Just as the sun never set on the British Empire, so too does the sun never set on Walt Disney’s magical attraction "it’s a small world." After debuting at the 1964 World’s Fair, "it’s a small world" opened on May 28th, 1966 at Disneyland and was an instant success. Since then it has opened at four of the five Magic Kingdom’s around the world (Hong Kong Disneyland being the exception so far).
The talents of Rolly Crump, who designed the Tower of The Four Winds for the 1964 exhibit (concept art above), Mary Blair who designed the world famous facade of the Disneyland Attraction, Marc Davis and his wife Alice, who designed the characters and costumes for the attraction, and the Sherman Brothers, who penned the marvelous music, and, of course, Walt Disney’s vision, all combined to make the show so magical. It was a unique time in the history of the Walt Disney Company. One we’ll never see again.
Still, it’s hard to believe it’s been 40 years since it opened at Disneyland. The world has changed quite a bit since then, but the attraction’s message of how our commonalities should unite us in peace is just as important today as it was then. So this Memorial Day Weekend, if you’re near a Disney Theme Park, stop by for a ride on "it’s a small world" and think about its message of hope and what we can do today to make it a reality. (Link)
[Tags: disney, disneyland, iasw, small+world, walt+disney, 1964, 1966, themepark, theme+parks, marc+davis, sherman+brothers, mary+blair, rolly+crump, memorial+day, worlds+fair, its+a+small+world ]