It's A Small World Magic Kingdom Refurbishment

Do You Think This 'Small World' Can Fit Into New Fantasyland? (Hint- Read Thread To Find Out)

  • Yes!

    Votes: 1 8.3%
  • No.

    Votes: 8 66.7%
  • Maybe.

    Votes: 3 25.0%

  • Total voters
    12

mattyice16

Earning My Ears
Joined
Aug 10, 2015
Messages
4
Hello everyone,

I am really excited to be writing my first thread, and I wanted to share with you an idea, I had on how to refurbish "It's A Small World" in Magic Kingdom Park in Disney World. As some of you may know, this beloved attraction has had many make overs to fit in with today's generation of families, and the feedback from many of these changes, (i.e. adding Disney Characters) were amazing. Most of the "It's A Small World" attractions have many of these changes, such as Disneyland's, Hong Kong Disneyland's, and in the near future, Tokyo Disneyland's. Since most of the attractions received a make over or will be refurbished in the future, I believe that Disney World's version of the attraction should receive the same treatment, especially since most of Florida's Fantasyland attractions have had a makeover for New Fantasyland. So, without a further a do, here's my vision of It's A Small World. Here It Is:

"It's A Small World"

Note: This new Version of Magic Kingdom's It's A Small World" will FINALLY receive a holiday overlay called "It's A Small World- Christmastime Around the World"

When guests first walk past by the attraction on your right side, adjacent to Peter Pan’s Flight, they will notice the same Marquee to the attraction that has the children of the world sailing on a boat, and under it, the attraction’s logo is shown, in the style of Hong Kong Disneyland's specialized logo, (the 2nd picture below).
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After that guests will walk inside the ride building, in which the beginning part will now become an interactive queue. Guests will first learn about different countries in a fun way (similar to the “World Chorus” area in Paris) but they also have the chance to make their own Small World Post Card along the way too, with the use of touch screen technology (similar to what you find in The Magic of Disney Animation) but more advanced. Guests will be able to create their own message, and choose the country that they live in as the background of their card.This interactive segment will take place as guests walk through that zig zag type queue that they had been doing since 1971-2010. The final part of making the post card will be done in a place inside the ride. As they are walking down the queue, they will hear the regular safety spiel before entering the boat, and The normal clock tower that had been present in the queue since 2005 will remain, but the facade will now have a multitude of colors to symbolize unification of color (Hong Kong), and the clock show will operate differently.


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It will have an additional layer on the bottom of it for the clock tower doll parade, like Disneyland’s, and the clock show will play every fifteen minutes. The dolls will represent every country on the planet, including the Chinese Opera Singer toy created for Hong Kong Disneyland. After the doll parade, the time will be displayed in terms of 30 minutes. After they watch the clock tower show, their boat soon approaches them, and guests will board their boat. The loading area of the ride will remain the same, as it had always been. The control tower, however, will be changed to look like The Tower of the 4 Winds, (a reference to the facade used in the 1964 World’s Fair version of the ride). As soon as all the guests enter the boat, the ride begins as they enter under the Tower of the 4 Winds. Then the boat passes by the windows of the Pinocchio Village Haus Restaurant, on the right, and a fountain that changes color using underwater lights, on the left. On our right side, we find a scene that includes a huge mock up version of the children of the world sailing in the boat, along with a cartoon version of the Loch Ness Monster found in the Hello Room in Disneyland. Soon we enter the second tunnel which on top has a plague that contains the boat with the children of the world, and the ride’s slogan, “The happiest cruise sailing ‘round the world”,and before you know it, we enter the Hello Room of the ride. However this version of the Hello Room is very unique because it will feature the stars from the animated Television Series of the ride’s name. We find audio animatronics ; Maruma, Ashley, Luis, Zanele, Ling, Harold, and their pet bird, Wazooh, on the hot air balloon, wishing guests a safe journey around the world. Then, we enter our first segment of the ride, Europe. Note: Throughout the attraction, the ride sound volume will be louder, the lighting will operate like Hong Kong’s version of the ride, and the scenes will receive a huge makeover.

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Europe : We start off with the normal Scandinavia Scene. The right side of this scene will remain the same, but on the left side, we find a carbon copy version of the North Pole scene found in Disneyland and HK Disneyland.


