised. By constructing a trough/river, with pumps forcing jets of water into the channel, Coats found that he could propel flat bottomed boats at a rate of just shy of one and a half miles per hour – the perfect speed for viewing an attraction of this nature. Another benefit of this system was the large amount of people it could handle as each boat could hold approximately twenty guests. Also, boats are smooth and quite, whereas tracks and wheels are jerky and noisy.
The original idea for the attraction called for about 25 national anthems to be sung by the various dolls. In very short order it was discovered that these anthems did not harmonize and a discordant cacophony emerged. Songwriters Robert & Richard Sherman were working on the score of Mary Poppins at the time, but the urgency of IASW prompted Walt to temporarily pull them off of that project. Walt told them, “I need something and I need it right away. It should talk about unity and understanding and brotherly love, but don’t get preachy. And I need it yesterday because it has to be translated into a whole lot of different languages.” Of course, we all know that the team came up with one of the catchiest songs ever written – a song that plays in your head for days after visiting a Disney park. In the end, the song was only sung in five languages, English, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, and Swedish.
The original name of the attraction was to be “The Children of the World,” but after the Sherman brothers wrote their immortal song, the name was changed to “it’s a small world.” Also note, the name is always seen in quotes and all of the letters are lowercase.
On a side note, the Sherman brothers told Walt that they wanted to donate their royalties to UNICEF. Walt told them that UNICEF would make plenty of money at the fair and to keep their percentage to send their kids to college.
The fair opened on April 22, 1964 and IASW was an immediate success. Over the next two years, over ten million guests visited this pavilion. Below is a postcard of IASW.
The large kinetic sculpture to the right side of the picture is called “The Tower of the Four Winds.” Designed by Rolly Crump, this 120 foot high steel mobile had over fifty moving object that turned and rotated in the wind. Its endless movement represented the constant energy of young children and this piece of art became one of the fair’s landmarks.
Walt knew all along that once the fair closed, he would move his four attractions to Disneyland. Construction started in June, 1965 on what would eventually become IASW’s new home in Anaheim. Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln was the first east coast attraction to open at Disneyland in July 1965, followed by IASW in June, 1966. Unfortunately, the expense of moving “The Tower of the Four Winds” proved to be prohibitive and the sculpture was cut into pieces and hauled away as junk. But the tower hasn’t been completely forgotten. A stylized representation of “The Tower of the Four Winds” can be seen across from the elevators on the fourth floor of the Contemporary Resort.
Whereas the exterior of the attraction was uninspired in New York, California would be a different story. A large façade featuring landmarks of the world was built. Painted white with gold accents, this new exterior was impressive, especially when the Disneyland Railroad passed through this elaborate backdrop.
A large decorative clock would become the centerpiece of this new structure. Every fifteen minutes, gadgets spun, numbers pulsated, and dolls of the world paraded beneath the giant doors that opened to reveal the time. This was also the first time that topiary was use to any extent at Disneyland.
For the grand opening celebration, children from around the world were invited to Disneyland and asked to pour water from their native land into the canal. And just like at the World’s Fair, the Disneyland version of IASW, now 33% larger than its predecessor, was an immediate crowd pleaser.
When the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World was in the planning stages, it was a given that IASW would be one of the opening day attractions. Knowing that the heat and rain in Florida can be more severe than in California, the Imagineers decided to enclose the queue area. In addition, the exterior of the attraction would be given a “castle/tournament/medieval fair” style that blended with the other Fantasyland rides.
For the most part, guests who had seen the New York version of IASW thought the Florida exterior was a nice improvement. But for those guests that were familiar with the Disneyland version, disappointment ensued. The Magic Kingdom’s entrance lacked the magic of its California counterpart. And the interior portion of the queue was little better – a dark room with multicolored cutouts adorning the walls.
This was a mistake that the Imagineers would not repeat. When IASW was built in Tokyo, Paris, and Hong Kong, the exteriors more resembled Disneyland than the Magic Kingdom.
