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[[Image:worldfair.jpg|thumb|300px|'''"it's a small world" as it appeared at the 1964 World's Fair.''']]The history of it’s a small world began when executives at Pepsi approached Disney about creating a pavilion for the 1964 World's Fair in New York <ref name= "fair"> http://www.nywf64.com/pepsi03.shtml </ref>. Although it was only a year before the World's Fair would begin, Pepsi wanted to Disney to construct a pavilion that would be a "salute to UNICEF and all the world's children". <ref name= "fair"/>. In February 1963, Pepsi executives (encouraged by board member and film star Joan Crawford) approached Disneyland's head of construction Admiral Joe Fowler. Regrettably however , Fowler informed the executives that Disney would be unable to work on the pavilion on such short notice, due to the fact that their time and resources were needed for the other three pavilions that Disney was working on at the Fair, these being . These pavilions included pavilions for: , Ford Motors (the Skyway), General Electric ([[The Carousel of Progress]]) and the State of Illinois ([[Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln]]) <ref name= "mouseplanet"> https://www.mouseplanet.com/8343/The_History_of_its_a_small_world </ref>. When Walt Disney heard that Fowler had rejected the idea of creating Pepsi's pavilion, he was furious. Overruling Fowler, Walt committed the company to a fourth pavilion for the World's Fair.

Inspired by ideas of Imagineer Bob Gurr, it was Walt Disney himself who initially came up with the concept of a boat ride for the attraction which he titled "Children of the World". Early designs for the attraction were done by Imagineer Marc Davis. The boat system that the attraction used was designed by Imagineer Bob Gurr who was already working on such a system with Arrow Manufacturing <ref name= "Korkis"> http://allears.net/ae/issue769.htm. </ref>.

When Walt originally pitched his boat ride attraction, he titled it "The Children of the World" and he hoped that all of the different children could sing their own national anthem <ref name= "mouseplanet"/>. Although this idea was originally tried, it was eventually deemed infeasibleunfeasible. In order to come up with a song that could continuously play on the attraction, Walt turned to the Sherman Brothers<ref> http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/a_conversation_with_richard_m._sherman </ref>, asking . Walt asked them to write a song that could be sung as a round like "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" <ref name= "mouseplanet"/>. According to Imagineer Harriet Burns When , when explaining to the songwriting duo the kind of song that he wanted , Walt used the phrase "it’s a small world after all". Although not intended as a lyric for the song, the Sherman brothers Brothers used the phrase as the basis for their song new composition <ref name= "Korkis"/>. Although Despite the fact that "it's a small world" was the first song that the Shermans wrote for the attraction, they were afraid that the song it had come together too quickly. Subsequently, two more songs were written, although they were deemed inferior. With time running out, the Sherman Brothers presented "it's a small world" to Walt, who was said to comment "That will work" (Disney employees knew that this meant Walt liked the song) <ref name= "Korkis"/>. Although he approved the song, Walt did have one suggestion for the Sherman Brothers. Initially, the brothers had written the song it's a small world as a slow ballad, and after hearing it , Walt told the duo to "speed it up" <ref> http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-small-world-20140804-story.html </ref>. Besides just becoming the attraction’s theme song, “it’s a small world” also would also give the ride its namesake.

[[Image:worldfairAlthough Crump was not a fan of the final result, the tower proved to be successful.jpg|thumb|250px|'''Besides just drawing guests into the Pepsi Pavilion, the Tower also inspired the phrase "it's a small world" as it appeared Meet me at the 1964 Tower of the Four Winds" which was used throughout the World's Fair<ref> http://www.nywf64.com/pepsi05.shtml </ref>.''']]

To draw guests into the Pepsi pavilion, Rolly Crump designed the 120-foot high Tower of the Four Winds. The tower featured a total of 52 different mobiles which “represented the constant energy of the young". In order to create the attraction on time for the fair, construction crews worked seven days a week<ref name= "mouseplanet"/>. Although Pepsi was not a fan In spite of the fact that Pepsi disliked the attraction Disney had created<ref name= "Korkis"/>, the pavilion proved to be extremely popular. Over its two year run, an estimated 10 million people rode "it's a small world"<ref> http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20796496,00.html </ref>, making it one of the post popular attractions at the World's Fair. One of the factors that made the ride so popular was the high capacity that it had. By using multiple boats every hour to get guests on the attraction, there was almost never a wait. This ride system would later be used in other Disney attractions including [[Pirates of the Caribbean]]<ref> http://www.waltdisney.org/blog/marty-sklar-x-atencio-and-bob-gurr-talk-pirates </ref>.

[[Image:WaltMary.png|thumb|380px|'''"Walt Disney and Mary Blair showing of it's a small world artwork''']]Following the conclusion of the World's Fair in 1965, Disney decided to move "it's a small world" to Disneyland. Although the scenes were transported from New York and placed in the same order, the attraction that opened in Disneyland was very different than the one that had been at the fair. Since the show building that was built for the attraction was one third larger than its predecessor, when rebuiltthe show was relocated, there was an increase in the space between the various attraction scenes. Because of this, WED Engineers were able to add new scenes to fill in the empty spaces<ref> http://davelandweb.com/smallworld/ </ref>. Rolly Crump designed scenes depicting the North Pole and the Pacific Islands, to fill in some of the unused space. Another difference between the attractions is was the fact that the Europe scene was also about 1/3 larger in the Disneyland version of the attraction then it had been in New York<ref name= "mouseplanet"/>.