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In this scene we find igloos, polar bears, penguins, walruses, and eskimos. We also find 2 groups of Disney Characters; Bambi and Thumper , who are flickering around on the ice, and Anna and Elsa, who are creating their beloved Snowman friend, Olaf, along with Sven and Kristoff from Frozen. Then our boat passes by the normal scene of Tivoli Gardens with the toy soldiers playing the trumpets and drums. After this point of the ride, this is where things are going to change. First, the entire Medieval England scene will move up from its original place, meaning that just like Disneyland, guests will go under the London Bridge. The Singers on the moon, will also look enhanced to look like Tokyo’s, and we find Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, Wendy, John Darling, and Michael Darling flying around the moon singers. As I said before the chess scene will move up from its original place, but it will look the same, except for the fact that now, we find 4 Disney Characters; Alice, the White Rabbit, and the King and Queen of Hearts ,(from the Alice In Wonderland Movie), on a checkerboard, along with other chess pieces. The scene that occupies Medieval England, will now be replaced with a British-type forest section, with British children playing games and having fun. We also find 3 groups of Disney Characters as well. First, we notice Jane and Michael Banks, along with Bert and Mary Poppins, dressed in their “Jolly Holiday” costumes, as they ride the horses from the Carousel scene of the movie . Another group of Disney Characters, we find in the forest include Winnie the Pooh, who flies a balloon to a nearby Honey Tree, along with Piglet, Eeyore, and Tigger, who are looking at him from above. We also find Pete, sliding down the tail of his pet dragon, Elliott, as they are enjoying a wonderful day in the park. Meanwhile, we pass by France, with Paris’s Can-Can Dancers dancing under the Eiffel Tower. This scene will stay the same, with the addition of Belle, and Prince Adam having dinner under the Eiffel tower along with Lumiere and Cogsworth, on one side and Mrs. Potts, and Chip, on the other, who are watching them. Also, we find on a circular podium- Cinderella, Jac, and Gus , (similar to DL). We also find sitting on top of the Eiffel tower, Marie from The Aristocats, and Remy from Ratatouille, along with Quasimodo from Hunchback of Notre Dame ringing the bell inside the Tower. After, on the left hand side, the boat will travel through the normal Scene of Scotland, with Merida from Brave , Ireland, along with the Netherlands and Belgium. Normally, after the Paris scene, Germany would come next, but instead it will now be moved closer to the Switzerland scene to make room for 3 groups of Disney Characters;Hercules, Megara, Phyllis, flying on Pegasus in the scene of Greece, which is now taken out of the Asia room, Rapunzel, Flynn Rider, Pascal, and Maximus waving near Rapunzel’s tower, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs standing right behind the cottage. Meanwhile on the left side, we pass by the normal scene of Spain, and Italy, which now includes a puppet show of Pinocchio along with Jimminy Cricket on the left side. On the right hand side, is the normal scene of Switzerland , along with the normal scene of Germany. And that concludes the new Europe section of Small World.


Asia: As our boat glides under the tunnel from the Europe scene, we soon depart into the Asia scene of the ride, which will look refurbished a whole lot. On the right side, we see the normal scene of Russia, that occupies the formal scene of Greece, with a group of Disney characters from the Make, Mine, Music segment of Peter and The Wolf. They include: Peter, Sasha - the bird, Sonia-the duck, and Ivan-the cat. After Russia, is the scene of Japan, which is in the space where Russia was. This scene will be similar to Tokyo’s version of the ride, with 3 Japanese singers wearing traditional Japanese attire singing the song in Japanese, and we also find the emperor and empress of Japan, along with a Japanese Warrior. We also find Mt. Fuji in the distance, and also see traditional Japanese Kite flyers. Two of them are Baymax and Hiro from Big Hero 6.

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After that our boat will pass under a Japanese Pagoda, with a traditional Japanese girl and boy on top on either side bowing as the boat passes under. (just like the one featured in this picture, but not at the end of the scene. It will be used as a archway, like the London Bridge in the Europe scene of the ride)


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After that, the space that occupies the occupying scene of Japan, will now be replaced with the scenes of The Philippines-the 2 girls twirling umbrellas, Korea-the traditional Korean boy and Girl riding the boat, and China-with the Temple of Heaven, The Great Wall of China, Chinese Singers, a Panda , and Mulan, and Mushu flying a kite of Mushu. ( in the style of Hong Kong’s version).

