(May 28, 1966–Present) Unveiled April 22, 1964 at the 1964/1965 NY World’s Fair in the Pepsi Pavillion. Scenes & characters designed by Mary Blair, Rolly Crump, and Marc Davis; costumes by Marc’s wife, Alice.
Originally “Children of the World,” the concept featured many national anthems playing at once; Disney told the songwriting Sherman Brothers, “I need one song.” Often dismissed as trivial, it was written in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Interestingly enough, Pepsi approached Disney to design this attraction for the fair and sponsored it in New York, but not at Disneyland. Apparently, Pepsi Executives hated it, but the influence of former movie-queen Joan Crawford (herself on the board and the catalyst for talking to Disney in the first place) convinced the execs to go with what Disney came up with. The outer façade at Disneyland is a gigantic clock. Every 15 minutes the doors below the clock open with a musical “children’s march of nations,” followed by the opening of another pair of doors revealing a set of two large toy blocks that give the current time (hour & minute), and then a bell tolls indicating the time. Exterior has been all-white with gold trim, then in a myriad of pastel colors, next white with pastel accents, and back to all-white with gold trim. Gardens are decorated with topiary animals. Formerly sponsored by Bank of America and Mattel Toys once it came to Anaheim. The 14 min. ride features 400 stylized AA dolls in national costumes singing the title song in different languages. Boats carrying guests visit the regions of the world in separate rooms:
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HELLO: greets guests to the attraction, showing different cultural greetings.
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SCANDINAVIA/NORTH POLE: dolls representing Scandinavia, song sung in Swedish.
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EUROPE: sung in German, English with a British English accent, Dutch, Spanish, French and Italian, as well as having a yodeler in the Switzerland section.
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ASIA: song sung in Japanese.
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AFRICA: rhythm marked with drums then sung in English.
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LATIN AMERICA: sung in Spanish.
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SOUTH SEAS: sung with underwater gurgling mermaids for the first section, and traditional Polynesian versions of the song for the rest of the room.
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NEW GUINEA: a small dark room with a rainforest scene and native drummers.
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FINALE: with representatives from all cultures dressed in white versions of their native costumes and singing in English in unison. A cowboy and American Indian standing together are the only dolls during the ride that represent the U.S.
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GOODBYE: different postcards and parting phrases from different cultures.
Original Attraction Poster
Photos presented in the order you’d see them if you were riding the attraction. Most available for purchase as enlargments; email your request. To view photos allow popups in your web browser & click thumbnails below. |
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