We told you last March about Disney's plans to desecrate the "It's A Small World" attraction in Disneyland by inserting cartoon characters and a tribute to America amid the dolls representing the children of the world. The jingoistic Ben Silvermanesque product placement plan was crass enough and enough at odds with the ride's intent o generate protests from the family of the ride's creator.
Now, they've gone and done it.
The ride reopens Friday, according to the Los Angeles Times, "with a new scene that depicts the 'Spirit of America,' a relocated rain forest and 29 added Disney and Pixar characters inserted in the countries where their stories take place.
"Whether the public will embrace the changes remains to be seen...
"But Marty Sklar, executive vice president of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts and Imagineering ambassador, said the changes were subtle...
"Change was unavoidable. The ride was built by Walt Disney for the 1964-65 World's Fair in New York and transplanted to Southern California. After nearly 45 years, it was showing its age.
The water flume, which in its day represented a milestone in ride design (it could effortlessly handle 3,000 passengers an hour), had been patched so many times that the boats would get hung up. Disney needed to close the attraction to replace the leaky water channel and the boats. The company wouldn't say how much the renovation cost.
"These mechanical changes opened the door to a broader refurbishment...
"In Small World, the characters -- which look like children playing dress-up -- show up in the settings of their original stories: Peter Pan and Tinker Bell fly over one tower of the London Bridge, the Pinocchio marionette appears in a puppet show in Italy; Aladdin and Jasmine ride a flying carpet in the Middle East scene...
"Threads of music from Disney and Pixar films accompany many of the characters, woven in between the familiar 'Small World'melody composed by brothers Richard and Robert Sherman, who won an Academy Award for their 'Mary Poppins' score.
"The strains of 'Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo' provide an almost imperceptible audio clue that the little blond doll accompanied by mice Jacques and Gus is, indeed, Cinderella.
"A recording of rare Chinese instruments provides the acoustic backdrop for Mulan in China. But even that decision sparked vigorous discussion among the Imagineers, who were still adjusting the volume this week.
"Art director Kim Irvine sought to emulate Blair's artistic style in creating the new America scene, which the original designer had sketched for Small World but which never made it into the attraction. The new room depicts the agricultural heartland, with a red barn towering over farmer dolls in overalls and straw hats, and the American West, with "Toy Story' characters Jessie and Woody against the backdrop of the Butte Mountains...
"To make room for America, Disney moved the rain forest and all its whimsical creatures to the South Pacific -- a transplantation the Imagineers justified by noting that Australia boasts rain forests in its northern region..."
Why?
The small world as we knew it...
Now, they've gone and done it.
The ride reopens Friday, according to the Los Angeles Times, "with a new scene that depicts the 'Spirit of America,' a relocated rain forest and 29 added Disney and Pixar characters inserted in the countries where their stories take place.
"Whether the public will embrace the changes remains to be seen...
"But Marty Sklar, executive vice president of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts and Imagineering ambassador, said the changes were subtle...
"Change was unavoidable. The ride was built by Walt Disney for the 1964-65 World's Fair in New York and transplanted to Southern California. After nearly 45 years, it was showing its age.
The water flume, which in its day represented a milestone in ride design (it could effortlessly handle 3,000 passengers an hour), had been patched so many times that the boats would get hung up. Disney needed to close the attraction to replace the leaky water channel and the boats. The company wouldn't say how much the renovation cost.
"These mechanical changes opened the door to a broader refurbishment...
"In Small World, the characters -- which look like children playing dress-up -- show up in the settings of their original stories: Peter Pan and Tinker Bell fly over one tower of the London Bridge, the Pinocchio marionette appears in a puppet show in Italy; Aladdin and Jasmine ride a flying carpet in the Middle East scene...
"Threads of music from Disney and Pixar films accompany many of the characters, woven in between the familiar 'Small World'melody composed by brothers Richard and Robert Sherman, who won an Academy Award for their 'Mary Poppins' score.
"The strains of 'Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo' provide an almost imperceptible audio clue that the little blond doll accompanied by mice Jacques and Gus is, indeed, Cinderella.
"A recording of rare Chinese instruments provides the acoustic backdrop for Mulan in China. But even that decision sparked vigorous discussion among the Imagineers, who were still adjusting the volume this week.
"Art director Kim Irvine sought to emulate Blair's artistic style in creating the new America scene, which the original designer had sketched for Small World but which never made it into the attraction. The new room depicts the agricultural heartland, with a red barn towering over farmer dolls in overalls and straw hats, and the American West, with "Toy Story' characters Jessie and Woody against the backdrop of the Butte Mountains...
"To make room for America, Disney moved the rain forest and all its whimsical creatures to the South Pacific -- a transplantation the Imagineers justified by noting that Australia boasts rain forests in its northern region..."
Why?
1 comment:
Progress takes over...even Small World....but I must say, I went to Disneyland when the ride opened and even as a child......I thought it was annoying! One couldn't smoke enough "funny stuff" to make that ride interesting. Beyond the age of 3, you were done with it! So Bravo......they should of blown it up in a grand fire-work display and started from scratch.....and get rid of that song!
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