Disney fires another salvo at ‘complaining’ Small World fans
The letter-writing war over the fate of It’s a Small World continues unabated with the latest missive from Chief Disney Archivist Dave Smith reminding fans “complaining” about the “current controversy” that “Walt Disney never intended Disneyland to be static.”
Cast your vote: Should Disneyland change It’s a Small World or keep it the same?
“Walt Disney was constantly changing his park, just as he said he would,” Smith wrote in an open letter to the Laughing Place fan website. “The Disney Imagineers have continued to follow his dream, frequently adding and changing things in the park.”
The online battle began when the family of Small World creator Mary Blair penned an open letter that called an “idiotic plan” to add Disney characters to Small World a “gross desecration” that would “bastardize” the stylized artwork and “marginalize” the original theme of the boat ride.
Firing back with his own letter, Walt Disney Imagineering Executive Vice President Marty Sklar shot down several “swirling” and “inaccurate” rumors that the theme park giant’s creative arm was intent on “ruining Walt’s creation.”
Then in a series of written responses, more than a dozen Disney and Pixar creative artists rallied together to protest the Small World changes as a “gross creative misstep” akin to destroying a “historic work of art.”
Since the controversy erupted, Disney officials confirmed that the Anaheim theme park plans to incorporate stylized Disney characters such as Alice in Wonderland into Small World in keeping with Blair’s original designs and color palette.
“Because of the great number of audio-animatronics children in Small World, I cannot imagine that the addition of a few characters like Alice in Wonderland will affect the theme,” Smith, the archivist, wrote.
In defense of the Small World changes, Smith cited several instances where Disney characters were added to previously character-free attractions:
* Pirates of the Caribbean (Jack Sparrow)
* Swiss Family Treehouse (Tarzan)
* Tom Sawyer Island (Pirates Lair)
* Main Street Cinema (Disney cartoons)
* Haunted Mansion (holiday overlay)
* Submarine Voyage (Finding Nemo)
“Disney has now, in essence, gotten into a flame war with its fans,” wrote The Disney Blog’s John Frost in response to Smith’s letter. “Instead of engaging the community, they’re just flinging the same tired old arguments and hoping we won’t notice that they’ve been shot down numerous times before.”
Find the latest amusement and theme park news at the
Los Angeles Times Funland blog: www.latimes.com/funland
— Brady MacDonald, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
[Image: Disney]
11 Comments on “Disney fires another salvo at ‘complaining’ Small World fans”
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April 15th, 2008 at 12:03 am
Isn’t this all a little bit mad? We are talking about a ride in an amusement park, not an “historic work of art”!! Of course Disney will change/alter rides as time goes by and I am sure they have no ulterior motive , other than trying to make it better/more attractive etc. Mary Blair’s artwork is nice (and Disney seems to agree, bearing in mind the kid gloves with which they are treating this storm in a tea cup) but neither the ride not its artwork is of any artistic significance. This is not like tampering with a Caravaggio or having a rappity pop star recreate his vision of Beethoven’s Ninth!
April 15th, 2008 at 7:01 am
it’s a small world is indeed a historic attraction having originally been created for the 1964 World’s Fair. WHY on earth does Disney think that it has to have Disney characters in every ride. They already ruined the theme of Epcot with the introduction of Disney characters to the park.
How exactly does adding Mickey Mouse to it’s a small world make the ride better?
Yes, the park must evolve to keep the customers coming, it’s a small world was added years after the park opened, but this change seems to have no reason.
April 15th, 2008 at 10:48 am
First of all IT is a historic work of art, it is the oldest ride in the park. No the dark rdes in fantasyland don’t count because everything else has been rebuilt. And Bethoven’s ninth is not a song. He writes concertos and it would be Concerto #9 smart 1. The other changes were made on rides where it fit in. Is there a Small World Movie that I don’t know about? no.I also thought that the PIrates Lair wasn’t permanent. The Main Street Ciema was made for that. Haunted Mansion is temporary. Tarzans Treehouse was rebuilt and was a Disney Movie, and they were always going to Submarine voyage (FInding Nemo is also a Disney MOvie).