One of the unique features of Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean is the Blue Bayou Restaurant – an eatery inside the attraction. Here guests can enjoy a meal while watching the boats sail by. The Imagineers wanted to duplicate this effect in Florida, but since Pirates of the Caribbean was not planned for the Magic Kingdom, some other attraction was needed to recreate this effect. Since both IASW and POTC both use similar boats, the decision was not difficult as to which Florida attraction to incorporate with a restaurant. The Imagineers placed Pinocchio Village Haus, the counter service restaurant in Fantasyland, adjacent to IASW so they could unite these two locations. Unfortunately, after all the plans were drawn and construction complete, only seven tables actually overlook the attraction.
The effect is nice, but it isn’t anywhere near as charming as the Blue Bayou Restaurant. It wouldn’t be until the San Angel Inn located next to the El Rio del Tiempo in the Mexico Pavilion opened at Epcot that this wonderful design would be executed properly at Walt Disney World.
Another change made at the Magic Kingdom was the elimination of the “trough” that the boats sailed through at Disneyland. In the Florida version, a sea of water covers the entire attraction floor with hidden guide rails beneath the surface.
On May 1, 2004, IASW closed for a major renovation. Over the next year, a digitally enhanced soundtrack was added, the dolls costumes were refurbished, and the entire attraction received a fresh coat of paint. But the most obvious change came to the queue. First, the main entrance was moved from the right side of the attraction to the left. But more importantly, the loading and unloading area was given a complete make over. Now it resembles its Disneyland counterpart, although on a smaller scale, with multiple world landmarks painted white and accented in gold. In addition, a giant whimsical clock was added. The reborn attraction reopened on March 18, 2005.
I mentioned earlier that the exterior of IASW was designed to resemble a medieval fair. If you look closely at the portico, the roof is held up by jousting poles. Also on the exterior of the attraction are generic coats-of-arms to represent royal lineage.
IASW has seven scenes, Europe, Asia, Africa, Central/South America, the South Pacific, the Finale, and the Good-Bye Scene. Within these scenes, over one hundred different areas of the world are represented using 289 dolls, 147 toys, and 36 animated props. The attraction holds 500,000 gallons of water and the canal length is 1,085 feet. The voyage around the world takes ten and a half minutes.
Mary Blair, the art director for the project, used colors effectively to help tell the story of IASW. Since Europe was the first room guests would encounter, she wanted to create a “big splash” and used a multitude of color to represent the various countries. In Asia and the Middle East, yellow was the primary hue used to convey a warm climate. In Africa, blues and greens were used to suggest a nighttime environment. Yellow, orange, and rust painted the scenes in Central and South America while greens and oranges were selected for the rainforest. The South Pacific used a pallet of greens and purples to set a tropical tone. And of course the finale is all in white.
Although a cowboy and Native American are among the dolls in the Finale Room (representing the U.S.), North America does not have a room of its own. Not until IASW was built at Disneyland Paris would this continent be represented.
There are two primary types of dolls used in IASW. The first and most prevalent is the AudioAnimatronics, round-faced girls and boys. Upon closer examination, they all look pretty similar to one another. Unlike sophisticated AA figures, these dolls display a minimal amount of movement that might include eyes blinking, lips moving, and arms and legs extending. The secondary figures are rough textured children, animals, and toys decorated primarily in paint and glitter.
Some of you might remember a frowning clown hanging from a hot-air balloon in the Finale Room. Alas, this lone unhappy fellow was given a smile during the refurbishment and his “Help” sign was replaced with a balloon. I miss him.
I have prepared a short video of the attraction. WARNING! If you choose to watch this video, you will have this infernal song stuck in your head for hours, possibly days.
Enjoy.
Was just looking at my pix from my trip around Halloween and noticed that (unlike Bridget’s comment from August), there was actually an entire seat in it’s a small world that was empty. So maybe it’s where they put injured dolls during their recuperation? Also I see in “Team members CC and Glo from Miami”‘s pictures from the re-opening in ’05 that there appear to be two dolls in every seat.
The mystery continues!
Just got back from a vacation at Disneyworld.
There is something that has been bothering me since our last visit in 2005
In “it’s a small world” the last scene in white why is there a doll missing on the ferris wheel? All of the dolls are paired off except one why?
My daughter thinks it’s because of the attack in Kingdom Keepers book!!!!!
Any clues to the missing doll?
