Sunday, March 15, 2009

It's a Small World - New and Improved??

Today we went to Disneyland and were able to ride It's a Small World with all of the new additions. I have heard that many die-hard Disney lovers are not at all pleased with the inclusion of Disney characters into the lands within Small World. I must admit that when I first got wind of the changes that I was not particularly pleased with Disney's decision. The ride clearly needed cleaned up and a few modifications, but to change such an icon of the Disney theme parks just seemed wrong. I was able to view a few photos from friends before going today and what I saw changed my mind. The real test was to see it in person. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had incorporated the characters in such a way that they blended in nicely and I thought really added a touch of the rest of Disney without it being offensive or blatent. I really like the changes. A friend, and fellow Disney lover was with us, and she was not at all pleased with the changes and did not like the new version.

I thought I would include pictures so you could make up your own mind.




In the Great Britain part you find Peter Pan and Tink (she can barely be seen near the top of the moon in this picture) flying around in circles above London.


Alice and the White Rabbit are also in Great Britain.


Cinderella is the in Europe portion with my two favorite mice, Gus Gus and Jaq.


This is just a picture of the Netherlands for DH - the "homeland."


Abu is in the Middle East, holding up a diamond.

Flying above him on a carpet are Jasmine and Aladdin.


A quick trip to the continent of Africa where we spot Simba and Puumba...

...as well as some of the laughing hyenas.


In the Far East you will see Mulan and Mushu.


Under the Sea it is easy to find Ariel and Flounder...

...as well as Nemo and Dora.


Then up to the surface of the Hawaiian Islands you'll see Lilo and Stitch...

...as well as these cute hula dancers.


On to South America....

...where you will find the Three Caballeros: Jose Carioca, Donald Duck and Panchito.


And then we end with a quick trip through the USA where we spotted Woody and Jessie, but not Pocahontas.


So there you go, a quick trip around the world to see the newest additions to Small World. I'd love to hear what you think, so please leave a comment if you have a minute.

6 comments:

Kundi said...

cool blog! cool trip
Excellent post! I really enjoyed reading it. I will be back for more!
Sincerely,
Jay
http://vgtrailers.blogspot.com/

rick said...

Sweet! Have those been there since the ride re-opened? I must not have been paying attention last time we were there.

Laurie Zeller said...

I think the changes are cute! I look forward to checking them out for myself the next time at DLR. Thanks for sharing, Tami!

Susan Stringfellow said...

Well this ride has always been special to me because it was my Dad's favorite. I really love that they cleaned it up and I think it needed the characters to keep the interest of todays kids. It could have been a bad thing but from all of the video and photos that I have seen, I think they blend in very well. A friend of mine didn't know about the additions and she rode it recently and didn't even notice the changes til she got to the western part and thought it looked like Woody! LOL! She has only been like 3 times before though. LOVE your blog, Tami

Cynthia said...

We were there this past week(March 17-19) and we loved searching for the new additions in It's A Small World. Also, we had a fabulous breakfast with the characters at Storytellers Cafe, thanks to your post the other day. Have you been to Ariels charcter dining in DCA? We enjoyed that very much! We also did Goofy's Kitchen and we didn't enjoy it as much. Love coming to your blog and reading all about Disney!

Anonymous said...

I haven't been to see them in person yet but I think it is a nice addition from the photos I have seen. I think it will keep my grandchildren wanting to ride if they can look for characters they know and love! Thanks for sharing!!