Tag Archives: it’s a small world

Four Disneyland Attractions with Holiday Overlays You Won’t Want to Miss

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From the Disney Parks Blog:

Photo: Disney

Holidays at the Disneyland Resort brings magical entertainment, sparkling décor, festive foods, specialty merchandise and of course, seasonal attractions! From now through Jan. 6, 2020, enjoy Disney magic with friends and family on attractions themed especially for the holidays. There are four Disneyland attractions with holiday overlays that you won’t want to miss this season!

Over in Cars Land at Disney California Adventure park, the residents are racing to celebrate the season. Two attractions rely on holiday magic to celebrate the haul-idays:

  • Luigi’s Joy to the Whirl – Luigi and his extended family of roadsters are celebrating the season in style. Take a seat and take a merry spin as the cars cruise to festive tunes, including “We Wish You Season’s Speedings,” “Joy To The Whirl,” “Jolly Joyous Santa Car,” “Carol Of The Horns” and “Jingle Bells.”
  • Mater’s Jingle Jamboree – This haul-iday tractor spins through a festively decorated junkyard. Mater croons classic holiday tunes, including “Christmas In Radiator Springs,” “Mater’s Jingle Jamboree,” “Radiator Rockin’ Holiday,” “The Gifts of the Mater” and “Tractors, Tractors, Tractors.”

In Disneyland park, two popular attractions also transform just for the season:

  • “it’s a small world” Holiday – The beloved attraction takes you around the world and back as dolls and toys representing children enjoy the distinctive holiday traditions of their countries. In the evenings, the attraction’s facade twinkles with 50,000-plus colorful lights, music and video projections. 
    • AP Bonus: Annual Passholders can enjoy an extra hour at “it’s a small world” Holiday after park closing on Nov. 18-22 (Nov. 18-21 starting at 10 p.m. and Nov. 22 starting at midnight), as well as a special photo opportunity. Blockout dates apply. 
  • Haunted Mansion Holiday – ‘Twas “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and all through the Haunted Mansion, Jack Skellington and his friends are causing a collision between Christmas and Halloween. Enjoy the frightfully festive décor and familiar characters from the classic film, including Sally, Zero and Oogie Boogie.
    • AP Bonus: Annual Passholders can enjoy an extra hour at Haunted Mansion Holiday after park closing on Dec. 9-11 (Dec. 9 and 11 starting at midnight and Dec. 10 starting at 11 p.m.). Blockout dates apply. 

What are your favorite Disneyland attractions with holiday overlays?

Celebrate the Season at Disneyland with It’s a Small World Holiday

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From the Disney Parks Blog:

(Photo: Disney Parks Blog)

Where better to celebrate the Holidays at the Disneyland Resort than on the happiest cruise that ever sailed? The façade at “it’s a small world” gets a festive makeover this time of year, featuring thousands of brilliant lights and a Santa hat atop the clock face. Filled to the brim with colorful characters and festive décor, “it’s a small world” Holiday offers seasons greetings from more than 300 children around the world. Sailing along these wondrous waterways, it’s easy to miss some of the smaller details. So, let’s hop in, sing along and look closer at some of the special elements of this beloved attraction.

(Photo: Disney Parks Blog)

Seasonal touches appear all around you as soon as your ship sets sail. The voyage begins in the northern regions, where snowflakes sparkle and letters addressed to Santa are scattered about. The distinct silhouette of Mr. Claus himself is visible in the upstairs window of a quaint snow-covered cottage.

(Photo: Disney Parks Blog)

Then, float over to Europe, where two ceremonial guards dressed in scarlet and gold await your arrival. On a perch adorned with holly and tinsel stands one of these two Yeoman Warders, protectors of the Tower of London commonly known as Beefeaters. In fact, Beefeaters themselves are often represented in Christmas ornaments and décor.

(Photo: Disney Parks Blog)

Soon, journey to Asia, where everything is completely decked out for Lunar New Year. Check out the vivid neon dragon positioned amongst fireworks, hand fans and celebratory drummers. Dragons are especially important this time of year, as the dragon dance has long been an essential part of Chinese festivals.

(Photo: Disney Parks Blog)

Passing through South America and Mexico, glance upwards to spot three familiar faces, the Three Caballeros! Donald Duck, José Carioca and Panchito play various musical instruments as piñatas twirl overhead. While these three best friends can be found at “it’s a small world” any time of year, be sure to catch them over at the limited-time Disney ¡Viva Navidad! Street Party. There, they host the party from atop a colorful float adorned with streamers to celebrate the holidays, culture and friendship.

(Photo: Disney Parks Blog)

Faster than you can say “Mele Kalikimaka,” the Hawaiian phrase for “Merry Christmas,” your boat takes a turn towards the Pacific Islands. Mermaids joyfully sing “Jingle Shells,” their rendition of the famous holiday classic. Spot Ariel and two of her sisters, Adrina and Attina, swaying along to the music. Careful observers will notice the plate of fish beneath them, marked “for Santa.”

(Photo: Disney Parks Blog)

Devoted Disney fans will remember how much Lilo & Stitch adore Elvis. For an extra special holiday touch, look out for an Elvis bobble head in front of the dynamic duo as the group catches a wave together.

