It's a Small World Disneyland Ride Delights Young Minded

It's a Small World is a Disneyland attraction with a boat ride that journeys through darkly-lit rooms that highlight staged audio-animatronic dolls, puppets and toys that sing a song, "It's a Small World" in numerous languages.  Written by co-authors Robert B. Sherman and  Richard M. Sherman (who also wrote Jolly Holiday from Mary Poppins), the song was a special project for the New York World's Fair in 1964. Written with Walt Disney, the song has become known throughout the world as millions of people have listened to the catchy tune.

In California's Disneyland Resort theme park, It's a Small World included a noticeable entrance made of a huge facade that emulates the architectural elements and shapes of buildings around the globe, accented by gold domes, cupolas and a huge clock tower that ticks as guests get in queue for the ride.  Animal shaped topiary are surrounded by grassy lawns and flower planters, and the Disneyland train actually passes on a track by the backdrop to this ride.

After standing in line for up to an hour (usually much less), guests climb into boats that hold around 10 adults that are steered on a track within a shallow pool of water that gives the effect of riding in a channel or waterway. The brightly-colored boats of yellow, pink or blue slowly move into the Hello Room, greeting guests with large, painted placards announcing "the happiest cruise that ever sailed the world". 

As guests take a ride through many lands from around the globe and listen to the same tune sung in a variety of languages, the costumed characters with similar sizes and shapes sing, skate or dance in unison to the tune.

The boat ride, itself, offers a gentle gliding motion. As all eyes are focused to the left and right or straight ahead, each boat twists through several rooms partitioned to isolate the themes and versions of the song presented in each section.  Appropriate for all ages, since the ride was created and introduced to Disneyland Resorts over 30 years ago, its animation and visual appeal is simplistic by today's standards. Nevertheless, It's a Small World is a classic that guests have enjoyed and come back to decades later.