Jack’s Answer:
You are indeed right that one seat in the Magic Kingdom Ferris Wheel only has one occupant while the others all have two — and I have no idea why. However, I’ve checked pictures of the other Small World attractions around the world. At Hong Kong, there are two dolls in EVERY seat and in Paris there is only ONE doll in every seat. So if there is a reason for the seating configuration at the Magic Kingdom, it was not considered important enough (or relevant) to duplicate in other parks.
About the “white” scene in the end of IASW, my co worker thought that all the kids died and were all in heaven! She thought the white represented the afterlife…LOL!
I must say this was a great and thorough article. I fell in love with the ride at Disneyland, Ca, when I was three years old, due to the “dutch windmill” on the facade. I’m now 32. And the love grows on! I love the song, and have even tried to purchase everything I could find to get the exterior music. Nothing I’ve found has it. Is it possible to get it? I should mention, I’ve built scenes and animated toy figures in my room, in replica of Disneylands IASW. (The best one) And some “facade” pieces in my front yard,including a two in a half foot clock-face on the front of the house, in Lake Arrowhead, Ca. That’s the reason I need the full exterior music. Tried with a tape recorder, and got too much backround noise. Can you help? Lol. JMK
This article brought back so many memories as I was in one of the choirs that recorded the soundtrack for the ride at Disneyland after the World’s Fair version that used primarily British kids. I can still sing “It’s a Small World” in Danish if called upon, even though they didn’t use this in the ride. Believe it or not it came in handy in high school when the queen of Denmark came to Los Angeles and they needed me to rejoin the choir in order to sing this song for her visit.
Disneyland used to have “It’s a Small World” days every January right around my birthday. Our choir would come and sing in the parades each year with giant dolls that had motorized vehicles inside of them.
In regards to the Russian Cossack:
He was there (in the Europe Room) before the 2004/2005 renovation…but when I rode it for the first time since the renovation, I noticed he was missing!
Now…either they moved him to a spot where I just can’t see him…or he’s gone goodbye!
It IS sad that Disney is, little-by-little, taking away the wonderful creations of Mary Blair.
Jack’s Comment: I just wanted to let you know, I rode on “it’s a small world” today. The Russian Cossack is there, exactly where he’s always been. However, if you were looking in the “Europe” room, you were in the wrong place. He’s actually in the “Asia” room.
I’m in my 30s and I love iasw, mostly because I’m a huge Mary Blair fan. It seems like every year some little bit of her influence and genius is removed from somewhere on Disney property.
Also, I took my wife to WDW for her first trip and, as we entered the final room she asked, “Is this supposed to be heaven?”
I thought it was a good point, given that all nations are in one room, singing together, and that everything is painted white and looks like it’s in the clouds.
Do you have any idea if this interpretation was intentional? It makes sense to me, especially since Mary Blair was such a consummate artist and I find it hard to believe that she had a hand in creating something that doesn’t have a deeper meaning than what appears on the surface.
Jack’s Answer:
I have never read anything that suggests that the finale rooms of IASW is supposed to be heaven. My interpretation has been that the color white represents unity. In all of the other rooms, color is used to signify the different nations and continent. White brings them all together on an equal footing. But that’s just how I see it.
Our entire family loves this ride. We go on it multiple times–I like to face forward once, then look to the right then to the left. I always leave it with a smile on my face and “the” song on my lips.
I LOVE IT’S A SMALL WORLD AT DISNEYWORLD INFACT I LOVE THE SONG AND THE CUTE DOLLS FROM ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD.
LOVE FROM A #1 DISNEY FAN, CATHERINE
Jack, awesome article as always. I didn’t know that Disneyland uses a trough versus the sea of water at WDW! Very cool. People like to bash “it’s a small world,” but I actually like it. It’s charming and sweet, and such a classic. It is also my grandparents’ favourite, as my grandpa will sing along with the ride using the completely wrong lyrics 🙂 My parents groan and complain, but will ride it with us anyway. I keep my dad entertained with a game you can only play on “it’s a small world” – guess the country!
Thanks again!
