How Bizarre! Disney Adding Marvel Characters to “it’s a Small World” at International Park

The characters and stories of Marvel have been getting a larger presence in Disney Parks in recent years, from the addition of Avengers Campus to Disney California Adventure and Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris to the themed land Stark Expo coming to Hong Kong Disneyland.

In an interesting move, an international park will be adding Marvel characters to a beloved classic ride for a limited time, and this will mark the first appearance of Marvel characters in an attraction at this particular resort. Keep reading for more details about the new Marvel changes coming to “it's a small world” at a Disney park overseas and how it may be received by fans.

You can see our guide to Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure and Marvel at Disney World for everything you need to know about Marvel's presence at the U.S. Parks.

Marvel Characters Added to Classic Disney Attraction

Tokyo Disneyland is home to the beloved attraction “it's a small world,” which takes you on a boat ride around the globe as children dressed in the traditional attire of their countries sing the iconic song of world peace. The facade of Tokyo Disneyland's “it's a small world” resembles the original in Disneyland Park but is painted with beautiful vibrant colors.

Tokyo Disney Resort shared that “it's a small world” will be receiving new Marvel characters as part of “it's a small world with Groot,” which will feature characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe designed in the style of the attraction for a limited time. This overlay will be the first time Marvel characters have appeared at a Tokyo Disney Resort attraction. Marvel characters will also be appearing during a new nighttime castle projection show at Cinderella Castle that will be debuting in September of 2024, marking the first appearance of Marvel characters in an entertainment program at Tokyo Disney Resort.

In the attraction, the fan-favorite character Groot and his friends from the Marvel Cinematic Universe are visiting Earth for vacation. Groot will see his friends at various locations on the ride and celebrate their regional cultures and music with them and the children around the world. The poster features Marvel characters including the Guardians of the Galaxy (Groot, Rocket, Gamora, Peter Quill, and Mantis) as well as other major Marvel characters like Dr. Strange and Stephen Wong, Thor, Captain America, Black Panther, Ant-Man, Ms. Marvel, Goose, and the Hulk. The characters from Disney Animation films will still be featured in the ride as well. See the poster for the attraction below:

The “it's a small world with Groot” overlay will debut in winter of 2025 and is expected to last around 6 months.

Would you ever want to see a change like this made to the versions of the ride at Disneyland or Walt Disney World? Initially the idea jumps out as a almost sacrilegious (more on this below), but once you see the style of the characters above and get a better sense of what they are trying to do, the idea kind of grows on you.

How Will the Addition of Marvel to “it's a small world” Be Perceived?

It will be interesting to see how fans respond to this new change. While fans are excited about the prospect of completely new Marvel rides like the upcoming Multiverse Avengers ride coming to Disney California Adventure, it's a riskier move to change elements of a classic attraction. When it originally was announced that Disneyland would be adding new dolls of Disney characters to “it's a small world” in their appropriate nations, fans were up in arms about the changes and were worried that the original essence of the attraction would be ruined.

The backlash to changing the attraction even prompted Disney Legend Marty Sklar to write an open letter to fans, saying, “We all agree that It’s a Small World is a Disney classic. But the greatest ‘change agent’ who ever walked down Main Street at Disneyland was Walt himself. In fact, the park had not been open 24 hours when Walt began to ‘plus’ Disneyland and he never stopped.” Sklar went on to say that the intention behind the changes was that they wanted the “message of brotherhood and goodwill among all children around the world to resonate with more people than ever before, especially today’s young people.”

Previously that same change to add Disney characters to “it's a Small World” was completed at Tokyo Disney. That version of the attraction opened in 2018.

It's a similar concept for the “it's a small world with Groot” overlay at Tokyo Disneyland, as the idea is that bringing in beloved Marvel characters will appeal to a wider audience, especially when featuring such a popular character as Groot throughout the ride and in the title. While the changes are announced as a temporary addition and not a permanent change to the attraction, it will still be interesting to see how fans respond, as the overlay is expected to last for a lengthier period of time.

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• Avengers Campus Characters Disneyland Guide