(Photo: Disney Parks Blog)

The next section of the attraction truly captures the spirit of America. You are nearing home now, but keep your eyes peeled for a few furry friends! Every so often, gophers dressed in Santa hats pop out from a snowy knoll to say hello to visitors passing by. Across the way, look closely at the three Native Americans to discover an unexpected treat in their hands: popcorn! In fact, the practice of popping corn was common among Native Americans even hundreds of years ago.

This time of year especially, “it’s a small world” Holiday reminds us to appreciate our differences and unite in the bonds of song, friendship and happiness. Thanks for coming along with us on the happiest cruise that ever sailed, we wish you a very merry holiday season!

50th Anniversary of “it’s a small world”

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small world anniversary

This week, Disney Parks are celebrating the 50th anniversary of “it’s a small world” attraction. In honor of the infamous theme park attraction, thousands of Disney fans and cast members from around the world joined for a historic “it’s a small world” sing along. Fans participated online at SmallWorld50.com, a site created for the celebration of the attraction that originally opened at the 1964 New York World’s Fair.

Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, explained that “‘it’s a small world’ has inspired hundreds of millions of people through its timeless theme.” He continued, “Every moment of every day there are Disney guests enjoying ‘it’s a small world’ somewhere around the globe.  The 50th anniversary of this attraction represents a celebration of the shared optimism, hope, and humanity of people throughout the world.”

For the 50th anniversary of “it’s a small world”, guests in all five Disney Parks around the world participated in events, such as in-park sing-alongs, cavalcades and special musical performances. Richard M. Sherman, the Oscar®-winning songwriter who composed “It’s a Small World” with his late brother, Robert, even led a sing-along at Disneyland Park in California.

Leading up to the anniversary, guests from more than 150 countries had already joined the celebration at SmallWorld50.com. These guests designed digital dolls and recorded videos of themselves singing the song so that Disney would donate $250,000 to benefit UNICEF. You can view these videos and dolls through May 30 on the site.

Celebrations at All Five Disney Resorts Worldwide
Presently, there are “it’s a small world” attractions at the Disneyland Resort in California (where the World’s Fair attraction was relocated in 1966), Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, Tokyo Disney Resort in Japan, Disneyland Paris in France and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. All five parks joined in the worldwide sing-along and held other events to commemorate the 50th anniversary.

  • At Hong Kong Disneyland, approximately 200 resort cast members and students from Hong Kong Children’s Choir gathered in the park to sing “It’s a Small World” in Cantonese. A traditional Chinese lion dancer joined in the celebration to offer blessing for the anniversary.
  • Tokyo Disneyland cast members and guests celebrated and sang the song in Japanese at Tokyo Disneyland.
  • A “blue carpet” event featured the international cast members of Disneyland Paris gathered on Main Street, U.S.A., representing 100 nationalities. Nearly 200 international children and 50 choir performers sang a multi-language version of the iconic anthem in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle.
  • A choir of Disneyland Resort cast members sang the song in front of the original attraction at Disneyland Park in Anaheim. Songwriter Richard Sherman chatted with fans via Google Hangout while sitting at a piano in front of the attraction. He also was scheduled to appear in a sing-along cavalcade down Main Street, U.S.A., conducting hundreds of Disneyland guests in their “It’s a Small World” sing-along.
  • At Walt Disney World near Orlando, international cast members from the countries of Epcot led a choir of children and cast members in song in front of Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom Park. Also, hundreds of Magic Kingdom guests joined in the song during a special “pre-parade” before the “Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade.” Throughout the day, in-park performers – the Dapper Dans, Coke Corner Pianist, Notorious Banjo Brothers, Royal Majesty Maker Musicians and Main Street Philharmonic – are scheduled to include “It’s a Small World” in their appearances.

Disney Store has also joined the celebration with the “it’s a small world” doll collection, inspired by the original Fantasyland attraction, plus in-store events. Through Sunday, April 13, children can visit a participating Disney Store and take a journey on an imaginary boat ride around the globe, learning how to say “hello” in various languages and sing “It’s a Small World” along the way.

The Creation of a Classic  

“it’s a small world” features a gentle boat ride through a Lilliputian land populated by colorfully dressed Audio-Animatronics dolls. The dolls represent children from many areas of the world, all singing a song about universal harmony. A team of Walt Disney Imagineering artistic geniuses, including Disney Legends designer Mary Blair and costumer Alice Davis, created the attraction’s now iconic style.

In 1963, Walt Disney was asked to create an exhibit for the 1964 World’s Fair to salute UNICEF and children around the world. With Walt’s blessing, Marc Davis, one of the original Disney animators, designed the boat ride attraction through the regions and countries of the world. The first version of “it’s a small world” entertained and thrilled more than 10 million visitors in New York from 1964-65. In 1966, after some major enhancements, including an enlargement of approximately 33 percent, the attraction found a permanent home at Disneyland in California.

In the attraction, hundreds of dolls “sing” the familiar song, “It’s a Small World,” in five languages (English, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and Swedish). Academy Award®-winning composers Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, who won two Oscars® for their work on Disney’s feature film “Mary Poppins,” were asked by Walt Disney to create a simple, yet catchy piece that could be sung in many different languages while guests traveled by boat through the attraction. The resulting song, “It’s a Small World (After All),” became one of the most well known and happiest of all Disney tunes.

Did you participate in the 50th anniversary of “it’s a small world”?

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