Just got back from WDW. We all love it’s a small world! I grew up going to WDW but have been to DL 2x once for the holiday version and once the reg. version; it’s better than WDW. But just as the florida version of Space Mtn was my first rollercoaster so I love it, I love the fla version of iasw. My mother must have bought iasw fabric and made me curtains because I had pink curtains depicting the dolls of the world on them as a child. So the ride has a special place in my heart. Thanks for the article Jack! And Happy New Year!
hey jack
great article on IASW. it is one of my favorite attractions and i love it so much. would it be possible to do something like this for the haunted mansion? that is my favorite attraction of all time. thanks again and keep up the great work
Jack’s Answer:
I have more-or-less decided to write a blog about every attraction at Disney World. Of course, this will take months (probably years). I have every intention of writing about the Haunted Mansion, but I can’t begin to tell you when I’ll get around to it. I’m trying to rotate between parks and much of my selection process is based simply on my mood on any given day. At the moment, I writing about Spaceship Earth.
While I never had the pleasure of going on this ride a lot as a passholding child growing up in Daytona Beach, Florida; a mere 45 min ride from the mouse house, I love/ed this ride. My mother can’t stand to hear this song and will hold her ears and whine like a little girl until it is over. What a big surprise that for christmas she received a wireless doorbell. One that played 64 different songs. You guessed it, iasw was one of them. You can only imagine the evil grin that spread across my face when she wakes up to the tune of iasw… IN HER LIVING ROOM. Muahahaha…the evil continues, I am a twenty-something adult with my own transportation (3h drive) and season passes to listen all that I want to iasw, no one can say a word… Heck, even my ringtone is the monorail schpeal.
Hi Jack,
regarding Barbara’s post about Russia not represented: I’m pretty sure that the Cossack is dancing in Paris.
I wish you a Happy New Year!
With greetings from Germany
Thorsten
Happy New Year from Pennsylvania! What a great article! Our family (ages 76, 72, 48, 47, 18 and 15) leaves for a week at WDW in 3 days. We are bringing with us a young, college-age friend who has never been to WDW before. I just emailed him this article as required reading before we go. We absolutely love IASW and do it every time we are in Magic Kingdom. My teens would be very upset if we didn’t ride it each visit. Thanks for the great background info and photos.
Well today started as a downer. First thing this morning the Fed Ex guy shows up with my $800 worth of text books for this coming semester. 13 heavy books in one box. I lug it in and unpack it. Then decide I might as well bring back all my reference texts and research articles that I have cleverly hid in the attic during Christmas, but decide I can’t stand to look at all of it and so I pay my daughter $40 dollars to bring it all down (there is a lot of it). She happily unloads it on the floor in the dining room/my office. It is all depressing to look at because I am in graduate school and graduate school is not an uplifting experience. My dining room table is covered with piles of large books and the floor is now an obstacle course.
I decide to check my email and realize my clinical adviser has returned my email from yesterday, but has inconveniently answered only one of the four important questions that I asked her and then wished me a happy new year; thus indicating she will now be on vacation until Monday. I then review my reading list and realize today is as good a day as any to organize my calendar. I get out my freshly unwrapped calendar (a Christmas present from Santa) and notice that while it is the 18 month calendar that I asked for, it started in July of 2009. Why?
Sure, I ruined the recipe for twice baked potatoes for supper by adding too much liquid, but the family ate them without too much grief. One kid actually ate 2, so there was a small success there, but the entirety of this day a colossal failure in many ways, except for ONE THING.
At roughly 9:40pm I am ready to just resign this day to history and get ready for bed. Tomorrow is a holiday after all, and there is nothing I can do about it. I decide to take one last stab at happiness and check Jack’s blog. Imagine my surprise when I see my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE ride of all time as the most recent blog theme? You can’t really imagine, I know. People can scoff, especially young adults, most especially my teenage sons, but I love “small world”! LOVE IT! I played the little video clip and turned the volume to max on my macbook pro. I sang along and danced a bit in my chair. I had a big smile for the first time all day. Thanks Jack!! I really appreciate your blog and all the time you take to carefully prepare each one. You are the best!
Thank you for posting this! I must admit that “it’s a small world” holds a special place in my heart. It was my daughter’s very first ride at WDW, and she made it a point for it to be her little brother’s very first ride. It also turned out to be my father’s very first ride as well at the ripe age of 62! Looking forward to going back and riding it again!
