Reviews of New "Small World" at Disneyland - Post HERE

[ravenscroft]

It may be 1:42am pst and I may have been up since 6am est but I have some pics for you all, now this isn't all of my pictures but it is waht I have so far:

[dl_appurtenant]

Yesterday I was able to have a wonderful Disneyland day and I was able to ride the 'new and improved' small world yesterday. I'd like to add my thoughts to the bunch...

First off, the characters. While some fit in nicely and were just 'okay', others were absolutely terrible. Flounder, in the undersea room, was not in the style at all. Nemo and Dory were kind of 'half and half' in terms of the small world 'look' and Woody and Jessie (as others have said) are just terrible. I didn't like the 'character's music' they tried to integrate with the original music...it did not sound too good...

...and the America scene. It is horrible. It has no depth. It is almost empty. It's like they said we need an American scene for Toy Story and then tried to design a few other dolls to throw in.

So, basically, it stinks. I don't like it. I will ride it again (I don't need to boycot HMH and IASW). But I just came out with a gross feeling.

Your thoughts?

[tigger001]

Been awhile since I posted on here...but I have to say that overall the attraction looks great. The blending of most of the new characters is, in my opionion, done very well. I would have to agree with most everyone and say that Woody & Jessie really don't fit in the new America section. Stitch to me was way too big. But, overall we liked it. It could have been worse, they could have removed all of the original figures and used only Disney characters!
I personally feel that it is nice to see them freshening up some of the rides and slightly tweeking them, but keeping the overall original theme and experience there. We personally didn't notice any of the new music cues. I did notice that Ariel was singing a little louder than everyone else in the room and that was a little annoying. It sounded like they had a speaker dedicated to only that little scene and maybe its just a matter of turning it down a bit.
Just my thoughts. Take them as you may. Everyone needs to ride the ride and form your own opinions. Don't let the masses fool you, it's not as bad as I was thinking it was going to be. Just wish they would of snuck a Mickey in somewhere....

[DisneyFunGuy]

It's Friday afternoon, the day of the grand re-opening, and I finally experienced *it's a small world*...and liked it.

I thought most of the Disney characters they added were placed rather subtly and didn't distract me from the original concept of the attraction. I didn't hear any of the added soundtracks from some of the animated movies, but again, I was paying more attention to the presentation of it all.

I wasn't all that thrilled with Donald Duck and his pals, but understood why they were all there. And as for the new American scene they added towards the end, I wasn't that impressed. My very first thought was that it reminded me of the old Superstar Limo ride at DCA. The nod to the Hollywood Bowl seemed a little over done to me. And it really did seem like they only created that whole scene just to add Woody and Jessy.

But over-all, I enjoyed my cruise and will go on it just as much as I did before these changes took place. I've always been a big fan of this attraction...as it brings back a lot of wonderful memories for me!

However, I do have one question. How come Disney didn't get Jodi Benson (the voice of Ariel) to sing when you go through the part where Ariel is singing??? The voice they used seems odd to me.

[whamo]

I'm a little confused. It's a Small World was closed, then opened, and then closed again this winter? I go to DL once a month, and it was closed in January. But I'd been on it for it's re-opening, and it was no big deal to me. I like the ride, once in a great while, because it's different, has a pleasant theme, enjoy the landscaping, and it's a musical ride. Disney should have more musical theme rides. It's a Small World has an intriguing storyworld, but it's not a ride you want to repeat in a hurry. It's basically good for variety, and bringing back old memories.

[disneyland255]

The re-opening was for the Christmas overlay. At that time they had not added any Disney Characters OR the American Scenes. This NEW re-opening is the plussed Small World. That is why this is such a big deal.

[Alice'sWonderland]

I was never happy about adding Disney characters to the Small World ride...but I am now a convert. Disney's Imaginears did it right and it is wonderful. The Disney characters that were added are dolls done in the Mary Blair style. Seeing it in person I thought it worked.

A few other items worth mentioning. I talked to a CM at length on Wednesday. He said through the years as decorations on the ride deteriorated, broke or plain wore out, Disney removed it and didn't replace it. Little by little overhead items (balloons, kites, etc) disappeared. In the renovation, Disney restored all of them. The ride appeared much fuller...esp the sky.

Also at the end of the ride is a huge sun. I was told this was part of the NY 1964 World's Fair, but has never appeared at Disneyland. It's nice to see it...the ride feels complete now.





And finally the sun...at the end of the ride...this was in the original '64 NY World's Fair, but never in the DL IASW attraction until now (btw, it is a replica of the original).

[sunnygirl]

Finally made it to the park today, just to ride IASW. I really didn't mind most of the changes. I thought the dolls (especially Alice and Cinderella) blended in just fine with the style, and the Pumba and Simba really blended well with the pink hippo. The one thing that kept me from absolutely loving it? The changes in music - not the addition of themed music from the characters respective movies, but in the undersea location, with the Ariel doll. The song is sung (IMO) loudly and annoyingly by a childish voice, and that detracted from the ride experience to me. But the rest of it didn't bother me a bit.

[Anders]

I liked it. I even liked the America scene. The dolls for the most part blend in, of course not all. Even most of the musical changes aren't too noticeable. I miss the mermaids more muffled underwater singing of before rather than the over the top voice there now.

[JerrodDRagon]

So I went to DL yesterday and...It was great!!!
Small World for me was always just..boring but I really like the new effects in the last room, the new America part is good but I wish the left side was like NY/LA while the right was the cowboys. I love most of the new Disney characters. Plus the new lighting effects on the outside are beautiful. Overall it has improved for me and I will go on it every time I go to DL now. If anything think this ruined the ride, this is nothing to what Nemo did to the subs.

