When they first presented it to Walt, they played it as a slow ballad. The Sherman Brothers then wrote "It's a Small World (After All)" in the wake of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, which influenced the song's message of peace and brotherhood. Sherman, saying, "I need one song that can be easily translated into many languages and be played as a round." Walt conducted a walk-through of the attraction scale model with his staff songwriters Robert B. Its tentative soundtrack, which can be heard on the album, featured the national anthems of each country represented throughout the ride all playing all at once, which resulted in a disharmonic cacophony. "Children of the World" was the working title of the attraction. The firm is credited with manufacturing the Disneyland installation. Two patents that were filed by Arrow Development staff and assigned to The Walt Disney Company illustrate passenger boats and vehicle guidance systems with features very similar to those later utilized on the Disneyland installation of the attraction. Walt was personally involved with Gibson's development of the dolls' facial design each animated doll face is completely identical in shape.Īrrow Development was deeply involved in the design of the passenger-carrying boats and propulsion system of the attraction. The animated dolls were designed and sculpted by Blaine Gibson. Rolly Crump designed the toys and other supplemental figures on display. Like many Disneyland attractions, scenes and characters were designed by Marc Davis, while his wife, Alice Davis, designed the costumes for the dolls. Blair had been an art director on several Disney animated features, including Cinderella, Alice In Wonderland, and Peter Pan. Mary Blair was responsible for the attraction's whimsical design and color styling. The WED Enterprises company was given only 11 months to create and build the pavilion. Because of the short lead-time to design, create, and construct such an attraction, she insisted that the Board of Directors accept his proposal, seeing as he was already designing attractions for the state of Illinois, Ford, General Electric, and Kodak and knew Walt was the only one who could accomplish such a feat in the short time left until the fair was scheduled to open. The Pepsi Board of Directors took so long to agree on what type of attraction to sponsor that then-board member and widow of past company president Alfred Steele, actress Joan Crawford, prevailed upon her longtime Hollywood friend Walt Disney to design such an attraction as would be suitable for Pepsi. Lincoln being replicated at Disneyland in 1965, while the original attraction still ran at the Fair. Of these, Carousel of Progress, It's a Small World, and the Magic Skyway's Primeval World scenes would be relocated to Disneyland, with Great Moments with Mr. These attractions were used by WED to fund and test concepts, develop ride systems, and innovate new entertainment options intended to be moved and re-built at Disneyland after the World's Fair closed in 1966. Lincoln (Illinois), Carousel of Progress (General Electric), and CircleVision 360 (Kodak)-already under development at WED. It's a Small World joined four other 1964 New York World Fair attractions - Magic Skyway (Ford), Great Moments with Mr. 5 List of Disney/Pixar films referenced in the attractionsĬonceived at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank as Children of the World, it was created by WED Enterprises, then shipped to the 1964 New York World's Fair's UNICEF pavilion, sponsored by Pepsi, where it featured at its entrance a kinetic sculpture, called the Tower of the Four Winds, a 120-foot perpetually spinning mobile created by WED designer Rolly Crump.2.2.2 2008 refurbishment with new dolls.