Popular Disney Ride Gets Character Infusion

[MerlinGirl20]

Oh good grief. Really? Come on, dude. The kids who go on that ride are too young to understand 'World Peace' anyway. It's better for them to find characters that they're familiar with and then when they grow up to actually listen to the lyrics of the song and then be like: "Oooohhhhh. I get it now."

[ReesiePuffs64]

@MerlinGirl20

Or they could be paying attention to the different countries and the amazing sets of Mary Blair. It's inspiring and historical. At least, that's how it was for the rest of us. Go have a character breakfast if you want to see Stitch or Buzz.

[MerlinGirl20]

@ReesiePuffs64 It's Disneyland. Isn't it all about the characters? And like I said, most of the kids who actually go on that ride are too young to understand. When I was little, I hated that ride. It was boring to me and the song was annoying. You want inspiring and historical, go wander museums or read a book.

[DragonsRule06]

I kinda wished they'd add Mulan to China. Mulan was my favorite character growing up.

[Meleon900]

The new characters are cute. I love the ride!

[LolitaLexi]

I prefer the classic one in florida..:P

[Cance251]

Somebody hit Al Lutz upside the head with a frying pan.

[disneynut06]

@Cance251 Okay. (dashes all the way to Al Lutz's place and clobbers him REALLY hard) There. That'll teach him a lesson. :D

[Luna96599]

i wonder if they have tiana and naveen there...

[DragonsRule06]

@Luna96599 they might, since the ride was open in 2009(again) and Princess and the frog just came out in 2009. But then again, its possible they didn't, since the characters didn't 'exist' yet.

[joshualiu1993]

Popular ride it's a small world?.

[themadhadder123]

EW~~

[Angel317537]

Al Lutz is an idiot. He wants to say that adding the characters takes away from learning what the real message is, but he doesn't realize, that kids are now going to want to ride this ride more because they want to find all of the characters that were added. And as a result, they may memorize the songs by that point, and realize what the purpose of the ride really is.

[althegamefreak]

AGREED!

[disneynut06]

@Angel317537 Too true.

Al Lutz is definetely the Adolf Hitler of the Disney internet fan community.

[kingdickthefirst]

@disneynut06 You are a fool.

[disneynut06]

@kingdickthefirst No way! YOU are a fool1

Even your username confirms your obvious personality.

[winngedgirl]

the stitch doll on that ride looks like a blue jack rabbit

[disneynut06]

P.S.: No wonder Marty Sklar chose to retire from Disney for good.

Situations like this give me every reason to think that he's had it with those selfish, mean-spirited fanboys constantly bashing and insulting every single change or new thing that comes to any of Disney's parks, no matter how good or bad they may be.

And if I were Sklar, I too would most certainly get fed up with all that sarcasm and scorn and choose to quit, since those people are way too unhappy and difficult to please.

[althegamefreak]

Wait Marty Left???

[disneynut06]

Yep.

He's now officially retired as of July 17th, 2009.

[althegamefreak]

Thats sad for marty (wish him luck in the future). I'm going to see the new small world in person for the first time this wensday cause i havnt seen small world for 8 years only the holiday version. i will most likely will like it since i seen first videos back on february and loved how everything was restored.I will give you my opinion on it soon.Won't be negative.

[Luna96599]

@disneynut06 im not. i like anything as long as it's not boring :) when i get there i just run as fast as i can and be like after aa few seconds "W00T :D"

[ReesiePuffs64]

@disneynut06

Hey, man. I wouldn't generalize it. Not all of us are bad. Most of us are pretty open-minded to change.

[althegamefreak]

now miceage got damn mall world tshirts for people who hate the changes which is bull shit. they are making us disney fans look bad and i cant believe my dad is there on the site but he loved the changes to the ride.he will apologize for the terrible posts on the changes someday when he gets bashed by many.

[disneynut06]

Sounds like your Dad's setting a bad example by supporting that deep dark depressing hole in the wall called MiceAge.

And by making those no-good "It's a Mall Whirl" shirts, they're further proving that they really truly are becoming more and more desperate every nano-second and want their opinions to be the law.

Al Lutz, Kevin Yee and their minions should be arrested and thrown in jail for giving us Disney fans a bad name.

This is definetely a bad time to be an Imagineer as well. :'(

[FangirlUltima]

someone behind me was like this ride SUCKS

so I went WOOOOOOOOOOOO the whole time to get them pissed off, I miss disney world D:

[disneynut06]

These news shows need to stop interviewing him. He does not deserve to be included in these types of reports.

After all, Lutz is FAR from a Disney "expert". The headline should've been changed to read "Disney Hater and Basher", not "Disney Expert and Blogger".

