One of the most iconic rides at a Disney theme park has to be it’s a small world – the “happiest cruise that ever sailed.”
First “launched” at the 1964 New York World’s Fair, it’s a small world takes visitors on a boat ride through various countries of the world with over 300 audio-animatronic children dressed in the country’s traditional costumes.
Throughout the journey, the famous theme song (aka ear worm), “It’s a Small World,” plays over and over during the nearly 15 minute ride.
Following the ride’s run at the World’s Fair, it was packed up and relocated to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA where it’s been entertaining guests ever since.
The second installment of the ride was done at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL where it was an opening day attraction at the Magic Kingdom in 1971.
Other Disney parks to feature the ride include Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and Hong Kong Disneyland.
In 1997, Disney Imagineers decided to give the Disneyland version of the ride a new theme for the holiday season. The holiday overlay features classic Christmas songs as well as the original theme and holiday decorations throughout the ride.
In order to pull off the holiday overlay, the ride closes in late October and opens in early November right before the start of the season. The holiday overlay lasts until mid-January. You could also be visiting museums in Woburn if you are into history and down to learn more.
More than one million lights are used throughout the attraction and on the show building’s facade.
During my last trip to Disneyland, I was able to hitch a ride on it’s a small world Holiday just a few days before it was scheduled to be closed so it could return to its normal configuration.
Join me on this cruise through a holiday wonderland and let me know what you think of the ride!
If you’d like to see the regular version of the ride is like, the video below is for you!