Small World Refurb?

[amyhughes]

I check out TMZ.com about once a couple a weeks. And they had an interesting story on there about how Small World is being refurbed for the larger boats. Which no big deal. The story then went on to say that Disney is adding Nemo, Stitch, Abu and other characters to the ride to make more synergy. The characters will be placed in their geographic locales with an American tableu at the end.

Here's the story.

Anyone else hear anything on this?

 

[Disney Brat]

Another fellow TMZer here too!! LOL I read that story as well, kinda interesting, DSH doesn't really like the idea, and I am still not too sure what to think of it! I haven't heard anything other than what TMZ has written though....

 

[amyhughes]

TMZ said they were reporting the story from Miceage.com. I just checked there and the story gets a bit more in depth but not too much.

Check out below the monorail story and onto the second page. Looks like Peter Pan and Simba are in on the action too.

Honestly, I don't know how reliable the folks at Miceage are. Sounds plausible enough, but it brings to mind the Muppetvision 3-D Sam Eagle bit. "A salute to all nations, but MOSTLY America!"

 

[Calle&Jakesmom]

My daughter loves Small World and, as a result I've gotten to know it VERY well over the last 5 years of her life (we managed to ride 5 times in one day during one trip!!-- I'll never forget that one!).

Anyway, Small World was just refurbished very recently (maybe 2 years ago??)- believe me, I heard the complaints of one small child on for that one! Would they really shut it down again so soon to change anything? Why wouldn't they have thought of this when it was shut down at the last rehab??

Doesn't make sense to me.

 

[amyhughes]

I know it is confirmed they are refurbbing for the boats issue. Making them a bit larger and more accommodating. But, the other I am not sure on, that's why I posted it here, to get your all's feedback. Cause honestly I don't like the idea of toying with the ride and creating more synergy for the company. With some rides, Pirates mainly, it works really well. But, if they were revamp and include the movie in the Haunted Mansion I have a feeling more than a few purists would be upset.

Same goes here. Is there really a need to include these characters with the dolls?

 

[Calle&Jakesmom]

Ok, now I get it..
sorry I didn't check your link before I replied. You're talking disneyLAND. I was talking DisneyWORLD. Small World at MK at DisneyWorld was just refurbished recently and I thought i remembered something about the boats or the water. I think they did have to make allowance for some deeper water or something (I guess people are getting heavier!). They also added lots of new paint etc.. what they didn't add was new characters among the dolls, so I wonder why they'd choose to do it now at a rehab in California. hmm.

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

Although I disagreed with the purists that protested the additions to POTC but I think this would be just plain wrong. SW is a classic and I don't see how this addition would benifit or even fit in with the current ride.

 

[amyhughes]

I recently stopped into the Re-Imagineering Blog and found this rebuttal about the Small World refurb:
Dear Disney Executives,

It has recently been brought to my attention that the Walt Disney Company including WDI has proposed changes to the “It’s a Small World Ride” at the Disneyland Park in Anaheim. As I understand the changes include the addition of the Disney Characters (Mickey, Minnie, Lilo & Stitch, etc.) to the ride in select areas, and the replacement of the “Rainforest” section with Mickey Mouse in a tribute entitled “Up with America”. I also understand that the boats and trough they ride in will be expanded for the safety and comfort of the parks modern day guests.

While I fully understand and support the upgrade to the boats as a necessary safety upgrade, the addition of the Disney Characters and the “Up with America” section I do NOT support as it represents a gross desecration of the ride's original theme and my Mother’s stylized artwork.

The Disney characters of themselves are positive company icons, but they do NOT fit in with the original theme of the ride. They will do nothing except to marginalize the rightful stars of the ride “The Children of the World”. This marginalization will do nothing but infuriate the ride’s international guests and devoted Disney fans.

My Mother and I have always had a strong sense of patriotism for America and I DO support a tribute to America. Disneyland has several venues, which are perfect places for this tribute including “Main Street USA” or “New Orleans Square”; unfortunately the “It’s a Small World” ride is NOT one of them. Once again this will marginalize the children of the world theme and *******ize my Mother’s original art. Furthermore ripping out a rainforest (Imaginary or otherwise) and replacing it with misplaced patriotism is a public relations blunder so big you could run a Monorail through it.

As a former WED employee I am saddened to realize the degradation of the company’s talent and focus and the subsequent decline at the Disneyland Park itself. I cannot believe someone from WDI was paid to come up with such an idiotic plan as this.