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On the left side, we start off with Thailand, as guests see an expanded version of the normal scene of Bali, with more dancers, along with the Belgian Tiger and the Elephant remaining right where they are. The Indonesia and Israel scenes will be removed from the beginning and will be moved the Middle Eastern Side of the Africa Room. In its place will be the Balinese dancers and players that are found at the end of the room.

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After Bali, we reach India with the snake charmer and the Taj Mahal with the India girls dancing on the right side of a nearby pond. In the place where the Balinese dancers and players were would be another group of Disney Characters; Mowligi, who is held up by Baloo from the Jungle Book. To end off this scene of the ride, the archway is a traditional Chinese bridge, with a Chinese boy and girl on either side both holding a lantern to symbolize the spirit of China.


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On top of the bridge is a Chinese-looking type moon. And this concludes the refurbished new Asia Scene of Small World.


Africa/Middle East: After passing under the bridge, we soon head into the Africa/Middle east section of the ride. On the left side of the room, The Middle Eastern section will be expanded to include the sections that were taken out. The Middle Eastern section will stay the same in the beginning,but after the boat passes by Cleopatra on her boat, the entire Africa scene on that side will be removed, and will be replaced with the Indonesia scene.


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Right next to it, is the scene of Israel, with the groom and the Jewish girl spinning as they celebrate Arba Kanfot.

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Surrounding the entire scene are peasants riding flying Carpets that were found in the Asia room. If you look up, you may notice a familiar group of people; Aladdin, who is holding the lamp that contains the Genie, Jasmine, and Abu, who are flying on the Magic Carpet from the movie. On the right side of the room, Guests will notice the Africa portion of the ride, which is the same as before with the following differences. The first difference is that we find 2 groups of Disney characters: Simba, Nala, Timon and Pumba from The Lion King, and Tarzan, who is swinging on a nearby vine. Another difference is that the trio of African Singers will be moved to the Africa side, and the 2 swaying giraffes on the left side will move to the right side with the other 2 giraffes. The scene then ends off with as guests pass under an archway being a pink elephant, peeking from vines, swaying left and right with African Children playing handmade instruments on it. This concludes the Africa/Middle East segment of the ride.

South America: Soon, our boat heads into South America. This scene won’t change as much in the beginning except for the Brazilian Rainforest section.

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The only minor difference in this scene is that we find Donald Duck, Jose Caricoa, and Panchito Pisotles from the Three Callbaroes, along with El Gaucho Goofy from Saloudos Amigos in the marketplace seen on the right entertaining guests. After South America, this is where things change quite a bit, the Rainforest scene will be cut down to the size of Disneyland’s version to make room for a new scene after the Polynesian scene.



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If you look closely inside the rainforest, you might be able to spot Jose, Micheal, Pierre, and Flitz; the 4 parrots of the Enchanted Tiki Room. After we visit the Brazilian Rainforest, we segue into a very condensed version of the South Seas. Some of the stuff from the end of the South Seas scene will be moved to the occupying space that The Brazilian Rainforest took over such as Australia and New Zealand. As we continue our way in the South Seas Room, everything will look normal, except for the following differences, the number of hula dancers right next to the tiki drummers, will be condensed to only 4 hula dancers, and the tiki drummers scene will be condensed. In this segment, we spot 3 groups of Disney Characters: Ariel, who is laying on top of a nearby rock, (similar to the position where she is singing the reprise of Part of Your World), Flounder, Scuttle, and Sebastian, who are looking up at her.

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(This is what she would look like, but done in the Mary Blair Style, and will have Flounder, Scuttle, and Sebastian accompanying her.)


We also spot Marlin, Nemo, Dory, Peach, and Squirt along with Lilo and Stitch, who are riding a surf board nearby.


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We also find flying fish, and surfers. Then, passing under a tiki hut, we come into a brand new scene of the ride North America, which will be a combination of Paris, HK, and DL.

North America: On the left hand side, we find a forest/ woodsy section, which has Grizzly Bears, Wolves, and Moose, along with Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear. We also reach Canada, as we find some Canadian Totem Poles, along with Pochantas, Meeko, and Flirt, along with The Five Bear Rugs from the Country Bear Jamboree.




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On the left side is a western type scene in which is similar to HKDL, DL, and DLP. On the right side, we first find an armadillo, a snake, and 2 howling coyotes, who are under a dirt archway, (HK). Along with cactuses, and other desert looking plants, we also find Native Americans along with a Cowboy spinning a Lasso, and another Native American playing a drum.

