Entertainment

Disneyland Changes ‘It’s a Small World’ for the Park’s 70th Anniversary

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Disneyland is adding more magic to “It’s a Small World” for the theme park’s 70th anniversary
Starting May 16 guests can check out bigger parades, spectacular fireworks and interactive surprises as they “Celebrate Happy”
The limited-time festivities are happening now in Anaheim, Calif.

Disneyland is celebrating its 70th anniversary with some new magic coming to “It’s a Small World,” which opened at the park in 1966.

As the “Celebrate Happy” theme kicked off Friday, May 16, parkgoers visiting the Anaheim, Calif. location from now through summer 2026 can witness Miguel and his trusted alebrije Dante from Pixar’s Coco join in on the ride’s song with the dolls, while silhouetted by a stunning marigold bridge.

“It’s A Small World” — Disneyland Resort 70th Celebration.

Artist Concept/Disneyland Resort

“It’s a Small World,” which turned 50 in 2014, is an Old Mill boat ride located in the Fantasyland area at Disneyland.

It opened on April 22, 1964, at the New York World’s Fair before moving to California two years later. Versions of the ride also exist at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., Tokyo Disneyland in Japan, Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland.

The attraction was created as a salute to UNICEF, “in which visitors enjoy a 10-minute boat ride seeing scenes of foreign lands,” The New York Times reported when the ride debuted.

The late brothers Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman wrote the cheerful “It’s a Small World” tune that a 2014 TIME article called “very likely the most played song in music history.”

When the song turned 60 last year, the Walt Disney Company unveiled a brand-new short film titled The Last Verse as a tribute. For Disneyland’s 70th celebration, guests can watch it inside the famed Main Street Cinema beginning July 17, to mark when Walt Disney opened the park on July 17, 1955.

‘It’s a Small World’ ride at Disneyland.

Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty

“We don’t live in the past, but we honor the past,” stage show director for Disney Live Entertainment, Scott Damien Arroyo said at a media preview of the “Celebrate Happy” festivities. “We really are always looking backwards as we move forwards.”

For the special occasion, Disneyland will also be hosting activities such as the “Celebrate Happy Cavalcade” parades on Main Street near the Main Street Magic Shop.

Disneyland 70th anniversary display.

Christian Thompson/Disneyland

Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck and more beloved characters will line the streets with song and dance.

There will also be the “Tapestry of Happiness” projection show, which is new for the 70th celebration, and located at Disneyland’s “It’s a Small World” ride.

“I call this a little show with a big heart,” creative director of Disney Live Entertainment, Susanna Tuber, said. “It’s beautiful. It’s a five-minute projection show on the facade of ‘It’s a Small World’ that’s going to play three times a night.”

Wondrous Journeys — Disneyland Resort 70th Celebration.

Richard Harbaugh/Disneyland

She also described the show as a “love letter to all these Disneyland iconic experiences.”

Across from Disneyland, the Disney California Adventure Park has its own fair share of parades, projections and fireworks galore. There are also special activities like the one at Toy Story Midway Mania, where guests can look out for 70th anniversary “stickers” that Andy has stuck in different places along the midway.

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Six animated films — Encanto, Coco, Soul, The Princess and the Frog, Zootopia and Moana — join the Animation Courtyard.

More details on all the “Celebrate Happy” 70th anniversary magic happening at Disneyland can be found at Disneyland.com.

Entertainment

Inside top Comic-Con activations from ‘Lanterns’ to ‘Percy’

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While A-list celebs from Ryan Gosling to Johnny Depp appeared at San Diego Comic-Con to promote their blockbuster studio projects, several brands launched free activations for fans downtown — with or without the pricey passes.

Here’s a rundown of the top activations:

HBO Max emerged as MVP of the Gaslamp Quarter this year, putting on two takeovers of downtown locales to tout new shows, DC’s “Lanterns” and “Big Bang Theory” spin-off, “Stuart Fails to Save the Universe.”

The “Lanterns Training Headquarters” at the sprawling Venue 808 gave attendees a chance to be recruited into the Green Lantern Corps for an interactive journey. Hands-on training included an escape room, a “freefall flight test,” target practice at a shooting range (they weren’t real guns), and, of course, souvenir Green Lantern rings.

Stars Kyle Chandler, Aaron Pierre, Garret Dillahunt and Poorna Jagannathan, alongside creators and writers Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King stopped by to take on the challenge themselves.

“Stuart Fails to Save the Universe” brought a slice of Pasadena to the Sparks Gallery with a painstakingly detailed recreation of the series’ iconic comic book store. Fans were treated to a multiverse-spanning adventure taking them through a series of alternate realities.

Creators Chuck Lorre, Zak Penn and Bill Prady, plus stars Kevin Sussman, Lauren Lapkus, John Ross Bowie and Brian Posehn, stopped by to rifle through comic books and try their hand at failing.

For horror fans, Eli Roth‘s “Ice Cream Man” scooped up chills with a disturbing, but delicious event at Kansas City BBQ, where the director and his unsettling mascot, Merle, were spotted playing tetherball with a severed head amidst a playground massacre. (An ice cream truck trilled a familiar tune in the background).

“It’s such a great year for horror. This sundae is just the cherry on top,” Roth said of the genre’s recent box office boom.

Meanwhile, Disney Entertainment Television also made its presence known downtown with a mythical “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” activation across from the convention center, plus a “Hulu Animayhem: Fandom Fuel Up” featuring themed food from “King of the Hill” (Bobby Hill’s Robata Chane) and “Futurama” (Planet Espresso).

