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

[lonsal]

I rode it Thursday in the rain. I enjoyed the ride. Some of the characters are so subtly added to the attraction that I missed them. I especailly got a kick out of the wiggly worm in Pumba's mouth.

Lon

[filmfreak11]

My quick impression.

Overall okay, definately looks and sounds refreshed. The "hype" for characters will die down. Right now it's so new and advertised, YEAH, people will be talking about it. Alice's, Cinderella's, and Pinchhico's (sp) songs I thought the volume was too high and drowned out the small world music. Although it's nice it's instrumentally themed with small world... if that makes any sense. But a focus light seem to be aimed at Alice, Cinderella, and Jimney a lot stronger than with other Disney characters. I was amused with Tinkerbell's jitters...

Aladdin I also thought it looked crammed being squeezed between the 2 flying carpet circles & in near miss of each other. Plus it's just hovering over in that one spot kinda waiting for guests to creep up under it.

I was expecting Baloo from THE JUNGLE BOOK to appear behind a "bush" in the India scene. But nope, maybe I was thinking of HKDL's? This area seems like it would fit that bear... it's where these frogs are on a lilly pad.

I liked the Three Caberellos (sp?) scene.

Dory & Nemo had bling bling or "fish scale". IMO, looked distracting. But apparently there's some shine to Ariel's fins and gator in the rainforest... so??

America scene I agree was a bit dull. There's a lack of kinetic movement and physical sets in layers of dimension... if that made any sense. The scene just feels flat compared to everything else about the attraction. I also wasn't sure about Woody, Bullseye, and Jessie... dolls? life-size dolls?

As a kid, my first thoughts about Small World wasn't "Oh wow, I'm gonna learn about world peace, sweet"... I think I was pretty neutral.

EDIT:
MaryAnn in Wndrlnd & Batman had some REALLY good points. I didn't understand why "Hollywood" was in there either. I still kinda like the rainbow... maybe just have the "spotlights" as a sunrise? I agree with putting Woody, Bullseye, Jessie switching with the Native Americans. I was riding the front and couldn't help notice the Disney/Pixar characters literally in arms reach of me. That was quite distracting.

DisneyIPresume, I kinda understand the statement about transition. I think what happened is each room has a SMALL black transition in between them whereas the rainforest was frankly a BIG transition room with those rainforest elements in it. Perhaps there should have been a small black transition room between America and Finale room. I do like the agriculture & western ideas, but not their execution.

I think Alice & Rabbit work the best because there is a Mary Blair concept art out there that duplicates the look.

BTW, apparently HKDL has 38 characters vs DL's 29 characters.

[PEZZ Lightyear]

I adopted a "Wait and See" attitude toward the whole project. I know my two cents would not have counted a plug nickel's worth to the folks at Disneyland anyway and why get all bent out of shape over something I haven't even seen yet?

I went on the ride 2 times on Friday and love the new lighting, costumes, paint, and backgrounds. But I don't want to ride it again. Frankly, IMHO, the addition of the Disney characters has cheapened and ruined the overall experience.

I have read and agree with many of the detailed criticisms of the additions, but I have to cite O-Nut as having the same general opinion as mine. The ride is no longer about seeing and respecting people from all over the world. It's a game of "Find the Disney Character". In this thread alone, we have seen posts that point out Jiminy Cricket of how Timon pops up and downs in the Africa scene, next to Simba and Pumbaa.

It puts the (non-Disney Movie) Mary Blair characters in supporting, background roles. It changes the overall experience from an ensemble cast to one of "Stars" and "Extras".

All the kids in Small World used to be stars, collectively. Now they're just part of the scenery.

[timbabbcomedian]

After ruminating on this for a few days and spending a while editing my video about the ride's changes, I have a few thoughts...

-The Disney characters don't bother me as a concept after seeing them "in action" They're there to lend support and get attention for a ride. Like when a sitcom has a special guest star...the show doesn't suddenly become ABOUT the guest star...but more people might tune in and in turn enjoy the show. (Also...none of the Disney characters were singing. Or at least their mouths weren't moving. Some on said Ariel was singing, but I don't think she was. Her mouth wasn't moving and the singer had a random accent that Ariel never had. Wonder why they didn't keep the gargaling mermaid song? Hey...I wonder if that's the same song just with the gargaling effect removed)

-The music is pretty subtle. I didn't even notice the Disney tunes layered in until I was editing the video.

