It's a Different World after All

One of the things I love about visiting the various Disney Parks around the world is appreciating how different each of them is, even when it comes to classic attractions they all share. It's a Small World in Disneyland Paris is a great example of this. It's essentially the same experience, but there are so many elements of the French version that make it unique.

Out front, the boat full of children is represented dimensionally, atop a partial globe with water cascading over its surface. The exterior of the building is a palace facade, like all the others except Magic Kingdom. Here, though, European landmarks are more prominent in the design and the color palette is brighter (to help overcome the often-grey skies in Paris) and is accented in copper and gold (helping ease the transition between Fantasyland to the building's left and Discoveryland to the right).

The queue and load/unload station for the boats is positioned outside the main building, just as it is at Disneyland in Anaheim. To protect from the weather, those areas are all covered here, but not so enclosed that you can't enjoy the beauty of the facade or the charming joy of the clock tower when it animates every quarter hour.

Once aboard "The Happiest Cruise That Ever Sailed," that familiar Sherman Brothers tune kicks in, and you're off on a journey around the world. Although heavily influenced by the work done on the original It's a Small World by Mary Blair, Alice Davis and others, the designs here step boldly out of the 1960s and feel completely contemporary.

Many of the sets are still painted flats, but they're painted with areas of light and shadow, giving the impression of added depth and richness.

When It's a Small World opened in Hong Kong Disneyland in 2005, it was the first to include Disney characters among the dolls and toys (they have also since been added to the Disneyland original). The Paris version of the attraction provided the stepping stone to that idea, by introducing the idea of representing characters from stories and mythology. Floating past the scenes, look for a genie, a mermaid, a baby Pegasus and the Loch Ness Monster.

Disneyland Paris was also the first time an entire room was dedicated to North America, with entire scenes of Canada, the American West and the prairie.

There's even a bit of the modern U.S., as New York City, San Francisco and Hollywood come together just ahead of the attraction's big finale.

Although it's a Disney Parks standard (and frankly a bit of a cliche these days), It's a Small World turned out to be one of my favorite attraction experiences in all of Disneyland Paris. It's at once familiar and completely original... and forever charming!

A World of Laughter, A World of Fun

It's a Small World was originally created as a pavilion for Pepsi and UNICEF at the 1964-65 New York World's Fair. When the Fair closed, the popular attraction found its way to Disneyland (all but Imagineer Rolly Crump's Tower of the Four Winds, which was too large). Although technically in Fantasyland, It's a Small World is intentionally set apart at the back of the land, so its whimsical palace facade wouldn't dwarf the rest of the structures in the area.

Over the years, the facade of It's a Small World has undergone several pastel paint treatments. Since Disneyland's 50th anniversary celebration, though, it has been returned to the original white and gold designed by artist Mary Blair in 1966. Even the 1966-era bucket towers for the ride operators remain.

Being from Florida, I find it unique that the attraction in Disneyland boards from outside the building. It rarely rains here in Southern California. Once aboard your launch, it's off on the "Happiest cruise that ever sailed 'round the world!"

The attraction inside has been well-documented over the years. Following a long refurbishment in 2008, It's a Small World reopened with some enhancements. The cast of children and toys from different lands were joined with new figures representing Disney characters. The additions, appropriate as children the world over know and love these characters, were done incredibly well and in the original Mary Blair style.

A new scene representing North America was added for the first time. Here, Woody and Jessie appear as traditionally-styled Native American dolls. Elsewhere, you'll find children dressed as the characters (such as Alice below) and other representations. Mushu is depicted as a dragon kite in the China scene. The Three Caballeros appear as marionettes in Mexico.

With the additions, It's a Small World is as charming as ever - a Disney classic that can be enjoyed again and again and always show you something new.

50 Fifties

Another key element of the Disneyland 50th Anniversary celebration back in 2005 was the inclusion of 50 fifties throughout the park. In the tradition of Hidden Mickeys, fifty versions of the 50th Anniversary logo were placed around Disneyland. Some were obvious, like the Mickey Floral at the Main Entrance or the medallions on the lampposts up and down Main Street, U.S.A. Others were more cleverly incorporated.

Here are a few of my favorites: on the clock tower at It's a Small World, in the garden outside The Enchanted Tiki Room, part of the rockwork on Splash Mountain, and woven into a giant spider web across the front of the Haunted Mansion.

It Takes a Village

The Pinocchio Village Haus Restaurant complex makes up a large part of the town within the walls of the castle. Yesterday, we took a look at the exterior and saw how this large building is broken down into smaller facades, each with a different character, to better fit the story and the charming scale of Fantasyland.

Today, we'll explore the inside of the restaurant. Before we go in, though, take note of the wagon parked nearby. It belongs to that master showman, The Great Stromboli.

Stepping into the main room of the restaurant, we find ourselves in the Village Tavern (aka The Stromboli Room). Beer steins and mugs are on display, and you can almost picture Beauty and the Beast's Gaston kicked back in a corner or the weasels from The Wind in the Willows swinging from the iron chandelier.

Even though the restaurant takes its inspiration from Pinocchio, an Italian story, it combines design elements from all over Europe (it's called "Village Haus" after all, a decidedly German reference). Most notable throughout the space are the large frescoes painted on the walls. Done in a storybook style, they help tell the tale of the little wooden boy.

Following Pinocchio's lead to the food service area, we step through this archway and find ourselves...

Back outside! Well, sort of. The counter service area of the restaurant is designed to look like an exterior courtyard (notice the shingles, windows and balcony). The skylight above is meant to give the impression of natural light in the space.

Leaving this courtyard and exploring the rest of the village, we flow through each of the rooms of the restaurant. Along the way, the murals tell the rest of the story in beautiful, hand-painted art.

Be sure to look for the collection of cuckoo clocks (just like some of the ones Geppetto might make) in the Cleo Room, and take a moment to appreciate the finely-crafted woodwork in the Figaro and Jiminy Cricket Rooms.

The story frescoes even include the parts of the tale where Pinocchio found himself in a bit of trouble, from misbehaving with Lampwick on Pleasure Island to his run-in with Monstro the Whale. Naturally, the Monstro Room sits at the western edge of the village, overlooking the Seven Seaways of "it's a small world."

In the end, everything works out for Pinocchio and for us. He gets to be a real boy, and we get a great meal in a wonderful fantasy village setting.

It's a Cinderellabration!

The concert with the PhilharMagic Orchestra isn't the only special event happening in Fantasyland today. In fact, the entire village is holding a spectacular celebration, all in honor of Cinderella, Prince Charming and their distinguished Guests (that's you!).

The celebration carries throughout the Kingdom. There are jousting tournaments, festivals of food and an ornate carousel set up under a beautiful canopy. Even a traveling circus has pitched its tents and brought in an elaborate calliope just for the occasion.

Everywhere you look there are colorful tents, banners and flags to mark the celebratory mood.

Since this is a magical storybook Kingdom, many of those tents set up along the castle walls actually serve as portals, transporting the Guests to other fantastic places: the Dark Forest, the Hundred Acre Wood, London, Neverland and the Seven Seaways for a trip around the world.

Wherever we go within Fantasyland, we're free to enjoy our celebration in peace, secure in the knowledge that the entire Kingdom is surrounded by the protective walls of Cinderella Castle. (Just look closely at all the pictures above, and you'll see.)