Thursday, May 1, 2014

Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the 1964 New York World's Fair in Disneyland! Part Four - "it's a small world"

The most famous of all the four shows that Disney created for the 1964 New York World's Fair was of course "it's a small world."

This show was created for the UNICEF Pavilion sponsored by Pepsi.

It was only fitting to bring my 1964 New York World's Fair Guide Book and Souvenir Map to visit the attraction.
I think we are here!

Here is the ad for "it's a small world" from my 1964 New York World's Fair Guide Book.
The Disney Legends that signed this book are as follows, starting at the top:

Robert Henry (Bob) Gurr - designer who worked on all four Disney produced World's Fair shows including working on the ride systems for both Small World and Ford's Magic Skyway as well as the internal mechanisms for the Lincoln figure

Richard Sherman - songwriter who along with his brother Robert wrote the iconic song "it's a small world" but also my personal favorite, "It's A Great Big, Beautiful Tomorrow" for the Carousel of Progress which was part of Progressland

Rolly Crump - best known for creating the stunning Tower of The Four Winds in front of the "it's a small world" at the World's Fair but was the designer for Ford's Magic Skyway and also the art director for it's a small world

Alice Davis - costume designer who created all the costumes for the figures for "it's a small world."

Blaine Gibson - sculpted all four shows including his most famous creation, Abraham Lincoln for the Illinois Pavilion.

Marty Sklar - writer of concepts, narrations and publications for the Ford, G.E. and Small World shows
The map is here to help celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the 1964 New York World's Fair!


I hope you enjoyed the photos as we visited all four of the shows Disney created for the 1964 New York World's Fair! 50 years later the innovations that came from these four shows continue to influence the parks to this day. Where would we be without catchy songs, audio-animatronics, innovative ride systems in a Disney park today?

Here is to the next 50 years and who knows what innovations we will see!

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