4. "it's a small world's" Characters

In 2008, Disneyland's "it's a small world" closed for a refurbishment that would also bring some significant controversy. Following in the footstops of the Hong Kong Disneyland version of the ride (which opened that year), the original version of "it's a small world" would gain several new inhabitants: namely, 29 Disney and Pixar characters, rendered in Mary Blair style and embedded throughout the ride.

Ironically, the change probably would've been far less controversial at Magic Kingdom, which tends to be treated less like "hallowed ground" and where domestic and international travelers probably would've liked the character addition right out the gate. Of course, at Disneyland, such changes aren't as easily swallowed. As you'd probably expect, the Internet was alight with commentary, as fans passed around petitions, raged on discussion boards, and generally suggested that the change was an "idiotic plan" that "represents a gross desecration of the ride’s original theme.”

As tends to be the case, the ride re-opened in 2008, and for the most part, all was well with the (small) world. Though the characters aren't exactly inconspicuous (that's definitely Aladdin & Jasmine in the Middle East, Pinocchio in Italy, Cinderella in France, Nemo in Australia, etc.), it's not so offensive or outrageous that it lessens the ride's message or detracts from the experience. Sure, very young children may now use the ride as a "Seek & Find" as they try to spot Disney characters rather than contemplating global harmony and togetherness, but another entry point to experiencing the right isn't a bad thing.

The characters joined Tokyo Disneyland's version of "small world" in 2018, with rumors suggesting that they were a shoe-in for Magic Kingdom's ahead of the 50th Anniversary. But like clockwork, the characters never came. It's yet another simple "plus" that's rolled out across Disney Parks... but that Disney World just doesn't seem interested in funding. Weird!

5. Haunted Mansion's Hatbox Ghost

When Disneyland's Haunted Mansion opened in 1969, the ride was absent of one very suspicious spectre: the Hatbox Ghost. As the story goes, Imagineers toiled over the character – a decripid, knobby-kneed, hollow-faced phantom whose head would disappear off of his shoulders and reappear, detached, in the hatbox he held. But ultimately, ambiant lighting in the Mansion's Attic ruined the trick (just using blacklight) and called for the character's removal just before it opened to the public.

Though no one outside of Imagineering ever actually saw the eerie Hatbox Ghost in the ride, he remained an icon of the Haunted Mansion thanks to his starring role in the ride's marketing and his particularly unsettling appearance. Surely he was out there – one of the 999 Happy Haunts who never returned to corporeal form – but fans clung to the character as a lost icon of one of Disney's most fabled and legendary rides...

In 2015 – just in time for Disneyland's 60th Anniversary celebration – the Hatbox Ghost finally materialized. Now standing on the rooftop just as guests fall through the attic window, the chuckling character is made possible by modern projection technology, but it's still a staggering and surprising effect. He even gets in on the act for Haunted Mansion Holiday (another seasonal overlay Magic Kingdom skips), adding a skull bow and holly leaf to his bowler hat.

Don't get us wrong – Magic Kingdom's Haunted Mansion has been "plussed" separately from Disneyland's before, too, like with the M.C. Escher style Endless Staircase scene added in 2007 (to an area that Disneyland's ride has no equivalent to). But when it comes to simple, "quality of life" additions like this one, you'd think that Imagineering would simply have two produced so that they could be installed in the two stateside Mansions at the same time. I guess Disney World had other plans.

5. Fantasmic's possibilities

Of all the one-sided "plusses" to have rolled out at Disneyland and not Disney World, by far one of the biggest has to do with Disney's most legendary nighttime spectacular. Our partners at Park Lore explored the story of Disneyland's Fantasmic in a full-length feature, but even those who only know a little bit about the show tend to know one thing: Disneyland's is better.

It's partly because Disneyland's show seems to appear from no where, overtaking the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island before guests' eyes (while also using the park's real, full-sized sailing ship and riverboat). It's also partly because Disney World's version of the show opened later in the '90s, meaning it prioritized Disney Renaissance films like Pocahontas and Aladdin over classic movies like Pinocchio and Peter Pan. But it's also because Disneyland's version has undergone two complete reimaginings and refreshings that are both jaw-dropping.

First, in 2008 as part of the "Summer Nightastic" promotion, the show received new high-definition digital imagery, new air-launched firework floats, new lighting, and a staggering 45-foot Audio-Animatronic dragon to serve as the show's climactic battle. Since the Rivers of America needed to be drained for the construction of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge in 2016, Imagineers took the opportunity to give the whole show a do-over, adding projection-mapping, new audio, and new scenes. Some of "Fantasmic 2.0" is a gargantuan leap forward for the show, while some elements feel weaker than the long-running original. But far and away, the unimaginable journey through Mickey's dreams is bigger than ever.

Disney World's version of the show has been sadly static. Until 2020, it featured the same overlong Pocahontas and Aladdin segments; the same '90s dragon made of a cherry picker and two sheets of fabric. You'd think that a custom amphitheater and set would let Disney World's show be bigger than Disneyland's, but it's weirdly much smaller and less all-encompassing. Still, Fantasmic used to be the biggest production at Walt Disney World, but since it's been basically untouched and has fallen so far behind Disneyland's counterpart, it's frustrating to know it could be so much more.

The good news is that as we await the re-opening of Walt Disney World's Fantasmic in 2022, Disney has officially announced that the show is getting a boost by way of new segments from Moana and Frozen. That's all well and good, but we have to wonder if the resort's umpteenth reprise of "Let It Go" will actually make Florida's Fantasmic a must-see or if Disney World is content with it being "good enough."

Good Enough

And that's sort of the throughline here, isn't it? Those "little things" don't mean much one by one, but when you add it all up, it means that visitors to Disney World are getting less. Of course Space Mountain is an E-Ticket with or without on-ride audio, and of course Big Thunder Mountain is a fun ride even without an "explosive" finale, and folks wait hours for Fantasmic without an Animatronic Dragon, and families love Peter Pan even though it doesn't have projection-mapped details. So all's well that ends well.

But there was a time when "good enough" wasn't good enough for Disney Parks, and it's surprising to see how many "plusses" were dreamed up then dashed for Magic Kingdom. Of course, since most of these plusses were rumored to be on the way for the resort's 50th Anniversary, maybe we're being unfair, and maybe COVID-19 cancelled plans to enact every one of the "plusses" we mentioned...

But until they're here, let's face the fact that Walt would probably want to see his parks "glow up," and that includes the parks in Central Florida...