Step aboard the happiest cruise that
ever sailed ’round the world and experience the enchantment of countless
nations joining together in song and dance, celebrating their cultures and
meeting new people from around the world.

Fun Facts

“it’s a small world” features no
less than 281 Audio Animatronic characters, along with 48 animated toys and
247 animated accessories.

Every
quarter hour is heralded with a parade of international puppets around the
clock tower of the attraction.  The Disneyland original was inspired by
the theatrical clock tower displays in European cities such as Prague, and
now the concept has returned home, giving the time every 15 minutes.

The animated ‘holographic’ sequences seen in the post-show area of “it’s a
small world” were directed by Chris Bailey (Runaway Brain, Tough to Be a
Bug) and created by Walt Disney Feature Animation especially for the
Parisian version of the attraction.

‘Small World Small Talk’ opened on 2nd April 2004 in the post-show area. 
Produced and sponsored by France T�l�com as part of a drive for new
international conversation technologies, the two computer booths should
theoretically allow conversion between two people of different
nationalities, though in reality its success is usually hit and miss.

History

“it’s a
small world” surprisingly finds its roots outside of Disneyland, at the New
York World’s Fair of 1964-65.  The attraction was commissioned by
Unicef and funded by Pepsi-Cola as the centrepiece of its pavilion.  It was just one of several Walt Disney
projects at the expo, all testing Disney’s new Audio Animatronics technology
for the first time.  The attraction was an immediate success and, when
the fair ended, it was transferred to Disneyland in California as a
permanent attraction.

The attraction’s infamous theme song
was written by the Sherman Brothers (Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book) for its
1964 debut, and has been a lasting trademark of a day in Disneyland ever
since.

Inspirational artist Mary
Blair is most remembered for her stunning, stylised art direction of the
attraction, with strong blocks of colour and geometric styles giving its
unique look. Whilst the sets of the Paris version were generally updated to
a more rounded, modern design, the exterior facade was based heavily on her
original concept designs from the 1960s.