Beep, beep, beep, beep, beeeeep..... According to reliable sources "It's a Small World is scheduled to be closed for refurbishment from December 2 to December 12 2013, reopening again on December 13 2013." I know we all LOVE to ride this over and over (and OVER!) again but we are just going to have to buck up and get over it. Those little dolls deserve their yearly dusting and Disney has decided that it will happen then. One of the things we will have to do is make sure we break the news gently to those who can never get enough of It's A Small World. Perhaps we can distract Tim with promises of unlimited Tiki Room time. I for one am keeping my eyes crossed that things go smoothly.... ~Joanie
I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop on the Star Wars stuff. It's happening, and it's going to be big. ; Proof? Lucasfilm is hiring a Theme Park Consultant to be the liaison between WDI and Lucasfilm, full time.
I actually would go on Small World again more often if they'd revamp the boats! ; As I've gotten older, I actually haven't experienced any problems with any other boat ride in all of Disney, but for some reason the Small World boats seem to be lower than any other, and have less knee room than any other - sitting in that boat I feel like my knees are higher than my head and my bottom is sitting in a hole. ; It's the only one I'm somewhat conscious about LOOKING old when I go to get out of them at the end of the ride!
Yeah those boats are a killer.... I go to sit down and I keep going lower, and lower, and lower. Then you gotta get out of those things. It's a real treat ; ~J
So I take it the Disneyland boats haven't made it across the pond yet? ; I know it would take a lengthy refurb (like 6+ months) because they have to redo the entire track but the new boats seem better than the old ones. I know DL likes to spend more money on their IASW mostly because it gets a refresh during the annual holiday overlay.
Well if the DL boats are any newer than 1971, I'd say WDW has different boats! ; The ones at WDW are the same old things I got in when I was 3 years old in 1971, and the seats were a perfect fit for a 3 year old. ; As Joanie said, you go to sit in the boats as an adult, and you keep expecting the seat to be there as you lower yourself down, down, down, down, and still no seat arrives to meet your rump, until you've lowered your posterior below your ankles.
Disneyland likes spend more money on almost everything. Every time I go there, I notice it more and more and more. It is just a better park.
Yeah now they do. 10-15 years ago no. Then again that was during the time that Burbank execs wouldn't be caught dead in the park. Now you have to watch out for a random guy wearing a Hawaiian shirt and no name tag. He might be you know who. (Old joke- if you wore a suit to Disneyland and a name tag you would get the best service ever from CMs) I swear some of the executives need to just fly to Orlando and act like a guest. Don't let them know you are coming.
Disneyland did a major refurb of Small World recently. The ride is the original one from the 1964-65 World's Fair. At that time it was designed assuming the average adult male in the US weighed 175 pounds and the average female, 140. In recent years, the boats started bottoming out and getting stuck. The cast members were not filling the boats to get around the problem and guests started complaining about the wait. So, they had to change the track and redesign the boats to be more buoyant. I would think they'd eventually have to do that in Florida since the southern states have the highest obesity rates.
