“it’s a small world” Reopens at Disneyland Paris With Fabulous New Doll Costumes
The iconic “it’s a small world” attraction has just reopened at Disneyland Paris, following an 11 day-long closure in January for a refurbishment.
During that time, so much meticulous care and attention was taken by hardworking Imagineers and, as a result, many of the lucky “small world” dolls are now featuring some rather special new outfits. Keep reading to learn what has happened!
Image Credit: Disneyland Paris
Nostalgia always plays a big part at Disney, and something we love about classic attractions such as “it’s a small world” is how they carry such love and memories from generation through generation.
During this recent refurbishment, Disneyland Paris has shared that they made a special point of recreating the “small world” dolls’ costumes in a way that matched the original looks from Disneyland’s “it’s a small world” ride, which famously opened in California back in 1992.
We’re sure that this faithful nod to the original is going to strike a cord with Disney Parks fans worldwide!
Image Credit: Disneyland Paris
In order to recreate the outfits, it was shared that the team at Disneyland Paris “meticulously analysed” documents dating back to 1992, using photos, fabric samples and drawings to match the costumes perfectly.
Image Credit: Disneyland Paris
It was said that this took a whole two years of research and a further year of dressmaking, all to create those magical gold, pastel, and white costumes we can see in the special final scene of “it’s a small world”.
Image Credit: Disneyland Paris
If you like stats, Disneyland Paris has shared that a team of 13 dressmakers, milliners and wigmakers created no fewer than sixty items of clothing for this refurbishment. Each figure wears an average of 3 meters of fabric (which is incredible considering their size!) and each wig holds 4 meters of wool.
It sounds like such a lot of love, dedication and care went into this refurbishment, and we love the nod to the classic Disneyland attraction!
Image Credit: Disneyland Paris
However, this isn’t just a once-and-done sort of job. In fact, keeping “it’s a small world” looking fresh and shiny might actually be much more of a difficult task than we might think!
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Famously, the “small world” dolls all sing, dance, and move in all kinds of ways, each with their own unique motions and situations. Some may be skiing, or flying, or even riding a fairground attraction themselves!
Image Credit: Disneyland Paris
Furthermore, as “it’s a small world” is a year-round water attraction with an open show building, these little dolls sure can experience the elements throughout the seasons. It’s also important that their costumes don’t interfere with the animatronic mechanics, either, which also require regular upkeep and monitoring.
When designing elements of the dolls, the Disney Imagineers have to keep all this into consideration, to make sure their looks are as consistent and durable as possible!
Image Credit: Disneyland Paris
Next time you’re visiting Disneyland Paris, be sure to stop by Fantasyland to ride the beautiful “it’s a small world.”
In particular, take note during that spectacular final scene!
Image Credit: Disneyland Paris
Featured Image Credit: Disneyland Paris