We also joke about the song “it’s a small world” being the only one in the world that can get “It’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” from the Carousel of Progress! <3
hello & merry Christmas, jack. as always, a wonderful walk down memory lane as i read about iasw. last year i took to disney 2 russian students who were just thrilled to pieces to be there (age 21). as iasw is one of my favorite childhood rides, i had to take them there. but i never noticed this before: russia isn’t represented. they were, well, disappointed. i tried to explain the ‘cold war, the 1960’s, usa v ussr, but, ya know what? the excuses sounded pretty lame since the idea of iasw is to unite us all…maybe disney will one day add russia in a gesture of unity…think there’s the chance?
Jack’s Comment:
I just wanted to let you know, I rode on “it’s a small world” today. The Russian Cossack is there, exactly where he’s always been. However, if you were looking in the “Europe” room, you were in the wrong place. He’s actually in the “Asia” room.
Interesting. Very interesting.
“it’s a small world” was my grandfather’s favorite attraction before he passed. WDW cast members allowed my grandfather and grandmother ot ride the attraction as much as they wanted without ever having to exit the ride. Thanks for your articles. I am so appreciative of them and always learn something new and interesting! do you have a book that I could purchase with these disney facts that you write about?
“The Disney Fanatic”
Hey Jack!
Thanks for this great blog, which gave me an esacape from work for 15 minutes. I had the song stuck in my head for the rest of the day, though! No matter how many times I ride this attraction, I find something new. It surprised me to learn that the ride is 10 minutes long. Wow! It doesn’t seem that long at all. It’s like an escape from reality. LOVE it! I would really love to ride the DL version, though.
Enjoy your well deserved break! Happy New Year!
-Kirstin
I am one of those showing their age. I also rode “it’s a small world” for the first time at the World’s Fair in New York those many years ago. I have been on the one at WDW many times, have also been on the DL one several times and also the Paris one. I love all of them. I will be going on the one at WDW in 15 days with my grandchildren. This will be their first trip and hope they love “it’s a small world” as much as their grandmother. Oh! and by the way they are 14 month old twins!
I love it’s a small world! Thanks for the look at the new clock inside the queue, which definitely doesn’t wow like the Disneyland version, but is, technically more like riding through a Mary Blair painting.
I know at Disneyland, Mary is on the Eiffel Tower, holding a balloon. Is she in WDW as well? I can’t remember, it’s been so long since I’ve been there (2001).
I love the Magic Kingdom version a lot better, maybe because I grew up with that one. The Disneyland version just seems a lot different. Great article.
I recently took a ride on the WDW version & still prefer the DL ride. However, the only time I rode DL’s version was November 2005 when they showed the holiday version; which I loved. In many ways, I have to admit that Disneyland has it over MK.
Jack,
What a wonderful article. I feel silly commenting all the time saying basically the same thing, but this is just a really terrific look at an attraction people often take for granted. I had no idea how different the two attractions were. Though why no mention of the recent “character” innovations at DLR?
PS – I also really like it when your newsletter articles go into here, too. It makes them easier to find later!
Hi Jack,
I’m showing my age but my best friend from high school and I went to the World’s Fair in 65 and went on “it’s a small world” and we loved it! When I was at DL last April I made sure I went to this attraction again and it is so much nicer then the one at DW.
Thanks again for this interesting blog and yes you do deserve a nice break!
Happy New Year to everyone!
Hi, is the Disneyland version have the “trough” or did they change that in the last renovation??
Jack’s Answer:
To my knowledge, Disneyland’s version of IASW still uses the trough. I believe during the last rehab they made it deeper, but didn’t change the basic attraction.
This was my favorite ride as a kid, and I’m 40 now. But, it’s still a must do every time we visit the World!!
Each year as we visit our Favorite Place on Earth!, we faithfully make this one of the first rides we attend when we enter the Magic Kingdom. We ride this each time we park hop, sometimes twice a day! It is such a well done, well themed ride done in good taste that has you singing all the way! You are singing many rides after you are on!, at least I am! I hope disney never does away with this attraction, it is a classic!
Always my very favorite attraction! Although my husband, and teen boys don’t share my love of this! 5 more days until we get our turn to ride!
Can’t wait! Thanks Jack!
PS: Guess what I’m going to be singing all day while taking down Christmas decorations? My family will be sooo happy!