-America is a little weak. I understand that there is a lot of farm land and desert in America, but that's not the world view of America, is it? Also...why are there no Black people in America? Statistically, there should be one black doll for every 5 White dolls (I puled that stat right out of my bum, so please don't repeat it)

Overall I still think the ride is better off for the changes in the long run. It's still the happiest cruise that ever sailed

[archdude72]

One of the most beloved attractions at the park in my view, and I gotta say, was very skeptical about the changes, but after enjoying the happiest cruise to sail the world, twice actually, this past weekend, here's my thoughts.

The shiny-ness and cleanliness of the attraction had it sparkling and brilliant! When I found out they were making changes (even after Marty Sklar said they weren't) I was terrified at the fate of the Rainforest. I'm very glad that they decided to save it, even if it is condensed, and it still looks great.

The addition of the characters were just ok, and not as bad as one might imagine reading some of the thread posts here. I, like some previous posters, rode with some very excited kids who looked for the characters and had a great time. I did notice that Tink looked a little off as she flew behind Peter, maybe she hit the wall and hurt a wing? She was really dangling and bobbing more than gliding. The biggest disappointment was Flounder in the Mermaid scene, as seen in a picture posted above. I thought all the new characters that were added were going to be artistically done in Mary Blair Original 1964 small world style, but Flounder looks like a fiberglass prop taken perhaps from an Emporium or now closed Disney store display and stuck on the wall, he was not stylized in the least, and really doesn't fit.

The highlight of the changes IMO was the restoration of the Farewell room and The new lighting effects on the exterior are amazing. The outdoor lighting, a deep Blue against the white and gold facade is striking, and when I saw the colors change as a train passes through, the lighting makes it an awesome detail some might miss. Disney is all about the details, and that one looked spectacular, it was truly Disney Magic, great lighting, great scenic refurb, the farewell banner, all brilliant! Great job Kim and team!

[american_werewolf]

i went yesterday, and the ride was really cute. i went with my mom for her birthday, and so it was fun noticing all the new additions to the ride. i kinda knew what to expect from the pics on here, so i kept pointing out new stuff to her lol.

[Tool]

Finally rode this today, actually twice. My first impressions were not the Disney characters but the overall look. The lighting was great. And it looks like they cleaned up most of the sets, replacing lots of the worn out carpets and such. I don't remember it being this colorful before.

I was expecting the worse with regards the new Disney characters but was actually pleasantly surprised. Most of them blended in pretty well. My favorite by far was Alice. I was listening to the other people around me and everyone seemed to love the new additions. Was glad to see the rain forest & it's alligator. His green body just really sparkled. The America scene...not too good imo. It just looked really out of place and cheaply built. It's too much of a generic set and not enough dolls. I thought the Woody and Jessie dolls looked creepy in the photos but they are even more creepy in person. And they were not that well made either. For example Woody's eye outlines were messy and not straight. Thumbs down for this part of the ride.

I'm not gonna hate on this ride anymore. It's actually the first time I enjoyed this ride since I was a kid. So except for the America scene (which looks like everyone doesn't like) it was a really good plus for this ride.

[Beatle_johnny]

The thing that annoys me about the ride is not the new Characters but something that I have always found to be a huge distraction and that is the ceiling is a common "whatcha-ma-call-it" with white styrofoam like tiles held aloft with small tin or aluminum (that can't be spelled right!) north/south brackets. The kind you would find in a common Target Store or a School or Office Building.

Why do they not paint these white sterile blocks and help enhance the room?

Oh well... just my two cents.

By the way... the kids marveled at seeing Woody and Stitch and the rest, the adults... "meh".

[Bear-y Tales fan]

I enjoyed the changes they were decent and most of the dolls fit it in a little.But the toy story cast not so much.they could of made the toy story characters as children rather than copying the Hong Kong Version.

The America Scene was'nt too good.It kind of reminds me of How Knott's Ruined my Work In the Bear-y Tales Ride by replacing it with A Dinosaur ride that was rushed with the ceilings exposed and very bland.I really compared that room to how Knott's Ruined the wonderful Knott's Bear-y Tales.

But Anyways the america Room just feels so rushed Like Kingdom of the dinosaurs and makes that ride look better than the new room.I even bet the save the rainforest Site saw this room and were like, What a short room this is?Hardly any of the dolls have movement!It's Bad And what is the point of removing Papua New Guinea/Rainforest For Something that looks so cheap and dull.In my opinion I think it needs to be improved but i do like the hollywood bowl sign effect.