As the head of the Blair family I cannot urge you strongly enough to abandon this idiotic plan and instead upgrade the boats and return the ride to it’s original classic form, design and colors. The desecration of Mary’s art is an insult to Mary Blair, her art, and her memory, and to the entire Blair Family itself.

Sincerely,

Kevin L. Blair
Representing;
Kevin Blair, Donovan Blair, Jeanne Chamberlain,
Maggie Richardson, Kevin Allison

 

[Katiebell]

More than the addition of Disney characters to the scenes, I am much more concerned about the removal of the rainforest scene to replace it with a tribute to America (as Mary Blair's son wrote, that would be a public relations nightmare, especially if you consider the symbolism ). The whole concept was to salute children all around the world (originally designed for UNICEF), and to promote peace and friendship and the idea that despite our differences, we are very much alike --

There's so much that we share
That it's time we're aware
It's a small world after all

If you would like Disney to hear your voice -- the refurb is underway, but far from completion -- here's how to let them know:

http://savethesmallworld.com/

I hope it's ok to post that link. If not, just Google "save the rainforest, save the small world".

 

[amyhughes]

This makes me feel better!


»Disney, Pixar artists rally to preserve Small World ride
More than dozen Disney and Pixar creative artists who worked on “The Lion King,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin,” “Toy Story,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Monsters Inc.,” “Finding Nemo,” “The Incredibles,” “Cars” and “Ratatouille” have rallied together to protest changes to Disneyland’s It’s a Small World ride as a “gross creative misstep” and campaign to preserve the attraction as a “historic work of art.”

“Altering this classic ride, in any way, for any reason, would be akin to defacing any well known work of art hanging in any museum around the world,” long-time Disney supervising animator Dave Pruiksma wrote on the Re-Imagineering website.

Calling Small World creator Mary Blair “one of the greatest Disney artists” (Bill Kroyer, computer image choreographer, “Tron”) and “one of the most influential artists of the 20th century” (Mark Walsh, supervising animator, “Ratatouille”), the group implored Walt Disney Imagineering to resist altering the boat ride that debuted at the 1964 World’s Fair as a tribute to the children of the world.

“The It’s a Small World attraction is a genuine piece of American art, created by a great American artist and to change it does a disservice to the artist and the fans who have been inspired by Mrs. Blair’s work,” wrote animator, story artist and “Ratatouille” voice actor Pete Sohn.

The furor began in mid-March with an open letter by the Blair family that called the “idiotic plan” to add Disney characters and an American tribute scene to Small World a “gross desecration” that would “*******ize” the stylized artwork and “marginalize” the ride’s original theme.

Disney fired back with an open letter by Imagineering Executive Vice President Marty Sklar calling plans for an “Up With America” scene nothing more than “swirling” and “inaccurate” rumors.

Imagineering officials recently acknowledged that Alice in Wonderland and other Disney characters would be added to the Anaheim attraction, currently down for a 10-month rehab.

 

[amyhughes]

Marty Sklar responds to It's a Small World issue
"A Magic Kingdom of All the World's Children"

(April 4, 2008) A local newspaper reporter got it right when she wrote that, after we updated Pirates of the Caribbean last year, “many fans grudgingly acknowledged that… the additions may make the ride more appealing to young park goers." Now, based purely on rumors that are mostly inaccurate, we are being criticized for touching another one of Walt Disney’s “classics.”

We all agree that “It’s A Small World” is a Disney classic. But the greatest “change agent” who ever walked down Main Street at Disneyland was Walt himself. In fact, the park had not been open 24 hours when Walt began to “plus” Disneyland, and he never stopped. Having started my Disney career at Disneyland one month before the park opened in 1955, I can cite countless examples.

Like all my colleagues at Walt Disney Imagineering, I was pressed into action to help make “It’s A Small World” happen at the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair. We were all working to complete and open Ford’s “Magic Skyway” and General Electric’s “Carousel of Progress” (I worked on both) as well as “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln” for the State of Illinois. But 11 months before the World’s Fair opening, Walt agreed to do “a salute to the children of the world” for UNICEF, and all the Imagineers somehow made it happen.

Mary Blair’s illustrations were, of course, the spark. But this was one of those great Disney “team efforts,” and many Disney legends joined her: Marc Davis; Blaine Gibson; Rolly Crump, Harriet Burns and numerous others. And, of course, Bob and Dick Sherman added that song we can’t get out of our heads. I interfaced with all of them to write and produce a 24-page souvenir book that was sold at the Fair, because Walt wanted to showcase and thank the team for an extraordinary accomplishment.

