It’s a Small World Ride 50th Anniversary Celebration & Sing-Along

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It’s a small world after all…

Come on, you know you want to sing it.

And I bet I now got song stuck in your head for the rest of the day 🙂

Yet it’s hard to believe that this perennial Disney classic ride, propelled by Richard Sherman infectious tune, is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

That’s right, the It’s a Small World Ride make its debut at the World’s Fair and all the proceeds of the ride were donated to UNICEF.

The ride was so popular with families that it was taken apart and remade in Disneyland.

Disney Parks celebrated the 50th anniversary of “it’s a small world” on April 10, 2014 with a global sing-along, at all five Disney Resorts around the world and New York City. GMA broadcast the U.S. Moments live and closed it with a salute from an astronaut at the international space station.

Different countries were featured at different times throughout the morning on GMA, but I, along with nine other of my Disney Social Media Mom colleagues, had the pleasure of watching the Disneyland portion of the sing-along live behind the scenes while it took place on Good Morning America.

Needless to say, I was not the only one in tears that morning.

There aren’t words to describe the joy you feel when you are able to have such fond memories of something you rode in as a child and now have the pleasure of sharing with your own children to impart that same joy and lasting memory.

Even if you can’t celebrate in person at Disney parks, I have a special way for you to both take part in the fun and give back at the same time.

Just visit SmallWorld50.com and either upload a song or make a doll, and Disney will donate one dollar to UNICEF on your behalf.

(you know I love any opportunity to have fun and do good for others especially when it comes to maximizing your money in this way.)

Oh, and did I mention the best part? We were treated to a ride on it’s a Small World before anyone else on April 10, but not just that…we rode in a replica of a vintage boat that morning.

Pretty cool, right?

I documented the ride from start to finish for you via video. What I found most unique about the difference between the it’s a small world ride in Disneyland vs. Disney World (other than the fact that you start outside in Disneyland) is that they actually have Disney characters as small world dolls sprinkled throughout the ride. I tried to point as many out to you as I could:

You’ll notice that the sun wasn’t even up as we arrived at Disneyland that morning (we had to meet in the lobby at 4:30am to arrive at the festivities in time, but it was obviously WELL worth it!), but by the time we emerged from the ride, the sun was beaming in beautiful southern California.

In fact, not only did the sun come out as we got off the boat, but so did Disneyland’s most famous resident, Mickey Mouse! You know who just had to ask if we could snap a quick photo with the legend himself…

All in all it was a truly magical, once in a lifetime experience, capped off by a group photo in front of the castle:

So while I hope you enjoyed this special behind the scenes sneak peak of Disneyland’s it’s a small world ride’s 50th anniversary, I truly hope you will visit SmallWorld50.com to make a difference in a child’s life.