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We also find Woody,who is also spinning a lasso, riding on top of his horse, Bullseye, along with Jessie playing an acoustic Guitar, and Buzz Lightyear, in a western space outfit, playing a banjo. They are standing right behind a saloon, the one featured in Woody’s Roundup.



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After those 2 scenes, we then pass under The Golden Gate Bridge, with a bunch of cars traveling back and forth on it. We also find the Statue of Liberty on the left side, along with a bunch of other famous American landmarks on our right and left sides in front of the bridge.

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Guests will pass under the bridge that will transfer them into a Times Square/NYC part of America. Inside the tunnel, we find on the left side, the Ferry boat used in the finale room, which will be remodeled to have a New Orleans Theme. It will also have on top 3 jazz players, Louis The Alligator, Raymond The Firefly, and Mama Odie from the Princess and the Frog, who will play a jazz rendition of the ride’s song. On the bottom right of the boat, we also find Prince Naveen along with Princess Tiana , from the Princess and the Frog as well waving to guests. On the right, we spot a stage filled with many Broadway character icons from the past to the present. They include Annie and Sandy- Annie the Musical, Teve and Hodel- Fiddler on the Roof, and Elphaba and Glinda-Wicked. On top, on the left side we notice NYC tourists visiting Central Park and on the right side, we find visitors visiting the theater district of NYC, and it will feature many popular venues including Radio City Music Hall. In the center, we find a love couple having a waltz with each other, under the New Years Eve Ball, where we find Spiderman,(the first Marvel character to ever be featured in Small World), who is hanging on top, investigating what’s down below.

Passing Under Grand Central Station, we reach the finale of the ride, which will be remodeled to look like HK’s version, but will be kept in the style of WDW's Original Layout.
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The only difference is that the scene that will be replaced with the German Ferry Boat, will be The Switzerland scene found in the Europe Room, and the German Band trio will be placed right next to the Ferris Wheel, and tent. Also, there will be a disco ball, spinning, during the duration of the chorus rendition of the song, and the song will be sung in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Russian, British, and Scandinavian. In the finale room, you will also spot Mickey and Minnie Mouse, along with their dog, Pluto, waving Goodbye to you. As your boat passes under the tunnel, to the GoodBye Room, there will be a new toy, that resembles a boy, holding a camera as if he was taking a picture, on the top of the tunnel that guests will see . As the boat passes it, there will be a flash that appears, which signifies that you and the guests, have been photographed.

Then we reach the Goodbye Room, which will remain the same as always, but there will be one difference though.


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As Guests pass by the flowers, they will notice one more Group of Disney Characters: Carl, Russell, and Dug from Disney Pixar's Up. They are sitting on the front porch of Carl's house, which has multi-colored balloons, coming out of the chimney. The three characters are waving Goodbye to you, and you'll also notice a banner, and the front side of the roof that contains a famous quote from the movie: "Adventure is Out There!" The music from the Finale room will also be heard in the Goodbye room as well,(like Disneyland's and HK Disneyland's).


While passing under a moon on the right and a sun on the left, as they exit the Goodbye Room, guests will go under a bridge connecting to the exit of the ride. When they head under it, they will see a rainbow. As they are heading back to the loading area, they will notice another fountain with underwater changing color lights . Soon Guests exit the boat, on the left hand side, as they go behind the clock tower, and on a bridge as they enter back outside, each guest exiting the ride will receive their completed, customized post card, that will be passed out by a nearby cast member. There will also be a souvenir stand between the Tangled Area and the Small World building called “Small World Memories”.

And this concludes the refurbishment of It’s A Small World @ Magic Kingdom Park!

Hope you enjoyed this new version, and let me know what you thought! ;)


Here’s A List of the Disney Characters and the songs that will be featured in the ride:

Maruma, Ashley, Luis, Zanele, Ling, Harold, and their pet bird, Wazooh- It’s A Small World - The Series- Hello Room

Europe-

Bambi & Thumper- Bambi- North Pole Scene

Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Sven, and Kristoff- Frozen-North Pole Scene- "Do You Wanna Build A Snowman"

Peter Pan, Wendy, John, and Michael, and TinkerBell- Peter Pan- England- "You Can Fly"

Alice, White Rabbit, King and Queen of Hearts- Alice in Wonderland- England- "All in The Golden Afternoon"

Mary Poppins, Jane, Michael, and Bert- Mary Poppins- England- "Spoonful of Sugar"

Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, and Tigger- Winnie the Pooh- England- "Winnie The Pooh (Theme Song)"

Pete and Elliott- "Brazzle-Dazzle Day"

Cinderalla, Jac ,and Gus- Cinderalla- France- "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo"

Belle, Adam, Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, and Chip- Beauty and the Beast-France- "Be Our Guest"

Marie-The Aristocrats- France

Remy- Ratatouille- France

Quasimodo- Hunchback of Notre Dame- France

Merida- Brave- Scotland- "Touch The Sky"

Snow White, Dopey, Happy, Sneezey, Grumpy, Bashful, Doc, and Sleepy- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs-Germany- "The Silly Song"

Rapunzel, Flynn Rider, Maximus, and Pascal- Tangled-Germany- "I've Got A Dream"

Hercules, Megara, Phil, and Pegasus- Hercules- Greece

Pinocchio and Jimminy Cricket- Pinocchio- Italy- "When You Wish Upon A Star/ Little Wooden Head/I've Got No Strings"


Asia:

Peter, Sasha, Sonia and Ivan- Peter and the Wolf- Russia

Baymax and Hiro- Big Hero 6- Japan

Mulan and Mushu- Mulan- China- (Music just like in HK)

Baloo and Mowlligi- The Jungle Book- India- "Bare Necessities"


Middle East/ Africa:

Aladdin, Jasmine, Genie (in lamp), and Abu- Aladdin- Middle East- "A Whole New World"

Simba, Nala, Timon, and Pumba- The Lion King- Africa-" Circle Of Life"

Tarzan- Tarzan- Africa


South America:

Donald Duck, Jose Caricoa, and Pahchito Pistoles- The Three Callabores- Mexico-( Music used for Disneyland)

El Gauncho Goofy- Saludos Amigos- Mexico

Jose, Micheal, Pierre, and Flitz- The Enchanted Tiki Room- Brazillian Rainforest


The Polynesian Islands/ South Seas-

Ariel, Flounder, Sebastian, and Scuttle-The Little Mermaid-On the shore of a Polynesian beach

Nemo, Marlin, and Dory- Finding Nemo- Australia

Lilo, Stitch- Lilo and Stitch- Hawaii- "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride/He Mele No Lilo"


North America:

Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear-Song of The South- The Old South- "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah"

Pochanatas, Meeko, and Flirt- Pochantas- Canada

The Five Bear Rugs- Country Bear Jamboree- Old South

Woody, Jessie, Bullseye, and Buzz Lightyear-Toy Story- The Old West- (Same Music used in Disneyland)

Ray the Firefly, Louis The Aliigator, Mama Odie, Princess Tiana, and Prince Naveen- The Princess and the Frog- New Orleans

Spiderman- Marvel- New York City

Finale Room- Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and Pluto- " Mickey Mouse Club March" (During End of the Chorus Rendition


GoodBye Room- Carl, Russell, and Dug- Up
 
Very imaginative ideas. What I would actually like to see is Small World being reconstructed in Epcot World Showcase with an exterior more like DLR.

There is another site that has an active imagineering board, I think it's called Disney Magic or something similar, where you will find a group of creative folks like yourself. That's not a goodbye, go away, so I hope it doesn't come off that way at all. It's simply a group of folks like yourself who propose very fleshed out concepts for the parks and I think you might enjoy it. Please be sure to stick around here and be part of the conversation whatever you do.
 
Right next to it, is the scene of Israel, with the groom and the Jewish girl spinning as they celebrate Arba Kanfot.

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Arba Kanfot? That simply means "four corners" and is referring to the fringed garment, a tzitzit, that the groom is wearing. There is no such thing as "celebrating" Arba Kanfot; it's not a holiday. This scene depicts a Hasidic Jewish wedding, with the bride and groom under the marriage canopy, or chuppah, as it's known.
 
Arba Kanfot? That simply means "four corners" and is referring to the fringed garment, a tzitzit, that the groom is wearing. There is no such thing as "celebrating" Arba Kanfot; it's not a holiday. This scene depicts a Hasidic Jewish wedding, with the bride and groom under the marriage canopy, or chuppah, as it's known.


Thank you so much for the clarification!
 
This is one of the worst rides ever created. It takes me about 90 seconds before I need to leap off it and find a bar.
 
Jevs- shorter line for the rest of us! ;) I personally love this ride. It is one of the few rides I remember from when I was little kid.
 















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