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[Anthony]

It's reaching more and more media now, almost seems to be confirmed...

Officials confirmed that Alice is one of several Disney characters that will be added to Disneyland's Small World in a controversial plan that has infuriated some purists. Officials have insisted that Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse will not appear in the Anaheim attraction.

http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/?p=1552

And now...

http://www.savethesmallworld.com/

If this happened in Paris I'd sure get over it within a few months, but it's never something I'd choose to happen, just something I'd put up with. For being THE "it's a small world" and having such an iconic status for America and the world, the Anaheim version at least should remain as true to its roots as possible. A bit like the listed buildings you get at least in the UK, where you can only change certain things about them. Should adding Disney characters be within the rules? Still not sure...

[Kristof]

Imagineering ambassador Marty Sklar has written an open letter to the fan community in response to the wave of negative comments:

"A Magic Kingdom of All the World's Children"

(April 4, 2008) A local newspaper reporter got it right when she wrote that, after we updated Pirates of the Caribbean last year, "many fans grudgingly acknowledged that... the additions may make the ride more appealing to young park goers."   Now, based purely on rumors that are mostly inaccurate, we are being criticized for touching another one of Walt Disney's "classics."

We all agree that "It's A Small World" is a Disney classic.  But the greatest "change agent" who ever walked down Main Street at Disneyland was Walt himself.  In fact, the park had not been open 24 hours when Walt began to "plus" Disneyland, and he never stopped.  Having started my Disney career at Disneyland one month before the park opened in 1955, I can cite countless examples.

Like all my colleagues at Walt Disney Imagineering, I was pressed into action to help make "It's A Small World" happen at the 1964-65 New York World's Fair.  We were all working to complete and open Ford's "Magic Skyway" and General Electric's "Carousel of Progress" (I worked on both) as well as "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" for the State of Illinois.  But 11 months before the World's Fair opening, Walt agreed to do "a salute to the children of the world" for UNICEF, and all the Imagineers somehow made it happen.

Mary Blair's illustrations were, of course, the spark.  But this was one of those great Disney "team efforts," and many Disney legends joined her: Marc Davis; Blaine Gibson; Rolly Crump, Harriet Burns and numerous others.  And, of course, Bob and Dick Sherman added that song we can't get out of our heads.  I interfaced with all of them to write and produce a 24-page souvenir book that was sold at the Fair, because Walt wanted to showcase and thank the team for an extraordinary accomplishment.

Now the rumors are swirling that we are "ruining Walt's creation."  I've heard that we are planning to remove the rainforest, add Mickey and Minnie Mouse, create an "Up with America" tribute, to effectively "marginalize" the Mary Blair style and Walt's classic (all not true).

In fact, just the opposite is true.  We want the message of brotherhood and good will among all children around the world to resonate with more people than ever before, especially today's young people.  Our objective is to have everyone who experiences "It's a Small World" understand (in the words the Shermans' wrote 44 years ago) that "there is just one moon, and one golden sun, and a smile means friendship to everyone."

To make "It's A Small World" even more relevant to our guests, Tony Baxter (who created the concepts for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain and other Disneyland classics) and I arrived at the same place eight years ago.  To accomplish our objective, we decided to seamlessly integrate Disney characters into appropriate thematic scenes in the attraction, and do it completely in the distinctive "Mary Blair style."  We spent many long months exploring ways to accomplish this.

We are not turning this classic attraction into a marketing pitch for Disney plush toys (rumors to the contrary).  Between Tony, our chief designer Kim Irvine, and me, we represent 128 years creating Disney park entertainment and fun for literally billions of guests around the world.  We are not "young marketing whizzes" trying to make a name for ourselves.  We were fortunate to have trained, and worked with, all of Walt's original Imagineers.

In the Shermans' song, it's the oceans that are wide, and the mountains that divide.  Our goal was, and always will be, to bring people together, and keep this classic "the happiest cruise that ever sailed around the world" (words I personally wrote for that souvenir guide nearly half a century ago).

Or, as Walt Disney phrased it in his introduction to that guide, "a magic kingdom of all the world's children."

Martin A. Sklar
Executive Vice President
Walt Disney Imagineering
Imagineering Ambassador

Source: Laughing Place.com

[SMCD]

^^^ I don't know, he doesn't say why they think it would be a better attraction with Disney characters in it, and I kind of agree with the people saying it doesn't fit the message of the ride. But frankly, I don't care that much. IASW is off course a Disney classic, but far from my favorite ride. And as the characters will be quite discrete, I guess it might be a little fun trying to spot the characters as you ride along. The pictures from the Hong Kong version also looked pretty good, I think.

[MinniesBestPal]

*sigh*

Its gonna be odd having them in. I feel dumb cause everyone is saying "yay! Disney characters!" but...I dunno, I just can't seem to get used to the idea...

[Anthony]

Its gonna be odd having them in. I feel dumb cause everyone is saying "yay! Disney characters!" but...I dunno, I just can't seem to get used to the idea...

I don't think anyone is exactly celebrating their introduction, it's just split between people who want it to stay exactly as Walt built it and people who can accept WDI feels it needs a better "hook" to get people through the turnstiles.

The letter from Marty Sklar is a strange move, especially since it doesn't actually address the issues of the Disney characters whatsoever... He says some of the rumours like removing the rainforest aren't true, good, but then goes and uses the Imagineering Word of Doom - RELEVANT. When you hear that, as we did with SM: Mission 2 and replacing Visionarium with Buzz, you know you're in trouble...

[dagobert]

I don't have a problem with this new Disney Character's layover. I always thought that Walt's original attrations should not be touched, but I have experienced the Pirates of the Caribbean with Jack and Barbossa and I liked these additions very much and I hope Jack and Barbossa will come to DLRP too. If I remember correctly, I think many people were also against these two new characters in the pirates attraction. And now many people are against the additions to "it's a small world" too. I only hope that they don't change anything in the song.

Walt Disney was always looking forward and when he thought that an attraction should be improved, they did it and most of the time it was a good improvement and perhaps many guests will like the new version of "it's a small world".

[MinniesBestPal]

Hmm... My dad says "Aww, don't worry about it! Disney wouldn't let anything happen to small world! The imagineers wouldn't go too far! Beside, it'll be a laugh spotting them on the boat!"

[Kristof]

Jim Hill has an interesting story about Alice Davis, the legendary Imagineer and how she feels about the IASW layover:

http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/ ... minds.aspx