The new Disney’s holiday television spot [Joy to the Small World] is based on It’s a Small World Holiday Attraction which debuted with a dazzling light display on the building exterior on November 27, 1997 at Disneyland, CA.
I had the honor to met Rachel Echo, a beautiful 13 years old girl, with a amazing voice who lives in Carleton, MI, one of the singers of the TV Commercial song. She was with the MOTCC group ( Michigan Opera Theater Children's Chorus) and one day, Disney people appeared and 14 people was chosen to go and record at Yessin studios. She told me:
“We did it for around 2 hours and then they gave us pizza and pop :) lol...we did about 5 different harmonies which we recorded around 3 times each to get the affect of hundreds of kids singing and then we were done. They Layered my voice too!”.
Rachel Echo is the second solo singing “It’s a world of hopes and a world of fears”.
Rachel gave us one last message:
"This was an amazing experience and if anyone is given an opportunity like this, don't pass it up. They were very nice all the time and this is something we'll never forget"
In this video you can hear the original soundtrack and see the clock and the snow at the holiday attraction at Disneyland.
Back to the ride, for the first time, dolls that traditionally sang "it's a small world" in their native languages now alternated with "Jingle Bells” with a new restored and remastered original attraction soundtrack .
A few people knows that: Bill Rogers, the voice of Disneyland, is heard inside the attraction.
Bill is most known for his Disneyland announcements such as welcoming guests in the morning or the notification that the fireworks will be beginning in just five minutes. In the spirit of the season, Bill told about his character: "The folks in the music and entertainment departments came to me fortunately, because I really didn't have much to do in terms of attractions at any time, and they asked me to record a few Santa Claus lines. For years I had been doing Santa Claus for my children, not only privately but in public. So Santa Claus was allowed to offer a few admonitions to those who had been good and those who were considering the dark side. We just had a whole lot of fun with this!"
Click Here to see the Rachel Echo Youtube page
Click Here to see the Bill Rogers Official Homepage
