YMMV / "it's a small world"

• Awesome Art: Mary Blair and Rolly Crump sure gave the ride a whimsical and colorful appearance.
• Awesome Music: The main theme itself, especially John Debney's sweeping orchestral version for Disneyland Paris.
• Broken Base: The main theme is either seen as an iconic, catchy, and charming piece, unintentionally creepy, or obnoxious and sappy. Not helping is the song's tendency to constantly loop during the ride.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: A 2022 update to the Disneyland ride added a Mexican doll with a Mary Blair-inspired wheelchair, to the delight of fans desiring more positive paraplegic representation from Disney.
• Nightmare Fuel: An unintentional example. The ride itself is certainly not meant to be creepy or terrifying in any sense (quite the opposite actually). However, various factors, such as the hundreds of dolls, a song that tends to constantly loop and the appearance of the clocktower, have given the ride a reputation for being unintentionally creepy. Disney themselves have played with the idea of the ride being creepy at least once.
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!:
  • The addition of Disney characters into the Hong Kong Disneyland, Disneyland Park, and Tokyo Disneyland versions of the ride has resulted in a lot of mixed to negative reactions from longtime fans, feeling that it takes away from the ride's meaning and instead makes it into a "Spot-The-Character" experience. More forgiving riders find that since most of the human characters look exactly like the other dolls, they don't seem worth making much fuss over.
  • The removal of the unique façade and fountain from the Magic Kingdom version in 2005 in favor of gaining its own version of the clock tower has resulted in this reaction from some.
• Unnecessary Makeover: Mattel's sponsorship of It's a Small World saw the façade of the Disneyland version recolored in pastel shades. This makeover apparently seemed so unnecessary that a few years after Mattel's deal ended, the building changed back to its original white and gold design.
• Visual Effects of Awesome: The façade of Disneyland's ride allows for some snazzy light/projection shows, including some that play in sync with the fireworks.

---