[headkaes]

Rode "It's A Small World" last evening with my girlfriend and we were both really impressed with how the colors just seemed to pop again... In the years leading up to the refurb, the ride really began showing it's age. Amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do!

As for the Disney characters everyone was so worried about, well, in my humble opinion, it seems the fuss was a bit overblown. When the story broke, I decided to withhold judgment till I saw the changes for myself. I'm happy I did... They did a fine job of matching the characters to their surroundings, and I don't recall anything that came off as too overpowering (beside the music... that still drills it's way right into the basest part of the brain). The America scene was actually a lot more sparse than I expected as well. From all the fuss that was made, I was expecting giant city skylines and every conceivable land mark between D.C. and San Diego. Instead, we were greeted with a scene from the wide open spaces of the west... a nod to the American expansion that helped build this country, I guess...

The best change in my book, doesn't occur inside, but out on the facade after dark. The new lighting scheme is quite beautiful and gives the ride a freshness that it was sorely lacking. What was once painfully outdated, now shimmers like a jewel in the night. I remember watching the Disneyland Tenth Anniversary episode of "The Wonderful World of Color", when Walt was guiding Disney Ambassador Julie Reems through the Imagineering Department... Mary Blair is working on a scale model of IASW, and she gives them a quick lighting demonstration. I thought, wouldn't that be great if they'd gone forward with such a colorful lighting setup? Now they have, and it's even more impressive in real life! Kudos to the Imagineers once again... they never cease to impress...

[dland_lover]

Okay, I'll bite.

There are only a few of the "children dressed as characters, and their toys" that I find cute: Alice and the White Rabbit (he is SOOOOOO adorable!!) and Cinderella, Jacques and Gus. Mulan I think looks ok, but not great. The rest of them are ugly.

The musical additions are only subtle for Alice, Cinderella and Pinocchio. All the other ones that have music are in your face. However the only music that truly fits is the Three Caballeros music, which is just the small world theme played with a Latin flare. I'm just glad they didn't add music to all of the character additions.

And that America room is ported directly from Disneyland Paris. The scene is too bright and too cheaply done. The rest of the ride doesn't look like children drew the scenes with crayons, so why is this one? It totally stick out as an eye sore, esp. considering you notice the styling in the Polynesian room before it, and the Finale room after it, in relatively rapid succession (the boats only move so fast). I think the Midwestern kids are creepy. The only part of them that moves is their mouths. Nothing else. No blinking eyes, swaying or arm motions. They just sit there. They scream Children of the Corn, they're so creepy. The Native Americans and Cowboy additions are cute, and totally fit in the ride, but Woody, Jessie and Bullseye... yikes. What were they smoking? Yuck.

I don't even mind an America scene now, since they salvaged the Papua New Guinea and Rainforest scenes (mostly, anyways), but I hope they redesign it. It looks hideous.

I do like the updating of the lighting and sound effects throughout the ride, and the return of some props/elements to the ride (such as the large Sun in the finale room, and the dolls hanging off the kites). The extra instruments in China and Mexico work well, and the whole thing just benefitted from all of that TLC. It looks and feels brand new again, and I hope they keep it in this condition. Too, I love the lighting effects outside on the facade. Very, very cool. And considering it was one of Walt's concepts for the Disneyland version that they installed, makes it that much better.

[Chernabog]

Rode last night... not a fan. Not that I was a huge fan of the original, mind you, but I do think that the intent of the original ride was destroyed, and replaced by a game of "spot the Disney character." Not that it is in any way difficult to spot any of the new characters on the ride, considering how 90% of them fall into the following categories (and some fall into both): 1) They are "subtly" stuck as the closest character to the boat, with a spotlight on them and a cacophony of musical changes as you pass , 2) They are "subtly" stuck in as a non-Mary Blairized toy, much as you would find in any Disney store display and may or may not be dipped in glitter.

All of them scream, look at ME, look at ME, which is great for "it's a 'toon world after all". So the original intent of the ride isn't there anymore, and the musical changes sounded seriously awful.... but I guess little kids will have fun playing that game with their parents, because world peace is boring stuff anyway.

The only thing I thought was just ok were the Lion King animals, because there was at least a modicum of effort to blend the characters into their surroundings in a Mary Blair style.

The Up with America scene was particularly terrible..... static dolls with an old west scene and the Hollywood Bowl? It somehow manages to be loud, and obnoxious (and somehow boring nevertheless) and it is all you can look at once you get around the corner of the prior room due to how bright it is. I think almost everyone on here agrees that Woody and Jesse could be much improved. By a baseball bat.

I'm just glad I got to go on it after the LAST refurb when the original music was restored and the ride freshened.

[DisneyIPresume]

I rode it again today and noticed something I do not like at all. It is a very simple fix though.

The loading music is in a different key from the ride music! And the keys are not quite related like a third or fith, but by what appears to be a half tone or something like that added to it. .

Now if you can hear each piece separately it wouldn't be so bad. But as you approach the tunnel this difference is very clear. The two diferent styles of music should blend together but they don't because the you can definitely hear the two pieces being played simultaneously at this point and they are both in different keys.

The fix is simple. With today's technology all they need to do is run the music through a computer and the computer can adjust the key so that it is all the same.

So they should fix this. It is really quite noticeable.

[mickeyandme67]

I really liked it. A couple of the characters mentioned do seem to not fit into the "Blair" style and are maybe too prominent, but I thought the attraction looked and sounded fantastic. Al's comment that it is awful seemed very unjustified to me. Oh well. Opinions are like "you know whats" and everybody has one.