My respect for him has been dead for a long time already, especially after that extremely-scathing article that he wrote about Walt Disney World back in November of 2006, accusing it of being stale, etc.

DOWN WITH MICEAGE!!!

[alaine93]

people need to stop talking negatively about the changes and actually go on the ride. it's still amazing and everyone that i saw go on it was excited to see the characters. they blend in perfectly, sometimes i had trouble finding them! small world will always be a classic, it just needed a little modernization

[althegamefreak]

Exactly Alaine93

[disneynut06]

I'd also like to add that Al Putz is not only a dummy for life--he's also extremely FUGLY!!!

[candysmiles11]

i dont think why should of chaged the rid :(

[nanerlover53]

I hate this ride.

[hypergaly]

I agree:L

[wowforlifelol]

lol totally

[althegamefreak]

The opposite. Al lutz is in the marketing ploy to get people to come to his site and tick people off over the changes.i lost my respect for him after his damning small world post.

[mienftw]

i think this stereotypes every race ever

tell me wut u think

[GregOpera]

Is there also a new Snow white doll at Germany?

[typhoon190]

it still sends the message of unity... cause it also shows were they characters come from and they all come together. is that not the message? and (im not an idiot) but i did not know Alice was from England! see it also adds some info to those who did not know were Pinochio or everyone else came from! thank you disney!

[alaine93]

i couldn't agree with you more :)

[youralovleymess]

and obviously having a ride like this...at any of the disney parks helped world peace....not in 1960...and for sure not 2009...as long as you got your $69 worth...does it matter if a couple of disney characters got thrown in?

[youralovleymess]

so lets stop for a second....im 20 years old...i grew up on disney movies....so of course when i go there...or my friends....we have seen the movies and yes...it was cute seeing the little dolls...so as much as people want to say its about world peace....maybe parents should talk about world peace with their children and then go on small world if they want to get their point across.....

[youralovleymess]

i was at disneyland two weekends ago....and this ride is adorable...i was with my 6 year old cousin...and believe me when 6 year olds want to go on a ride about little singing dolls....the last thing they are thinking about is world peace...half of the newer generation thinks if you have a peace sign purse...or bracelet...you are supporting world peace....

[christopheramba]

I wonder what could be next. Disney World's and Tokyo Disneyland's version closed for a year for putting in Disney Characters, taking off the Amazon Rainforest into the South Seas room for North America, and relocating the Scandinavia scene at the left of the France scene for a North Pole scene. While Disneyland Paris closed for a little while for just adding Disney Characters. While Hong Kong Disneyland closed for weekend or 5 days just for adding a little more Disney Characters.

[christopheramba]

Scratch that for Hong Kong Disneyland. It's version is closed for a year to relocate the rainforest where the New Guinea Drummers are while the New Guinea Drummers go to the hula dancers with the pom poms while the hula dancers with the pom poms go with the hula dancers without the pom poms and add a little more Disney Characters.

[kerstanb]

Walt Disney ALWAYS said that Disneyland was never finished - that it could always grow and improve. So that is what they are doing - just following Walt Disney's Dream.

[SnowWhiteQueen29]

Well,I do have to say that I am quite disappointed to see a LOT of my favorites being taken out and replaced with new things BUT,I am SOOO happy that they added Alice in WOnderland in there. =) AIW is my FAVORITE. So,I'm happy. =)

[althegamefreak]

well no the characters like the surfer dude and the original kite holder are still there.they just got turned to disney characters.you'll notice during holiday that they added lipstick to the surfer.

[TheShnoogMaster]

yeah walt disney really wanted each one of disneys heavily marketed characters to be inside his original ride, your right, he wanted kids to be happy not scream in the middle of his ride "THERZ BUZZ LIGHT YEARZ!"

[Dragonrider1227]

Hey, if screaming in the middle of his ride "THERZ BUZ LIGHT YEARZ" makes them happy...

and for the record, Walt was no stranger to marketing ploys. What was Adventureland but a huge ad for his Real life adventures show? What was Frontierland but a huge ad for Davy Crockett? What was Fantasyland but a huge ad for everything else? (Thus making having characters in IASW all the more fitting)

[Pooleman96]

"Walt was no stranger to marketing ploys"

You couldn't be more correct. In an old 150's Mad Magazine, they made fun of Disneyland and showed Walt as big a money-lover as any CEO these days. "Here's the vault containing my 1st Mickey Mouse cartoon...(cash comes out of vault) OOPS! This is the vault for the cash I MADE doing my 1st Mickey Mouse cartoon!" For those of you who think Disney has gone too corporate these days, it's actually been that way for 50 years.

