An Even Smaller World

By now you may have heard that Disneyland is closing their version of It's a Small World this year to dig the canal deeper so that the fat riders don't make the boats get stuck in mid-ride. During the ride rehab, they are also making some other changes:

An “Alice in Wonderland” doll wearing a blue dress and a white rabbit in a playing card tunic... will be added near a chessboard and red rose tree already existing in the Small World attraction.

Officials confirmed that Alice is one of several Disney characters that will be added to
Disneyland’s Small World in a controversial plan that has infuriated some purists. Officials have insisted that Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse will not appear in the Anaheim attraction.

I couldn't possibly verbalize how much this bugs me any better than the folks over at Re-Imagineering have done here, "Cute as they may be, Belle, Mickey, Stitch or Nemo have nothing to do with selling the core values of UNICEF, the show’s original partner. Their appearance not only trivializes the central theme but more disturbingly seems to emphasize global brand marketing and franchising above all else."

More posts about this can also be found here and here, with a little snark here.