Paramount saw lines for its annual downtown “Lodge” at Happy Does, featuring photo ops and freebies for properties like “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” “South Park” and “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.” There was even an alien DJ on hand to set the scene as guests sipped on galactic drinks named Cosmic Drops and Vulcan Sunsets.

Outside of the studio scene, collectible company Super7 hosted an adorable Peanuts pop-up shop celebrating Snoopy’s lesser-known siblings, partnering with Best Friends Animal Society to support real-life dog adoptions.

The year’s biggest parties included Fandom’s annual Thursday night bash atop the Hard Rock Hotel, a Friday soiree at Parq Nightclub celebrating 20 years of “Pan’s Labyrinth” with director Guillermo del Toro, plus IGN and Prime Video’s party on Friday evening, which saw “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” star Jamie Campbell Bower take a spin at the DJ booth.

Entertainment

Rarely-seen ’80s star Kristy McNichol appears in ‘fangirl’ Carnie Wilson’s selfie

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Carnie Wilson had a “fangirl” moment with Kristy McNichol decades after the actress’ retirement.

“Totally fangirling!!!” the singer, 58, recently gushed via Facebook. “Kris ( Kristy McNichol) was a part of my youth. I adored her in her movies … especially ‘Little Darlings’ and ‘The End.’”

The Wilson Phillips member told McNichol, who left the entertainment industry in 2001, “how meaningful her movies are to [her] and [her] bestie.”

Carnie noted in the July 20 upload that she and her pal “were just talking about her … and how special” the 63-year-old is.

Calling McNichol a “gracious sweetie,” she concluded that the “Bionic Woman” star “sure is loved.”

She snapped a selfie with the rarely-seen star, with McNichol smiling in a zip-up jacket and white tee.

Carnie, for her part, sported a patterned top and a black beanie in the cozy shot.

McNichol was a child star who won two Emmys for her role as Letitia “Buddy” Lawrence on “Family” between 1976 and 1980.

Her other notable TV role included Barbara Weston in “Empty Nest,” a “Golden Girls” spinoff.

She is best known for playing Angel in “Little Darlings” in 1980 and Polly in “Only When I Laugh” the following year.

McNichol was nominated for a Golden Globe for the latter.

When she retired from the entertainment industry, McNichol released a statement reading, “My feeling was that it was time to play my biggest part – myself! I must say that it has been the best thing that ever happened to me. So many fans are disappointed that I’m not currently acting; however, some may not realize that the process I’m in at this time is necessary and vital for my personal happiness.”

She chatted with People about the decision in 2014.

“I was on the big stage between ages 8 and 30,” McNichol explained. “I left show business for a variety of reasons, but a big one was my interest in learning what else there is in life.

“This phase of my life is so good,” she continued. “My home life is happy and serene. I love singing. I also enjoy traveling and seeing the world. One of my favorite stops is Hawaii. I like everything about it and may eventually move there part-time.”

When asked about plans to return to her Hollywood career, McNichol quipped, “Never say never.”

Entertainment

Usher boots fan off stage after her painfully awkward response to his seductive dance moves

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Usher quickly put a stop to sexily serenading a fan onstage after she got visibly uncomfortable.

In a now-viral moment from the singer’s performance in Nashville on The R&B Tour with Chris Brown on Saturday, a woman from the audience got pulled onstage as the chosen fan Usher sings to. But as a shirtless Usher started singing to her, she looked painfully uncomfortable, though he continued to try to interact with her by lightly touching her chin and face.

But when he tried to get her to recline on the onstage bed and she stiffly moved back, the 47-year-old singer pulled away.

“I don’t think she want to be on the stage, huh?” he asked the audience, looking bewildered.

Eventually, the “Yeah!” singer stepped away from her completely and waved his hand backwards towards the stage in a signal to bring the fan off, looking annoyed as some fans began to boo.

The fan later took to social media to clap back at criticism she received, responding to comments that she should have never agreed to go onstage if she didn’t want to be there.

“First off NOBODY is declining to go on stage,” she wrote. “I looked good asf, you think I wasn’t going to let THOUSANDS of people see me?”

She shared that she and her mom had floor seats to the show, and she was moved up to the VIP section before the concert even started due to “pretty privileges.”

“They don’t say who you’re going up there for!” she wrote. “Y’all wanted me to go up there and f–k him atp?”

On Sunday, she posted selfies , and pointedly captioned her post, “Unbothered 😘.”

But she continued to defend herself on her Instagram Stories, insisting her attitude wasn’t “nasty.”

“Y’all aren’t gonna get on the internet calling me out my name and disrespecting me and expect me to keep it cool!” she expressed, adding, “Don’t think that yall are gonna bully me about an experience that yall didn’t get!”

Usher is known for his spicy concert interactions with fans. His bodyguard hilariously went viral in 2024 for seemingly looking disgusted on the Past Present Future Tour, during the part of the singer’s show when he would let audience members seductively eat cherries.

Usher’s co-headliner, Chris Brown, also went viral in September 2025 but for an entirely different reaction that he got to pulling a fan onstage — that fan being Travis Kelce’s ex Kayla Nicole.

Brown, 37, gave Nicole, 34, a sensual lap dance while singing his 2007 hit, “Take You Down,” during the singer’s Breezy Bowl XX Tour stop in Los Angeles, prompting mixed reaction online. Some fans thought the two went too far, while others praised Nicole for seizing the moment.