[ReesiePuffs64]

@Pooleman96

That was a really good Mad issue. I can't remember, but I think the title was "Realityland?" Not to be confused with the book. I remember that all the characters hated Walt b/c he was using human actors instead of Toons. lol

[Pooleman96]

@ReesiePuffs64 Exactly! And the funny thing is that now they'd be hating management because they want to take a shot at computer animated characters, it's history repeating itself almost!

[dpcjoe411]

As a child, I loved to sing like the mermaids. Now theyre gone! ='( I also loved the tiki room, and it is also gone! The disney characters RUIN the ride, because in my opinion they take away the message of world peace from both adults and childrens minds. now its just '' look at woody! look at cinderella!''

Disney took away my childhood.

[althegamefreak]

the mermaids are still there and the tiki room was relocated to hawaii and australlia.The changes dont ruin it what so ever.dont ever listion to Al Lutz or anyone they just dont understand change and relevance.

[alaine93]

it still has the message of world peace. it's not like the ride is taken over by disney characters to the point where you cannot even recognize it. it's still basically the same small world but with a few additions. i rode it a few days ago and if i had not know where the characters were, i wouldn't have even noticed a lot of them. disney has to keep evolving, it can't stick to the same from 1960 just because your childhood depends on it

[PL7764]

I was really skeptical at first about how well they'd be able to infuse Disney characters into the ride, and got especially worried when I heard they'd be adding music from the films as well. Having seen/heard what they did via videos now, however, I've completely changed my mind - it's as much the same ride as ever, and the additions fit right in. Darn Internets, telling me to hate things before I see them ...

Can't wait to see IASW in person next month - for the first time in 5 years! :)

[pose2pose]

Uh, my kids NEVER thought of this attraction as "a message of world peace" and adding in the characters, in my opinion, adds another layer of recognition for kids, to realize that all these stories are from around the world. My kids and I like the colors and music of the ride, and the message of unity and sharing and avoiding prejudice is just something my kids understand as humans in the modern world. Besides, Disneyland IS a commercial enterprise, always has been.

[althegamefreak]

Now i see why the america room is just a farm and western scene because the hollywood sign at the end of the room leads to the finale room that might take place in america.

[althegamefreak]

You Fans Need To really cool down!! Its the same! just more relevent! Anybody Who doesnt like these changes are'nt true Small world Fans! I was Fine with the changes and They didnt bother me at all.

[vigo894]

It could be worse. At least Hannah Montana's not in it.

[Pooleman96]

Very good opinion! At least all the characters that have been added are the ones that will last forever. As long as they don't add Eddie Murphy to the Haunted Mansion like they put Jack Sparrow in PotC, I think we'll survive.

[Dragonrider1227]

Yeah, I don't see Eddie Murphy happening considering Jack Sparrow was a major hit where Eddie Murphy was a flop

[DisneyMagicDreamer85]

AMEN!!!!!

[patsagainstrats]

They had to segregate the blacks from the rest of the international characters because they kept causing trouble.

[zasabiibasaz]

i love dropping acid at disneyland

i love dropping acid at disneyland

i love dropping acid at disneyland

i love dropping acid at disneyland

i love dropping acid at disneyland

[servo1138]

I think it's a good idea. I NEVER ride this thing anymore, so this is something that might make me ride it again. And that means when I have kids, they will ride it. As someone else mentioned already, most young people don't take this ride seriously anymore. Even Disney made fun of it in "Lion King"

[B4TT3RY]

I like it

[aquafishsoup]

word peace my ass

humans don't have time for that shit

[hydrotrippin]

Al Lutz is correct. This will distract children (and some ignorant adults) from the ride's original message of world peace.

Making positive changes to a classic ride (like the now floating crystal ball in the Haunted Mansion) are good. Adding Disney characters to It's A Small World is not so...positive.

[disneynut06]

No! Al Lutz IS wrong!

Don't give me any thumbs downs on comments like these because I'm telling you guys the truth, which you can never ever seem to handle.

[hydrotrippin]

disneynut06 : saying to people who disagree with your opinion 'Im right and you're wrong' makes your comments sound childish & irrelevant.

Personally, I feel that there's no improvement to adding Disney cartoon characters to this ride.

I liked Thunder Mountain Railroad but I don't think adding Woody & Jessie to the ride would make it better.

Know what I mean ? It's just silly. Hopefully these changes will be temporary.

[DisneyMagicDreamer85]

Please allow me to explain the improvement.

Kids don't want to go on Small World. Why would they? They have thrill rides like Splash Mountain, and character rides like Nemo and Pirates.

