Though Mountains Divide...

Q: Dear 100 Hour Board:

How many times does "Its a Small World" play during one time on the ride in WDW??

Animatronic Anonymous (AA)

A: Dear Global Animatron,

At the 1964 New York World's Fair, Disney released his "Children of the World" pavilion ride in an effort to promote global unity and peace. After the fair the ride became "It's A Small World" due to the popularity of the song. To this day the ride consists of over 300 Audio-Animatronics figures and 100 international dolls. It is featured in Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disney and Euro Disney.

But what about that song? You know the one that plays continuously during the ride. The song was written by the Sherman brothers, Richard and Robert, specifically for the New York World's Fair ride. The original idea was to have a cacophony of audio-animatronic children singing their own national anthems. Disney told the Sherman brothers to write ONE song, a "roundelay" as he put it. He wanted people to remember it.

So the brothers created a song that you just can't get out of your head. As Robert puts it:

"Like many songs, It's A Small World has a verse and a chorus. One thing which makes this song particularly 'catchy' is that the verse and chorus work in counterpoint to each other. This means that you can play the same chords over and over again, but with different melodies. The repetitive, yet varied pattern tricks your mind into absorbing the work without it becoming tiresome to your ear."

To have an image of "counterpoint", imagine laying the chords of the chorus on top of the chords of the verse. Measure for measure, the chords would be the same. This makes the capacity to harmonize and countersync the chorus with the verse.

The counterpuntal juxtaposition makes the song more interesting to the ear. The Sherman Brothers wrote many songs this way including Doll On A Music Box/Truly Scrumptious from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

In 1985 Michael Eisner, Disney CEO, created a huge controversy by stating at the Hollywood Bowl that "It's A Small World" is the most played song of all time. Record companies baulked. Robert Sherman came to the rescue by explaining that the song plays non-stop, 16 hours a day on an endless loop in five locations worldwide. It is always playing in at least two locations on the globe. The song has been remixed several times and was part of the Dance Dance Revolution mix.

The song's duration is 2 minutes and 41 seconds. Disney lists the ride as lasting 15 minutes. Thus we can safely say that you will hear the song at least 6 times during a ride. This does not however include time waiting in line. Also this does not include the stops on the ride.

According to Wired News the "It’s A Small World" ride at Disneyland regularly bottoms out because today’s riders, um, displace more water than did patrons of the 1960s, when the ride debuted.

So I think it is safe to say that you will hear the song at least 12 times while waiting, riding and bottoming out on "It's A Small World" ride. Remember the song says, "It's a world of laughter...a world of tears" so whether you like the song or not the writers will illicit one of these two responses.

100HB

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Juice is Worth the Squeeze

Q: Dear 100 Hour Board,

I love orange juice. But I hate bad orange juice, you know, bitter or off-tasting. Given the many seasons, the different oranges, weather, etc that when you open any Tropicana Orange Juice bottle they all taste the same? Magic?

OJ

A: Dear Mr. Simpson?

Orange juice is a real delight, especially that fine product "bottled" by Tropicana. A direct product of squeezing - you guessed it - oranges, the product is full of vitamin C (ascorbic acid - good to prevent scurvy) and potassium. Orange juice comes fresh, frozen, concentrated and canned. Concentrated has been a staple of orange juice consumption for a long time, in fact the 100 Hour Board has manufactured it themselves in a lab setting under vacuum. It is even traded on the mercantile exchange as a commodity. (Trading at about $120.45 / side or contract. Contract = 15,000lbs juice).

But our friends at Tropicana have been doing things differently since 1947 - started by Italian Rossi in western Florida. Although it is now owned by PepsiCo. All the juice is fresh - never concentrate - and typically 100% orange juice. Although several additives are combined including calcium, vitamin D, and sometimes extra citric and malic acid to add acidity to counter calcium. Though all the product is pasteurized for safety. So Tropicana begins with a fresh quality product. Do note that over time vitamin C dissipates from the juice, and so is higher in the larger bottles.

Distribution is also unique. From the beginning delivering fresh orange juice was key, and Rossi invested in dedicated trains and ships, including the SS Tropicana which carried 1.5 million gallons of orange juice a week to NY. Even now Tropicana operates the Tropicana-CSX Juice Trains which deliver great, fresh and protected cargo around the country. You can see the Tropicana terminal in Port Newark off to the right side as you head on the I-78 Extension East.

But how about the standard taste all the time? According to Cathy at Tropicana's Cunsumer Response the company focuses on proven blending of orange juice. Although a 8 oz glass takes 3-4 oranges, it more likely contains portions of thousands. Mass blending of quality product ensures a uniform, predictable product that offsets the bitter ones.

Cathy went on to tell the 100 Hour Board about the orange choices:

"We always blend Valencia in with our juice because it is the best tasting variety for juice. We also use other varieties including: ~ Hamlin, Pineapple Sweet, Parson Brown (and, if from Brazil, Valencia and Pera) "

Then she added a caveat to the whole piece:

"Certainly, we don't want to give away all of our secrets (for competitive reasons), but we hope our response is helpful." Examples could fall into quality control methods, expert juicers, chemical analysis, production methods (like the squeezing process) and the like. Measure of quality include brix (sugar % by weight), acidity, citrus oil level, pulp level, pulp cell integrity, color, viscosity, microbiological contamination, mouth feel, and taste.

Hope this sheds some light on that delicious morning treat. I may try their new product Valencia Tropicana Pure. At this site you can experience the "see, hear and feel the flavor." Like listening to the music written specifically as inspired by the juice. Or creating the 'visual' experience yourself. I offer my own creation:

And lastly you can 'feel' the flavor by remixing the music yourself. Again, a shot of my creation:

It's worth a gander.

100HB

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