It's A Small World (Disneyland)

The boats enter the show building through a tunnel under the Small World clock and emerge from the attraction fifteen minutes later. The show building interior is larger than the façade. Voyagers see animatronic dolls in traditional local costumes singing "It's a Small World (After All)" together, each in their native language. Boats carry voyagers as they visit the regions of the world.

Other Disney park installations wind the flume around one large room, emphasizing its theme that the world is small and interconnected. Each installation may vary the countries which are represented and the order in which they appear. The boats are stored behind the facade and go in and out backstage in between the Spanish room.

## Exterior

The Tower of the Four Winds was not relocated to Disneyland's It's a Small World after the New York World's Fair; in its place is an outdoor oval flume and boarding queue decorated with topiary backed by a large, flat facade with stylized cutout turrets, towers and minarets which are vaguely reminiscent of world landmarks (such as the Eiffel Tower and the Leaning Tower of Pisa). The facade was designed by Disney Imagineer Rolly Crump, who was inspired by Mary Blair's styling. Walt Disney asked Rolly to design a large 30-foot clock, a central feature of the exterior facade, with a smiling face that rocks back and forth to a ticking sound.

A parade of wooden dolls in native culture costumes dance out from doors at the base of the Small World clock to an instrumental toy soldier version of "It's a Small World (After All)" in preparation for each quarter-hour, reminiscent of a European automaton clock. As the last doll returns into the clock, the parade doors close and the large central pair of doors open to reveal two giant toy blocks – the large block displays stylized numerals of the hour, the small one displays the minutes, while large and small bells toll to count the hours and quarters.

The exterior has been subtly repainted over the years, first as all-white with a gold/silver trim, then in various shades of blue, then in pink and white with pastel accents. Portions of the left side of the original facade were removed in 1993 to make room for the entrance to Mickey's Toontown. As of 2015, the facade is white with a gold trim as it was in 1966, except the original gold and silver paint of the clock, the smiling clock face, is now entirely gold leaf. The gardens around the building are decorated with topiary animals.

During the 2005–2006 holiday season, an elaborate multimedia presentation was projected on the outdoor façade which registered colored patterns matched to the façade each quarter-hour after dusk. Guests were encouraged to view the popular Remember... Dreams Come True fireworks presentation from the It's a Small World Mall and nearby parade viewing platform built for Light Magic (which had included a smoking area, now relocated under the Monorail track between the Matterhorn Bobsleds and Autopia) to decrease overwhelming crowds gathered for viewing the fireworks spectacular in Plaza and Main Street.

## Refurbishment with new dolls

Disneyland's "It's a Small World" was closed from January to November 2008 (closed and reopening in holiday version, skipping the summer season) to receive a major refurbishment. The building's structure was improved, permanent attachments created for the "It's a Small World Holiday" overlay, the water flume replaced and its propulsion upgraded to electric water jet turbines, and the attraction's aging fiberglass boats redesigned in durable plastic. The refurbishment added 29 new Disney characters, each in their native land in a similar manner to the Hong Kong Disneyland version.

Sylvania has agreed to a twelve-year sponsorship. In 2014, the sponsor logo at the attraction's entrance changed to that of Siemens, the parent company of Sylvania.

## The Magic, the Memories and You

As part of Disney's "Let the Memories Begin" campaign for 2011, a nighttime projection show premiered at Disneyland's It's a Small World in Anaheim on January 27, 2011. The Magic, the Memories and You show projected sequences of classic Disney attractions and characters set to Disney music onto the exterior façade of It's a Small World to fill its architectural features, personalized with exclusive photographs and videos of park guests taken that day by Disney's PhotoPass cast members. The show also existed in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, but was projected onto Cinderella Castle. As the "Let the Memories Begin" campaign drew to a close, the show ended its run on Labor Day, September 3, 2012 at both locations. The Florida version was eventually replaced by Celebrate the Magic.

## Info

Embark on a whimsical boat ride around the world, serenaded by joyful children’s choruses.