As Walt Disney Co. set out to renovate It's a Small World at Disneyland, the company's Imagineers had one thing in mind: Don't mess it up.
Despite being one of the oldest attractions in the park, the ride is among the most popular -- drawing about 6.7 million riders a year.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Friday, August 14, 2009 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 4 National Desk 1 inches; 41 words Type of Material: Correction
Small World ride: A Business article Feb. 5 about Disneyland's revamped It's a Small World ride said one scene depicted Peter Pan and Tinker Bell flying over "one tower of the London Bridge." The scene shows the Tower Bridge in London.
The challenge was to give the beloved attraction new vibrancy without altering the stylized look created by the Disney artist whose childlike illustrations influenced such classic animated films as "Cinderella," "Alice in Wonderland" and "Peter Pan."
The Imagineers consulted illustrator Mary Blair's original drawings for inspiration as they undertook one of the most ambitious updates of the ride since it opened at the Anaheim park in 1966.
After a yearlong renovation, it reopens Friday with a new scene that depicts the "Spirit of America," a relocated rain forest and 29 added Disney and Pixar characters inserted in the countries where their stories take place.
Whether the public will embrace the changes remains to be seen. Some Disney purists have howled at the notion of Disney characters intruding on It's a Small World -- saying that their presence would destroy a historic work of art. Even the Blair family wrote a letter that labeled the move a "gross desecration."
But Marty Sklar, executive vice president of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts and Imagineering ambassador, said the changes were subtle.
"None of this jumps out at you. That was one of the principles we set out to accomplish: that this is not going to become a Disney character ride," he said. "The characters seamlessly appear in the scenes. They don't say, 'Look at me, look at me, look at me.' "
Change was unavoidable. The ride was built by Walt Disney for the 1964-65 World's Fair in New York and transplanted to Southern California. After nearly 45 years, it was showing its age.
The water flume, which in its day represented a milestone in ride design (it could effortlessly handle 3,000 passengers an hour), had been patched so many times that the boats would get hung up. Disney needed to close the attraction to replace the leaky water channel and the boats. The company wouldn't say how much the renovation cost.
These mechanical changes opened the door to a broader refurbishment -- and triggered an internal debate over how aggressively to renovate a ride with a strong nostalgic appeal. Initially, the Imagineers envisioned a modest tinkering with the beginning and end of the ride, the so-called hello and goodbye scenes. But some advocated bolder changes deep within the small world itself.