April 15th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
It bothers me that Disney’s only response to the dissatisfaction with the proposed changes is the excuse that Walt Disney was always changing his park. Yes, that is true, and in general change can be very positive. The issue here is not that the ride is being changed. The issue is that Disney is changing the focus from the children of the world to Disney’s own characters, all in the name of making it more “relevant”. When I was a child, I never felt a ride was less relevant because it didn’t have blatant Disney characters. My favorite rides - the Submarine Voyage, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Matterhorn, Jungle Cruise, Pirates, and Haunted Mansion - at the time had no distinct Disney character tie in, but still told the same great Disney quality stories. So I hardly see this as making it any more relevant as it is about being a simple marketing ploy for Disney. Yes Walt wanted change, but his changes were always for the sake of the story, not the bottom line at the shop at the exit.
April 15th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
It seems that whenever Disney updates a ride there is always a loud chorus of people against it, sort of like the line in Carousel of Progress where the father complains about people always wanting to turn back instead of moving forward. This is a Disney theme park which is there in part to cross promote other Disney properties so as long as they do it with some taste I don’t have a problem. All of the attractions at their parks should be updated from time to time. Some of their updates are perfectly awful (The Imagination pavilion at Epcot was pretty bad, and turning the California Carousel of Progress, a unique show that was presented in a theater-go-round into inoventions was nothing less than tragic) but if they don’t at least try you end of with attractions that are no longer relevant that people don’t even bother to go to because they have “been there, done that”. Carousel of Progress in Florida is a great example, it has been left alone for so long that its final scene is laughable. Some of there updates are terrific.
April 15th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
I would really prefer that Disney not update their classic rides, especially after seeing what they did to the Imagination ride in Epcot. It’s one thing, if small changes have been made on a regular basis for the last 50 years, but I don’t feel it’s right to completely change a ride out of nowhere. Many people, including myself, enjoy going on these classic rides because of the memories they may bring back. It’s the same reason that we make certain buildings national landmarks. We want to preserve this part of history. Please don’t ruin another classic Disney ride, and put your money into creating new rides instead.
April 15th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
cactus matt:
Clearly you haven’t seen the praises fans have sung for the updates/enhancements that Disney added to the Haunted Mansions at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. You clearly didn’t see how fans reacted to the new features in the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland when it re-opened right before the 50th. You didn’t see how pleased guests and fans were with Space Mountain after its long refurbishment.
Disney fans are generally more than willing to accept changes, enhancements, and additions with open arms — it just needs to make sense. The changes being made to “it’s a small world” don’t make sense, and Disney has done nothing to explain why these changes are necessary and appropriate to the theme of the show. All they’ve done is thrown a Walt Disney quote out and called us “complainers.”
Nice.
April 15th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
“We want to preserve this part of history. Please don’t ruin another classic Disney ride, and put your money into creating new rides instead.”
The last E-Ticket built at Disneyland was Indiana Jones in 1995.
Think about that when you’re floating through Small World looking for Disney characters.
April 15th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Nope. THere supposedly closing Indiana Jones. Plus there’s MAtterhorn, the changes they made were planned from the begining, but there wasn’t enough time before the opening.
April 16th, 2008 at 8:10 am
I wonder if those Imagineers who wrote the letter will be in trouble?
As to Beethoven, “And Bethoven’s ninth is not a song. He writes concertos and it would be Concerto #9 smart 1.” Well.. I never said the Ninth was a song (although it does of course contain a song..). He did indeed write many things (though sadly none after his untimely death in the 1820s) but his Ninth commonly refers to his Ninth Symphony, not his nonth concerto…. Now back to Disney.
April 16th, 2008 at 8:11 am
As the first poster stated “we are talking about a ride in an amusement park” .Changing and going forward is what Disney does. We don’t always like what changes but for the most part is for the good of the park and all of us who frequent the park because it keeps the people coming and the park profitable.