I just realised something!

So I have...tons-I mean TONS- of Disney CDs.  Park music, movie music, compilations, just oodles.  And I love It's a Small World.  It really is one of my favorites, it's cheesy and just infinitely made fun of but I do I just love that ride.  So I thought, as I have found, most of the CDs I have with the Small World theme on it the song is the same one, sometimes shorter but obviously the same track.
Well a couple of months ago I was at a city wide garage sale at the local Civic Center and stumbled across this:

I had no idea really what it was but it was old, and it was Disney.  The date was roman numeral and I'll admit my roman numeral memory was a bit rusty. It couldn't have cost more than $10, I don't really remember off the top of my head, but I knew I had to buy it-I mean look at it! It's so old!  So I called Steven and read the roman numbers to him and he (at work at the time) guessed '98.  Yay my first Disney World trip was in 99! So that made it special, this was the music in the park when I went on the only trip with my family(all trips since have been with Steven and his family), and since my brother passed away a year ago it made it more of a special thing.  Well come to find we were off a decade, it's actually '88.  Not special in the way I originally thought but still special, it has music from rides that are no longer there, some of which were in '98 so it's still kinda the same.  But really at the end of the day it's Disney, it's park music, it's worth it.

The point to all that is, of course, I bought it-along with the cutest Classic Pooh paperweight.

What does this have to do with It's a Small World? Well the CD has a version that I didn't have, most of the CDs I have have the same song, albeit different lengths, with the exception of one Disney DDR dance mix version that I have.  But the version on the CD-it's different! And that makes me SO EXCITED!...Silly thing to be excited about I know but...well...not if you know me, not if you love Disney like I do.  Better yet it's a version I've been looking for!  Of course it has been months until I've discovered this because as I have many copies of the song I never sat down and listened to the one off this CD.  I usually just listened to the tracks I didn't have others of and went on my way.  Today while working on a teaching portfolio for my upcoming graduation I just kinda hit play on the album in Zune and went to work (I was in the mood for Minnie's Yoo Hoo and Maple Leaf Rag to be specific).

When It's a Small World came on my ears perked up.  Normally the singing voice sounds kid like-like on the ride-but this was different, this sounded more blatantly like adults, the music was arranged a bit differently, sure it was basically the same song but it had a different flavor and then it came on, my favorite verse, the one you never hear. You know the one...or maybe you don't.  The line about the moon and the sun and the oceans and mountains.  This version has a deep richness to it, it has those voices, you know those voices, the ones you feel you hear in every old Disney song, that light female voice, that one deep male voice.  I'm not going to try and falsely impress you by throwing out names of singers that I honestly don't know but I bet Wikipedia would probably tell you.  I lie...I will be nerdy...The deep male voice, Thurl Ravenscroft, you know, Tony the Tiger? Famous Grinch song? Anyone? Anyway that one is kind of obvious, he did tons of stuff for Disney (the man was inducted as a Disney Legend in 1995).  This version didn't have other languages singing, and though the Four Parks One World CD set does have my favorite verse it has the kiddy voices, sounds of Small World "people" having fun, other languages, the whole shebang.  But this...this is classic Disney. 

This CD provided the name for this blog.  Steven and I were just stuck on a name, I was really leaning toward WEDway and that was the best I could think of.  I was sitting there and looked over and saw the CD case.  I picked it up and there it was Laughin' Place Splash Mountain. There it was.

So with all of these revelations I finally looked up the CD on the web and found this info on an Amazon comment:

This CD is catalog #CD-007 as originally released in 1988 on the "Disneyland" label. At the time this was only available for retail sale at Disney theme parks. BUT, it was re-released under a different title in it's entirety as the 1991 CD "Official Album of Disneyland and Walt Disney World", catalog #60820.

So  that means this CD, because it definitely is the original release, this CD was bought in the parks.  It's from a time when I was only 4 years old, when CD's were relatively still a new format for the mainstream.  This was bought in a Disney park by someone who was captivated by at least one of these songs enough to want to take it with them when the trip was over.  Many of the rides featured either have new music now, or do not exist anymore.  One Little Spark for the Journey into Imagination...completely different now!  Same basic song but completely different.

In closing it was such a great find, you never know what you'll find out there...for under 10 dollars no less.  I found a new again old version of one of my favorite Disney songs (it's my ring tone even! Can you imaging the stares I get!)  I've been able to become a fan of songs for attractions that are now only memories for people.

Always keep your eye out for something special!
See ya real soon!