No Plans for “Up With America,” Sez Sklar

Laughing Place has a statement from Marty Sklar, in response to the vocal fan-community criticism of rumored changes to Disneyland’s “it’s a small world.” It reads, in part:

Now the rumors are swirling that we are “ruining Walt’s creation.”  I’ve heard that we are planning to remove the rainforest, add Mickey and Minnie Mouse, create an “Up with America” tribute, to effectively “marginalize” the Mary Blair style and Walt’s classic (all not true).

Much of his post does effectively pull at the heartstrings, and makes a good argument for continued change in the parks (“the greatest “change agent” who ever walked down Main Street at Disneyland was Walt himself”). I’m still a bit skeptical, though . . . and not crazy about the branded Disney characters being introduced to the attraction in any context.