Should I ride or skip one of Disney World’s Most Iconic rides?
How do you review an icon? Does the world really need more thoughts on Van Gogh’s Starry Night or Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane? Do we need more thoughts on whether or not pizza is good, or if this guy Shakespeare has any thoughts worth sharing?
But here we are. Folks are planning very expensive vacations to Disney World, and they need to allocate time.
Should they spend a few moments slowly floating through hundred of animatronic doll children “singing” one of the world’s most insidious ear worms, or should they just go get in line for TRON Lightcycle / Run? The world needs to know.
And so we do what we must: an honest review of a classic, iconic ride that might also be a CIA psy-op.
Let’s GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IN THIS ARTICLE
What is it’s a small world
It’s a boat ride in Fantasyland that has its origins back in the very early days of Disney theme park history.
The Disneyland version Small World was conceived and built in Burbank, California for the 1964 World’s Fair in New York City. After the fair, it was moved back to California, opening in Disneyland in 1966, 11 years after the park opened.
The ride was devised, decorated, and soundtracked by Disney legends. Artist Mary Blair was involved in the design, and the Sherman Brothers wrote the catchiest and most diabolical ear worm of a song ever devised to bedevil the days of man.
The ride itself features over 300 animatronic dolls – most children, but a few animal, too. They are bedecked in traditional clothing from cultures around the world. The theming, backed by the song, is a drive for international peace, togetherness, and goodwill. The Disney World version opened on Oct. 1, 1971, making it an opening day attraction, and one of the park’s most prominent links to Walt Disney, even though he died before it opened to the public.
It is an iconic ride in the world of theme parks.
Why should I ride Small World?
Nostalgia, of course. If you want to experience a piece of the Magic Kingdom as Walt envisioned, this is one of the best ways to do it.
It’s a great ride for families with small children. Also, it’s a fun way to introduce them to a larger world, pointing out the various countries and continents they pass along the way. It also introduces them the music of the Sherman Brothers who were absolute musical geniuses.
There’s a window in the Pinocchio Haus restaurant above the ride where diners can interact with riders on Small World. They have little signs they can hold up from above, and the passengers can play along. It’s a fun little bit of silliness.
The ride usually has a reasonable wait time, and the load in portion is usually quick.
In addition, it’s air conditioned and indoors, offering a respite from the harsh Florida weather conditions.
And again, it’s an icon. Everyone should try it at least once.
Why should I skip Small World?
If you didn’t build nostalgia for it when you or your kids were young, you’re unlikely to find it. We shared a trip a few years ago with a family who had never been.
They are huge Disney fans who loved nearly everything about the parks. What they didn’t like? Small World. The song was too much. The boats – which are not comfortable for taller people – were too much.
Getting stuck in the queue to depart the boat, listening to the song over and over and over again was too much.
In short, they shan’t be riding Small World anymore.
Why do you like Small World?
I first rode it in 1979 with my grandparents, my mom, and my aunt Amy. I’ve ridden it with my cousin Chelsea, her husband Danny, and their son.
My babies have grown up going on that ride. We have pictures of each of them at different times of their lives on Small World. Some of our fondest Disney memories of our two youngest at Pinocchio’s just being silly and getting the riders to play along.
I became convinced that our youngest, Ainsley, has a good chance to be a cult leader someday. The way she got dozens of people in a boat to follow her every move was hilarious, but also disturbing.
Sure, it’s dingy in places. They don’t want to shut it down to give it a full refurbishment it needs, but if you spend you’re time looking for stains on the ceiling or cracks in the walls, you’re doing it wrong anyway.
I am prone to nostalgia and extremely prone to sentimentality. Every time I step on Small World, I feel all of those things. I get in that boat and hear that song and there’s a through line of nearly 45 years. I’m five with mom, and Nanny and then we’re back 35 years later for Nanny’s last trip to Disney.
She lost her old lady, terminator sunglasses. So, if you find them, let me know.
My kids are there and somehow they’re 3 and 5 and 8 and 10 and now at least one of them is 20, but they’re all in there with me. It’s somehow 1979 and 1993 and 2010, and all the other years inside where the kids never stop smiling and singing.
I’m attached and have been for coming up on 50 years.
Should we ride Small World?
Yes, at least once.
It is after all an iconic ride with a low wait time and air conditioning. If you don’t have small kids, they might roll their eyes and focus on the corniness, the dirty dingy space. It’s harder to conjure up the necessary wonder without a hefty dose of nostalgia or looking through the wonder of a child’s eyes. But you ought to at least try it.
You should try everything you can at least once. And if you’re having a hard time seeing the wonder, imagine being back at Disney opening in 1971 or the World’s Fair in New York in 1964.
And put yourself in the place of the first people to see those animatronics, the first people to hear that song – the most played song in the history of the world – for the first time.
Then go to Pinocchio Haus and sit by the window. Flap your arms like one of those inflatable things outside a car dealership. See how many people—visitors from all over the country and all over the world—you can get to flap along. Then consider that a step towards building a truly small world.
