Last Friday Disneyland’s It’s a Small World was supposed to open for its Annual holiday season presentation for It’s a Small World Holiday, where costumes and music have been changed to give it a more festive vibe. Unfortunately, for the first time in over 20 years, that didn’t happen. The holiday overlay caused a problem as the water tank had to be refilled. And while the indication was the attraction would open soon, it’s beginning to sound like that won’t be the case.
Disneyland first revealed that It’s a Small World would not reopen on time, officials said only that they would be working to get the attraction open as soon as possible, which made it sound like there would only be a slight delay. However, writer David Koenig, who has authored several books on the Disney Parks, says that he’s hearing the damage is actually quite significant. Therefore, the closure will be more prolonged than people might expect.
Cast members I’ve heard from say the damage is far worse than Disney is letting on. According to reports, the Small World flume started leaking while it was being filled on Wednesday, Nov. 10. It was only hours later that the problem was discovered.November 18, 2021
The flume began to leak while it was being refilled on November 10. However, the leak wasn’t noticed until several hours later. This led to substantial flooding under the attraction and even damage to Koenig’s “Koenig” name. “a significant portion of machinery.”Some of this machinery is as old as It’s a Small World itself. It was originally designed for the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair. The entire thing was then moved to Disneyland. If machinery is more than a decade old, it will likely need to replaced. It would also be necessary to repair the damage, which can take a lot longer.
To prevent any intrusions, security personnel have been deployed.November 18, 2021
If that’s the case, then it could mean that It’s a Small World could be closed for quite some time while significant work is done. There was no indication when the closure was announced that the attraction wouldn’t still open for this holiday season, but now that certainly seems unlikely.
Koenig was apparently told by one maintenance worker that Koenig had been told by the “worst case scenario” was that It’s a Small World could end up For a full calendar year, the office will be closedIt is expected to be operational again soon. The good news is that it seems unlikely that anything could go wrong and Koenig believes the attraction will return for guests. The beginning of next year.
Update: The worst-case scenario is extremely unlikely. Disney is making every effort to ensure that Small World reopens in the early 2022.November 18, 2021
The down side of that, is that it means no It’s a Small World Holiday for 2021, which is all the more frustrating for fans because, since Disneyland was Closed for the holidays in 2020, that means there has been no It’s a Small World Holiday for two years. It’s not all bad, the exterior lighting display is fully functional and still beautiful, but it looks like that may have to be enough this year.