Now the rumors are swirling that we are “ruining Walt’s creation.” I’ve heard that we are planning to remove the rainforest, add Mickey and Minnie Mouse, create an “Up with America” tribute, to effectively “marginalize” the Mary Blair style and Walt’s classic (all not true).

In fact, just the opposite is true. We want the message of brotherhood and good will among all children around the world to resonate with more people than ever before, especially today’s young people. Our objective is to have everyone who experiences “It’s a Small World” understand (in the words the Shermans’ wrote 44 years ago) that “there is just one moon, and one golden sun, and a smile means friendship to everyone.”

To make “It’s A Small World” even more relevant to our guests, Tony Baxter (who created the concepts for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain and other Disneyland classics) and I arrived at the same place eight years ago. To accomplish our objective, we decided to seamlessly integrate Disney characters into appropriate thematic scenes in the attraction, and do it completely in the distinctive “Mary Blair style.” We spent many long months exploring ways to accomplish this.

We are not turning this classic attraction into a marketing pitch for Disney plush toys (rumors to the contrary). Between Tony, our chief designer Kim Irvine, and me, we represent 128 years creating Disney park entertainment and fun for literally billions of guests around the world. We are not “young marketing whizzes” trying to make a name for ourselves. We were fortunate to have trained, and worked with, all of Walt’s original Imagineers.

In the Shermans’ song, it’s the oceans that are wide, and the mountains that divide. Our goal was, and always will be, to bring people together, and keep this classic “the happiest cruise that ever sailed around the world” (words I personally wrote for that souvenir guide nearly half a century ago).

Or, as Walt Disney phrased it in his introduction to that guide, “a magic kingdom of all the world’s children.”

Martin A. Sklar
Executive Vice President
Walt Disney Imagineering
Imagineering Ambassador

 

[DisOrBust]

Does he really believe the stuff that come out of his mouth?

 

[Tncedwards]

As long as the music doesn't change I am ok with modernizing it a bit.

 

[DC7800]

How does the inclusion of Disney characters (ill-advised a move that it is) constitute "modernizing" the attraction? Small World is a classic Disneyland attraction - why would it need modernizing? While the objective to make the ride more "relevant" to modern audiences appears to be misguided, superficial, and unecessary, there is absolutely no justification to make a 'modern' attraction out of a 'classic' experience which has endured for decades.

Consider the lesson of Journey into Imagination. We don't need a repeat.

 

[amyhughes]

I look at this like the Tiki Room disaster. Great kitschy attraction, classic, maybe needed an update here or there. But a massive overhaul that resulted in many not taking any time to see their favorite trashed again? The overhaul was crass for lack of a better term, and now in DL they have taken out Iago and Zasu and put Jose, Jaques, Michael, and Fritz back in the limelight where they belong. I fear the same will happen here, no matter what Marty Sklar says. Some of these "modernizations" while done in the best of intentions just don't pan out that way. There is a difference between paying homage and tearing apart.

 

[Katiebell]

I look at this like the Tiki Room disaster. Great kitschy attraction, classic, maybe needed an update here or there. But a massive overhaul that resulted in many not taking any time to see their favorite trashed again? The overhaul was crass for lack of a better term, and now in DL they have taken out Iago and Zasu and put Jose, Jaques, Michael, and Fritz back in the limelight where they belong. I fear the same will happen here, no matter what Marty Sklar says. Some of these "modernizations" while done in the best of intentions just don't pan out that way. There is a difference between paying homage and tearing apart.

I never saw Iago or Zazu at DL, and we go about once a year -- are you sure they ever made the change there? I know when we went to the Tiki room at WDW for the first time last May it just didn't feel right...Iago and Zazu may be birds but they just didn't fit the theme. And the tiki gods singing doo-wop instead of the Hawaiian War Chant that still gives me chills??? It was such a disappointment.

As for the Small World, the one good thing about Marty Sklar's letter is that it sounds like they may be having second thoughts. Who knows, maybe some of the "changes" were still very much on the drawing board and were leaked to get a feel for public reaction? Again, I'm not thrilled with any changes except for updating the boats and canals, since it bogs down a bit, and maybe cleaning and sprucing up. Not wild about adding Disney characters, but if they were very stylized to blend in well with Mary Blair's artwork, and were placed in lands appropriate to the setting of their story...well...I dunno. I'd have to see it. But my gut feeling is that to alter it in any way would be a desecration of a great interactive masterpiece of American kinetic sculpture. And to take out the rainforest to put in a tribute to America, ugh no That is crass, unnecessary, and so contrary to the spirit of the attraction.