But, SM has been here since the 60s; it's old and retro. We love it, but to them, its nothing but "that boring ride with the dumb song"

How then do they gain the message of peace?

The changes give them a reason to ride again, after a few times of finding characters, then the message will begin sinking in.

[spucy]

Meh! I live in Florida so I'll stick to small word at DisneyWorld. It looks cute though!

[MANEATINGWREATH]

Thank God, the hippo lived!

[althegamefreak]

Yeah i thought the hippo was gone.the tiki children are all back now too.

[malcb001]

The Characters are so cute, I hope they add more!

[Basketbuddy101]

You've got to be kidding. Don't you think they've ruined the attraction enough!?

[malcb001]

Have you even been on the attraction yet? It's still the same attraction, just repainted, improved & upgraded, nothing has been ruined. It's great, you disney freaks need to chill.

[umbrelladrink200]

One thing "diehards" need to remember is that small world is old. For those of us that grew up with it, there's still a nostalgia about it. But the younger Disney fans tend to make fun of the ride/song, rather than get the "message". This is a way to keep the original, while reaching a younger audience. Similar to the addition of Jack Sparrow to Pirates. (Marketing Ploy? Do you honestly believe that Disney feels they need to market Peter Pan and Cinderella more than they already have?)

[neonfuzzies]

At least the characters are in a small world style but they do kinda take away from the original idea of the ride...

[azukyle7]

1:24 - 1:42

couldn't agree more : /

[disneynut06]

Sorry, but I disagree.

Anything that Al Lutz says is so very wrong. And he should be ignored at all costs!

[disneynut06]

Why is everybody rating this comment as negative, despite the fact that I'm just telling you guys the truth about Al Lutz?

He's nothing more than an idiotic journalistic sensationalist and you all should know that by now.

[pose2pose]

I used to think it was interesting to read about al's inside info, but he's just gotten more and more bitter about all things Disney under the guise of "I'd respect Disney IF..." but his whole hullabaloo about the Small World changes are just pitiful, in my opinion. The Small World changes aren't "awful." They're different from his idealized world that lies somewhere in his childhood. Things change. Accept it. Thanks for being sensible, disneynut.

[disneynut06]

You're very welcome, Pose2pose.

[althegamefreak]

Your acctually right disney nut. that al lutz needs to understand relevance.sorry for rating you down on one of your comments.

[disneynut06]

Yep. Al Putz really does need to understand relevance and give Disney a break.

Same with Kevin Yee, TDLFAN, Spokker, PuntaGordaBob, everyone on the Re-Imagineering blog and all the other anti-Disney people/sites/forums/blogs out there.

Their "Disney can't do anything right anymore" mentality is very seriously flawed!

[althegamefreak]

i agree.

[disneynut06]

Also, the same aforementioned jerks need to stop ragging on all of Disney's new attraction and attraction changes (Tiki Room Under New Management, Stitch's Great Escape, all the Pixar-themed attractions, all the attractions that had established Disney characters added to them in recent years, etc.).

Those bad behaviors of theirs are just like bullies making fun of the new kids at school, IMO.

So, to the purists: "You're making fun of the new kids. Stop making fun of the new kids!!!"

[Dragonrider1227]

*stands up and cheers*

[Dragonrider1227]

No kidding. IMHO the only thing Disney "can't do right anymore" is run a decent channel but that's another rant for another youtube comment section XD

[disneynut06]

Yeah, but I don't like it when certain Disney Channel shows, movies and stars get insulted blindly, especially High School Musical, which definetely is one of the ones that does not deserve the flack that it gets from the so-called "keepers of the Disney flame".

Just go to the 2719 Hyperion blog and read the article titled "Defending the Wildcats" for some much-needed enlightening.

[philipman2000]

oh god not the hell song ITS A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL

[abarzilai664]

Wouldn't Beauty and the Beast be more appropiate for France.

[bartho]

yea they would've :/

[DisneyMagicDreamer85]

I thought of Beauty and the Beast too, but then again so would Hunchback of Notre Dame. It's actually better that they only put in a few of the characters. Look at how many they had to choose from!!

[ZoomBFX]

They need to ethnically cleanse that ride!

[Blackfish100]

I hope you are joking.  Anyway, I found this comment hilarious!

[althegamefreak]

Revealed awesome!

[phantomspellchecker]

walt was for peace and harmony? Really? Has everyone forgotten he was a member of the Nation Socialist Party when he was still in Germany?

[KilljoyPictures]

Turns out, jokes on Family Guy aren't always historically accurate. It's an urban myth.