That Insidious Hideous ride with that Insidious Hideous song

That Insidious Hideous ride with that Insidious Hideous song

       There is one ride at Disneyland that brings terror to my heart if you say I have to go on it. No, it is not any of the rollercoasters or the Tower of Terror. It is “It’s a Small World”.

       Ok I know if you have small kids this may be their favorite ride of all time and it does have such a wonderful and joyous message. But, have you considered that the music is totally insidious! Be honest, you know exactly what I mean! You hear the first 3 notes and the entire song is stuck in your head for days or maybe even weeks! It plays over and over in your mind and you just can’t stop it! You look at those little dancing dolls and the way they are always smiling and after a while you beginning to feel like they are going to chase you!! I know that about half way through I’m looking for a way out and hoping the dolls don’t follow me.

       The theme of the ride is well indented. This ride was commissioned for the 1964 World’s Fair to raise money for UNICEF and was sponsored by Pepsi. The idea of the ride is to show the children of the world united in joy and to show that all children have the same emotional ups and down. The Sherman Brother wrote the song and even donated all their proceeds from the song to UNICEF.

       I do enjoy the holiday version of the ride. The It’s a Small World song is diminished and Christmas carols are added. There are Christmas decorations in keeping with the style of each country. It is beautiful ride at the holidays.

       I will be honest, I like the ride for the message it tries to teach and the positive feelings it encourages. For a parent homeschooling or just wishing to be part of teaching a child it is a great way to open conversations on different countries and cultures. The song is catchy and well written. It is so well written it sinks into your brain and takes over. You have to admit the Sherman Brothers did a wonderful job with the song. It does exactly what they intended it to do.