 

[DW Dad]

I was all excited thought that you were talking about WDW, then I saw disneyland. I would love for them to close it again temporarily to put in larger boats. Last time I was on the ride I had to have my wife and a cm pry my legs out from the boat, they somehow got twisted when I was trying to get comfortable. Very embarrassing, being 6'4 and struggling to get out of the boat, I think small children were pointing and laughing . I have bad knees to begin with, and after walking all day this was not a fun experience.

My kids love the ride, but it is not very roomy for taller people, my wife is 5'3" and still laughs at me because of that.

 

[Disneybag]

I look at this like the Tiki Room disaster. Great kitschy attraction, classic, maybe needed an update here or there. But a massive overhaul that resulted in many not taking any time to see their favorite trashed again? The overhaul was crass for lack of a better term, and now in DL they have taken out Iago and Zasu and put Jose, Jaques, Michael, and Fritz back in the limelight where they belong. I fear the same will happen here, no matter what Marty Sklar says. Some of these "modernizations" while done in the best of intentions just don't pan out that way. There is a difference between paying homage and tearing apart.

That's a shame. I thought Marty was one of the good guys.

It's been building over the past few years, but I'm becoming more and more disenchanted with WED. And now with the big guys from the old days talking like this, it only pushes me away further.

Like a majority of the people on these boards, I've grown up loving most everything Disney, worked for the company, and could walk around property blind. The past few years, the magic has really started to fade. Creating movies for the rides has been, on the whole, awful. Sure you've got Pirates, but remember The Country Bears? Haunted Mansion? And the opposite is also true. I don't visit the Tiki Room at WDW anymore. In my opinion, it's awful. Depp in Pirates? I'll be the first to admit that the characters of him in there are eerie. Completely amazing. But it doesn't fit with the others. I'm still waiting for my beloved Country Bears to be invaded by the like of Winnie the Pooh or Baloo. I guess they're waiting for Pixar to pump out a bear flick and throw one of them in there. Maybe THEN they'll fix the audio, but that's another rant...of many. It's at the top of my rant list right above the death of PI.

 

[remain seated please]

That's a shame. I thought Marty was one of the good guys.

It's been building over the past few years, but I'm becoming more and more disenchanted with WED. And now with the big guys from the old days talking like this, it only pushes me away further.

Like a majority of the people on these boards, I've grown up loving most everything Disney, worked for the company, and could walk around property blind. The past few years, the magic has really started to fade. Creating movies for the rides has been, on the whole, awful. Sure you've got Pirates, but remember The Country Bears? Haunted Mansion? And the opposite is also true. I don't visit the Tiki Room at WDW anymore. In my opinion, it's awful. Depp in Pirates? I'll be the first to admit that the characters of him in there are eerie. Completely amazing. But it doesn't fit with the others. I'm still waiting for my beloved Country Bears to be invaded by the like of Winnie the Pooh or Baloo. I guess they're waiting for Pixar to pump out a bear flick and throw one of them in there. Maybe THEN they'll fix the audio, but that's another rant...of many. It's at the top of my rant list right above the death of PI.

I agree with you and it is nice to see someone who is willing to address the joke that has become Disney's attractions. The ride to movie thing was a complete joke. I don't' care if Pirates made billions and won Oscars. It's a complete travesty to turn a classic Disney theme park attraction into a movie and then to add the film's characters to the original attraction.

I am not surprised by the rumored changes to "It's A Small World". Like many, I hope they are just rumors. But like others, I have come to expect this for some time. If it does happen, it will just be another ride that I will never step foot on to. I guess this will happen until I stop going to the parks altogether.

I'll admit that the "Up With America" idea is stupid, even for WDI. But I can totally see them throwing other characters into the ride. And the prospect of that makes me sick. I had the privilage of meeting Mary Blair many years ago, when I was the Store Manager for a Disney Store in San Francisco. Even though she was up there in age, you could see the passion and pride in her eyes whe she spoke about "It's A Small World". It was clearly an accomplishment that she loved. I'm sure that Mary, Ollie, Marc, Herb and others are all sitting with Walt and Roy right now, looking down at Walt's company and just shaking their heads in disbelief and disgust.