The 120-foot high Tower of the Four Winds (which drew guests into the Pepsi Pavilion at the World's Fair) was not moved to California with the rest of the attraction. It would have cost Disney an estimated $80,000 <ref name= "mouseplanet"/> to ship to California, so the tower was simply demolished<ref> http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-disney-tower-retrospective-20151117-story.html </ref>. The exterior of the attraction in Disneyland was however once again designed by Crump, who took inspiration from Mary Blair's artistic style<ref> http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2013/03/12/small-world-disneyland/ </ref>. Blair had actually come up with a facade herself, but it was deemed to be too difficult to maintaindue to the number of colors used. Crump's design featured a stylized three dimensional facade, with abstract towers, minarets, and turrets. Several depictions of landmarks can be seen on the facade including, the Eiffel Tower and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Walt Disney himself came up with the idea for the large smiling clock located on the outside of the building<ref> http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2013/03/12/small-world-disneyland/ </ref>. The Disneyland version of the attraction also included various dolls that come out of the clock (and dance to a version of the attractions theme song) when the clock strikes the quarter hour<ref> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRIs1p9yZqM </ref>. The Disneyland version of it's a small world opened on May 28, 1966 <ref> http://www.ocregister.com/articles/world-610750-disney-sherman.html </ref>.

"itIt's a small world" opened on October 1, 1971 to guests with the rest of the Magic Kingdomon October 1, 1971. Although it's a small world has not changed much since it opened, the ride did go through a significant renovation from May 2004 until March 2005. At this time, The attraction was one received a new state-of -the many Disneyland attractions that were copied for inclusion Walt Disney World. Although the two versions of the attraction are very similar -art sound system, new paint, and feature nearly identical plots, there are some differences between themnew lighting <ref name= "Florida"> http://www. Perhaps most noticeably, the exterior facade in Walt Disney World is much simpler in florida-project.com/walt-disney-world-photos/magic-kingdom/fantasyland/its design-a-small-world </ref>. The elaborate loading queue was also changed, giving guests more cover and memorable facade on protection from the outside of elements. To do this, the line that was previously the exit line became the entrance line and vice-versa <ref name= "Florida"/>. As previously mentioned, at this time the Disneyland attraction is actually located in the loading area of facade was added to the Walt Disney World version. The dancing clock can also be found in the 's loading area, although dolls do not come out and dance on the quarter hour<ref> https://www.mouseplanet. The "Goodbye Room" in the com/guide/76/Walt-Disney -World version of "it’s /Magic-Kingdom/Fantasyland/its-a -small -world" is also unique. In Disneyland, the room holds postcards and goodbye phrases from around the world. In the Magic Kingdom however, parting phrases are painted onto large flowers, leading guests to the exit </ref>.

Although In March 2016, new screens were added to the flowers in the "itGoodbye Room" <ref name= "info"/>. As part of Disney's a small world" has not changed much since it openednew Storymaker program, the ride did go under screens now connect to guests MagicBands to give them a significant renovation from May 2004 until March 2005personalized farewell <ref name= "info"> http://www. The attraction received a new statewdwinfo.com/news-stories/personalized-screen-added-to-end-of-theits-art sound system, new paint, and new lighting. The loading queue was also changed, giving guests more cover and protection from the elementsa-small-world-attraction/ </ref>.

===Queue<ref> http://allears.net/tp/mk/mk_small.htm </ref>===[[Image:smallqueue.jpg|thumb|400px|'''Disneyland's exterior facade can be found inside the queue area in Walt Disney World's it's a small world. Photo: Theme Park Tourist"'''.]]

The Walt Disney World version of “it’s a small world” features seven distinct rooms. These rooms feature 472 props (including 289 singing dolls) which represent 100 different countries<ref name= "laughing"> http://www.laughingplace.com/w/articles/2014/04/09/its-a-small-world-facts-and-figures/ </ref>. The rooms in “it’s a small world “are:

'''Goodbye Room-''' After leaving the finale, guests enter the Goodbye roomRoom. Here parting phrases are written on multicolored flowers. Personalized goodbye messages to individual guests are also shown here. After leaving the Goodbye Room guests finally unload.

"it's a small world" is one of the harder attractions to describe in detail. We recommend that you view the attraction yourself, in order to take in all of it's its intricate details.

* The canal that Over 600 guests ride down can be on "it's a small world" is known as at the Seven Seawayssame time <ref name= "numbers"/>.

* 500,000 gallons A model of water are used to fill “The Tower of the Four Winds” created by Rolly Crump can be seen on the fourth floor of the Contemporary Resort (it's located across from the Seven Seaways canalelevators) <ref> http://www.ownerslocker.com/blog/2010/05/the_tower_of_the_four_winds_at.html </ref>.

* In Previously guests could find a clown in the Goodbye White Roomwho was floating in a hot air balloon, 22 languages are used to say frowning, and holding a sign that said "goodbyeHelp". He was the only figure in the attraction that was frowning. During the 2005 refurbishment however the clown was replaced by a smiling clown holding a balloon <ref> http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/disneys-small-world-facts/story?id=22990670 </ref>.

* An astonishing 600 guests can be on "it's A doll found underneath the Eiffel Tower is a small worldtribute to Imagineer Joyce Carlson <ref name= " at the same timeYee"> Yee, Keven. Walt Disney World Hidden History Second Edition. N.p.: n.p., 2014. Print.</ref>

* A model of “The Tower of the Four Winds” created by Rolly Crump can be seen on the fourth floor of the Contemporary Resort (The decorations atop it's located across from the elevators)a small world's spires are exact copies of jewelry owned by Imagineer Leota Thomas <ref name= "Yee"/>.