Step aboard the happiest cruise that ever sailed 'round the world and experience the enchantment of countless nations joining together in song and dance, celebrating their cultures and meeting new people from around the world.

Fun Facts

"it's a small world" features no less than 281 Audio Animatronic characters, along with 48 animated toys and 247 animated accessories.

Every quarter hour is heralded with a parade of international puppets around the clock tower of the attraction.  The Disneyland original was inspired by the theatrical clock tower displays in European cities such as Prague, and now the concept has returned home, giving the time every 15 minutes.

The animated 'holographic' sequences seen in the post-show area of "it's a small world" were directed by Chris Bailey (Runaway Brain, Tough to Be a Bug) and created by Walt Disney Feature Animation especially for the Parisian version of the attraction.

'Small World Small Talk' opened on 2nd April 2004 in the post-show area.  Produced and sponsored by France Télécom as part of a drive for new international conversation technologies, the two computer booths should theoretically allow conversion between two people of different nationalities, though in reality its success is usually hit and miss.

History

"it's a small world" surprisingly finds its roots outside of Disneyland, at the New York World's Fair of 1964-65.  The attraction was commissioned by Unicef and funded by Pepsi-Cola as the centrepiece of its pavilion.  It was just one of several Walt Disney projects at the expo, all testing Disney's new Audio Animatronics technology for the first time.  The attraction was an immediate success and, when the fair ended, it was transferred to Disneyland in California as a permanent attraction.

The attraction's infamous theme song was written by the Sherman Brothers (Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book) for its 1964 debut, and has been a lasting trademark of a day in Disneyland ever since.

Inspirational artist Mary Blair is most remembered for her stunning, stylised art direction of the attraction, with strong blocks of colour and geometric styles giving its unique look. Whilst the sets of the Paris version were generally updated to a more rounded, modern design, the exterior facade was based heavily on her original concept designs from the 1960s.