It's a World of Hope (And We Hope It Stays That Way)
Written: Mar 03 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: optimistic, sweet, original, hopelessly cute, cool on a hot day
Cons: an affront to Australians, song scares people, about to be marred with bizarre heavy-handed branding
The Bottom Line: It's a Small World is not just relaxing and cheerful, but learning to love the song is possibly one of the Buddha's recommended steps to Enlightenment.
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| Liffey's Full Review: it's a small world - Disneyland |
Perhaps you've heard that the reason for the current 10-month rehab of this gentle flume attraction is because the boats are sinking? (I'm bolding "rehab" so, if you're planning a trip during 2008, you'll realize that this ride is mostly off the table.)
And if you've heard that, maybe you've heard that the boats are sinking because we're all bigger and brawnier (and, in some cases, just more fat) than we were 40 years ago?
Well, some people bicker that this is an urban legend, and other people claim that the official reason ("fiberglass buildup") is just shoddy science. I can't comment either way, but I will say that the first time I rode It's a Small World was in the summer of 1985. It was on a day trip from teen fat camp. We took on water. Everyone survived, despite being about 10 shades redder when we disembarked. The end!
For a long time, that was about all I remembered of Disneyland. Then I went to Disney World, rediscovered the Magic, and eventually moved to Las Vegas, only a few hours away from what some gaze starward and reverently call "Walt's One True Park." Twenty years had passed, and I was ready to see the park with fresh eyes. That meant no comparisons to Florida, and no more fear of slowly drowning as that song plays over and over and over...
Result? Success! This is a must-see every time we visit. (Or rather, every time there big crowds in Fantasyland don't discourage us from making the jaunt to the back of that part of the park. Savvier guests perhaps take the train to the adjacent Toontown Station.)
People like to pick on It's a Small World. Thinking back to fat camp again (and oh boy, that's just a pleasant bundle of memories to poke at), one of our fellow campers actually got a Special Parental Dispensation from having to ride It's a Small World. It seems that when she was little she was stuck on the ride for an hour and ever since had Issues. In other words, not everyone is a fan.
Ignoring any preconceived shudders about the music for a moment, the ride is a slow float through optimism and general good cheer. (Especially in late Autumn/early Winter when everything is gussied up for Christmas and similar seasonal celebrations for It's a Small World Holiday.) Riding through the different lands is like being in a big colouring book called, perhaps, Costumes of the World. "Oh, wooden shoes! Must be Dutch! Oh, diagonal eyes! Must be Asian!"
In other words, it's a small world, and it's also a stereotypical world, going back to a more simple world, but hopefully still a sweet world, too.
The stereotypes don't bother me, not when they come with all the innocence of the singing/dancing animatronic children that you pass. (Also, I have critical thinking skills.)
But if you do want to get bothered about something, take note of the Australia exhibit while on the ride. You can't miss it, the semi-Aboriginal-looking boy with his dingo nestled between two Easter Island statues. My husband, a native Aussie, has only recently learned to stop making a spitty kind of PFFFFT sound when we get to this part. Pat-pat, dear.
(Australia, its own massive continent, thrown in with Polynesia and all its hula skirts? Maybe it's just Disney's way of underscoring how small the world really is? Um.)
Lines go pretty quickly, even in summer, and this should continue to be the case with the new design, which keeps the current queue system of double-loading flume tracks. I'm definitely a fan of IASW's outside queue, with the sweeping switchback walk that lets you lean back in the fresh air and watch the attraction's neat-o retro edifice, hoping to be there on the hour when the doors fly open under the clock and moving characters emerge.
The new design instead focuses on a deeper canal, lighter boats, and (it pains my Disney apologist heart to say this) Disney characters in the scenes.
I know. (Sorry, that's me assuming that you just said, "Whoa Nellie! This ride is already completely cute without Lilo, Stitch, and Simba!")
Now let's return to the problem of the song. If you hate it, you hate it, but if it helps, the words change into different languages so often during the ride that it's not like it's the same song over and over. The instrumentation changes to match the country as well, which may mitigate a first-timer's fears somewhat.
On the other hand, I'm such a fangirl of the Sherman Brothers (who composed the tune), to the point of naming my dwarf hamster Sherman (really), that it's possible you shouldn't believe a word I say. (Just go look up the Sherman Brothers and all the wonderful things they wrote, then ask yourself, "Would these lads steer us wrong?")
If you're reading a review of It's a Small World (and you are, aren't you? How convenient!), it's either for validation ("Ah, this person shares my views - take that, world!") or for "Should I bother?" information. My opinion is a hearty, "Yes! Yes, you should bother!" Why? Because there's so much that we share, that its time we're aware,
its a small world after all!
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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Epinions.com ID:
Liffey
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Reviews written: 79
Trusted by: 71 members
About Me:
I like thinking.
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