Top 10 "Small World" Travelers

In all of Magic Kingdom, there is one ride that appeals to everyone: It’s a Small World. It attracts the young and young-at-heart, repeat visitors and first-timers, and draws in people of every culture. Recently, we took a break from skipping around Magic Kingdom to eat a quick bite in Pinocchio Village Haus. Can you guess where we sat? At a table overlooking the Small World ride, of course! We had a bird’s eye view of each boat as it rolled away from the loading dock and set sail. Whether it’s the brilliant colors, the relaxing boat ride or the repetitive song lyrics that lure them in, one thing is true about all Small World guests. They each fit into one of ten categories. Here are our top 10 Small World travelers…

1. Selfie Peeps

These folks live for the selfie. They’ve perfected any number of pouty, fish-pucker, and blue steel looks to fill a high school IG feed. Now is their opportunity to add a kissy-faced selfie with an animatronic character in the background! Watching them is sheer delight. 

2. Groupies

Nope, not what you think. These people are here with their school group, cheerleading squad or family reunion. They get their whole party into one boat and then attempt to master a group selfie while not falling into the water. Sometimes, they might be considered the party boat.

3. On Parade

You know how great it is to wave at the characters in Festival of Fantasy as they go by, right? Well, some Small World guests have just as much fun as they wave at everyone staring at them from the restaurant above. The secret, though, is to see who has perfected the princess wave — these are the true parade fans.

4. Along for the Ride

Identifying these guests is easy. As soon as the boat begins to move, these peeps are stretching, rolling up a jacket for a pillow, and settling in for a leisurely nap. (One of the guys in our family does this. Once, there was snoring. True story.)

5. Destined to get Wet

Ok, you’ve seen them. The guests who feel the need to dip their hand into the water outside of the boat. And yes, we’ve seen both kids and adults doing this! We have yet to witness someone putting more than a hand in, but we wouldn’t be surprised to hear about someone taking a dip.

6. Photogs

Either by camera or phone, these lovers of the visual can’t help but snap pictures of everything. Once, we even observed a guy capturing a pic of the “exit” sign. (We quite often fit into this category.)

7. Diehards

You know these peeps (and you might just be one). They sing along during the whole ride. The whole ride. Now that’s dedication. But can they sing it in every single language from the attraction? That would be impressive!

8. Oblivious Chatterbox

You’ve boarded your Small World boat, sat down, and you’re set for a laid back experience. Until the lady behind you starts chatting about her sister’s boyfriend’s mother’s best friend’s daughter and how she wore something fairly hideous to the family reunion. And she talks on and on throughout the whole ride, never seeming to notice the colorful surroundings or playful music, or even the numerous strangers privy to her loud convo. Not even when you turn around and pretend to sneeze in her direction. (Note: spray bottles are quite useful in these situations…not that we would ever use one.)

9. Overwhelmed First-timers

There’s so much color and sound, all these folks can do is sit, stare and smile. If you’re with them, be sure to nudge them to get off at the end. They probably won’t want to leave.

10. Love Cruise

You’ve seen them and wanted to be them. These are the couples who beam love out of every pore. Joined at the hip, they’ve been holding each other’s hand since before they got in line. Snuggled in close on their boat, they sit and smile, glancing at each other around every turn, and occasionally steal a kiss. She might even have her head on his shoulder, and he definitely helps her in and out of the boat. (These are our favorites.)
So where do you fit in? Or is there another category that we missed? We’d love to read your thoughts in the comments below!
Love you!