Overall: The Ride Is Better.The only problem is that the rushed America room needs to be fixed and that the dolls must have movement and that they need to take out the toy story characters and make them more small or into Children.

[Ko_]

Well, I went Friday night, and overall, I thought it was pretty good. Some changes were kind of lame (America scene, I'm staring RIGHT AT YOU). But for the most part, I liked the changes, Alice and the White Rabbit were probably the best, imo. I liked Mulan, too, but having two Mushus was a little weird, I think they should have had Little Brother next to Mulan. The America scene was kind of... fail. Woody's head weirded me out. But for the most part, I think the changes were nice. ^___^

[Mick3yM0us3]

Great pics. I didn't really mind the changes too much. Yeah, its more commercial, but so is the whole park, sadly enough. It was a retooling for a new generation of Disney park-goers geared more towards character integration than a message or a truly transporting experience. Times are changing. And I am just glad that they managed to keep the timeless style of Mary Blair kept throughout the attraction. Beautiful.

[tikicub]

Personally, I disliked the concept in principle and have mixed feelings after seeing it in practice.

I liked that Alice and the White Rabbit finally gave a little meaning to the completely nonsensical and irrelevant rotating chess king and queen.

I will agree with the opinions already shared that indicate that the Timon/Pumbaa/Simba addition is very successful and is probably what Disney should have aimed for in all the other scenes.

I very much disliked the fact that (nearly) all of the characters were extremely in-your-face-hey-look-here-there's-a-Disney-character-DON'T-miss-the-Disney-character-right-here!

The Three Caballeros didn't fit and of all the scenes this one upset my honeybear the most. We both loved the scary mutant straw men better (now shunted off to the periphery, much like the ride's supposed theme in general...).

The mermaid scene was poorly executed and I intensely disliked the new (and inappropriate) voice sans mermaid burbles.

The "Up With America" scene was successful as a reflection of the country it was representing - it was tacky, loud, and inappropriate. The only facet of the new room that really works for me are the cacti and the howling coyote on the mountain peak. The dolls are all uninspired, and Woody and Jesse are just begging to be used in a game of mailbox baseball. Frankly, I wouldn't mind if someone did.

Professionally, the musical additions were a miss - far too out-of-context, too loud compared to the background audio, and frankly, seemingly done on the cheap. The oboe used for the Pinocchio addition in particular was poorly done and the harmony did not successfully mesh with the background song. The "Golden Afternoon" overlay for Alice and the White Rabbit was the most successful, but I disliked the flute overlay of "Bibbidy-Bobbidy-Boo" for Cinderella. I've already indicated that the new Ariel mermaid voice was extremely poorly done.

So, like I stated, mixed feelings as a whole. I'll chalk it up to Disney not learning from the past 15 or so years: do it right, or don't do it at all. And for goodness' sake; your audience can spot CHEAP easier than you think. Is there no internal auditing in your ugly Administration building?

[Coheteboy]

Agreed with just about everytyhing, Tikicub. If I was WDI and were to make the last minute decisions before presenting it to the world, I'd cut the movie music additions. They're really a miss... even when you're sitting on the very edge you can barely make it out. It's just distracting if anything.

Second, figure out how to improve that America scene. It's HORRIBLE. Going through the entire ride, you see how colorful and inventive everything is. There's motion everywhere along with whimsy. The America scene has none of that! Left side has farmers singing... but totally static. Right side has native americans NOT singing... but doing stuff. And the backgrounds really don't add anything at all.

If it's going to be a farm... have more fun with that. If it's going to be native americans... have more fun with that! definitely take out Woody and Jessie. Add a ton more tumbleweeds.

Last... I'd ditch the stitch.


So those were things that really struck me as bad / ugly.



Then there's a few distracting things like... Mermaids. Bring back the bubble singing because that was funny. Flounder is too on-model. Make him in style with the rest of the ride please.

[AidensDaddy]

What I guess I don't like is, that with adding the Disney characters, they're adding more entertainment value to the ride. And making it less of a torture device. For the annoyed parent: "If you kids don't behave yourselves, I'm taking you on Small World!!!" "No Daddy No! We'll be good, we promise!"

[Coheteboy]

Now the torture isn't the song... it's the bratty kids who are constantly talking throughout the ride. I guess it's not THAT common because the dad was actually more annoying and more loud.

"daddy what was the first ride in disneyland?"

"monorail, tiki room..." (goes on to list other rides that were not available opening day)