It's a Small World is a Fantasyland attraction in Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland.
History[]
Backstory[]
Guests depart for the, "Happiest cruise that ever sailed" through a giant clockwork entity known as the Glockenspiel. Within the Glockenspiel is a world of miniature, sentient dolls who all sing, "It's a Small World" in different languages, on a loop. The boats pass through sections representing different nations and cultures before a finale where all the dolls are garbed in white and make their goodbyes.
Development history[]
Summary[]
Overlays[]
It's a Small World Holiday[]
Jungle Cruise connections[]
Jungle Cruise[]
The Jungle scenes of It's a Small World contain parallels to the jungles seen in the Jungle Cruise. In the Daily Gnus newspaper, Alberta Falls used the expression, "It's a small world after all" when speaking on the coincidence of running into Dr. Kon Chunosuke, a member of the same secret-society as her grandfather. A common gag used in Shir Lee Temple at the Magic Kingdom is for skippers to sing an eerie rendition of the song, "It's a small world".
Jingle Cruise[]
Both the Jingle Cruise and It's a Small World Holiday contain incarnations of Santa Claus and references to the North Pole.
Jungle River Cruise: Curse of the Emerald Trinity[]
The Daily Colonial Journal mentioned releasing an interview with, "Glamorous socialite Mary Blair" on the December 9 of 1932.
Skipper Canteen[]
In the library of the Skipper Canteen, there is a book titled, "A Small World of Traditional Wardrobe" by A. Davis. This references Alice Estes Davis and her job in having costumed It's a Small World. The canteen also references Simba from The Lion King, the sea-serpent from World of Motion, the Nautilus from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Cinderella from Cinderella, all of which have had cameos in different versions of It's a Small World.
Other connections[]
Disneyland Railroad[]
In addition to passing through Adventureland and the African veldt, this railroad passes by the Glockenspiel.
Films[]
Several film characters affiliated with the Jungle Cruise make cameos in different versions of It's a Small World. This includes Simba, Cinderella, Donald Duck, the Nautilus submarine, and Jungle Book characters such as Baloo and Mowgli.
Main Street, U.S.A.[]
Marc Davis and Alice Estes Davis have apartment windows referencing them onon Main Street. Marc's Main Street window seemingly references his work on the Jungle Cruise as it advertises him running, "Far East Imports" where he sells, "Exotic art" while Alice's is for being the seamstress of, "Small World Costumes". This business also connects to the A. Davis book in the skipper canteen library.[1]
Trivia[]
- At time of writing, It's a Small World is one of the few notable attractions not tied to the story of Trader Sam.