WDI Permit Hints at Changes Coming to 'it's a small world' at Magic Kingdom

Gallery / 2 Photos
it's a small world 2025

Posted: Tuesday April 14, 2026 10:30am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Walt Disney Imagineering has filed a Notice of Commencement for work at the "it's a small world" building at Magic Kingdom. The permit lists Kentavo as the contractor, with a scope of work covering the installation of signage.

Details on what the new signage will involve haven't been disclosed, and the attraction currently has no scheduled downtime for refurbishment work.

The filing comes from Walt Disney Imagineering rather than Disney's Facility Asset Management team, which typically handles routine maintenance and operational upkeep. WDI permits tend to point toward guest-facing changes, though signage work can cover a range of possibilities - from exterior updates to queue or boarding area elements.

it's a small world 2025

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DisneyHead12323 days ago

I think AI does many things extraordinarily well (and will get better each year), but for some programs working with text in photos is still developing.

Slowjack23 days ago

Ah, that makes sense, then. I guess the AI sees things that look vaguely Middle Eastern in the background, and the decides the most appropriate way to obfuscate the people is to throw up a wall covered in symbols that are not text but have some offhand resemblance to Arabic. Yep, that indeed sounds like AI, always great when you want something done quickly and don't mind if it is done badly.

DisneyHead12323 days ago

Photoshop AI. I use it to touch up photos sometimes and it can look similar.

HauntedPirate23 days ago

I've seen enough AI-generated content to know that's definitely AI-edited.

DisneyHead12323 days ago

Probably used Photoshop to remove park goers who did not consent to being in the photo.

Slowjack23 days ago

Yikes. It looks like something AI would throw in, except I can't imagine why AI would have been used here, so ... ?

Homemade Imagineering24 days ago

What’s going on with the photo attached to this post??

DHSfanatic25 days ago

Yikes!

The Leader of the Club25 days ago

To each their own I suppose. I think the original elements are strong enough to resonate even with the additional element.

lazyboy97o25 days ago

Changing the purpose of the ride is absolutely detracting from the purpose. It’s like painting your house red and insisting it’s still blue.

HMF25 days ago

I would argue that turning IASW into a character scavenger hunt is the very definition of "Detracting from the rides message". Also, the way POTC was handled was a bit too overdone and the plot changes were either too stupid to believe or twenty years ahead of their time seeing as how in 2026, nothing is too stupid to believe. https://vocal.media/wander/pirates-of-the-caribbean

The Leader of the Club26 days ago

Using pirates is a crazy example because it literally is a ride that they went back and added movie characters into. Lol. I think it’s natural for kids to want to see their favorite characters on rides. I know that as a kid I always wished they’d add Baloo or Simba to the Jungle Cruise I’m pretty impartial to Disney characters on IASW. It’s a fun scavenger hunt for kids, while not detracting from the rides message or aesthetic.

JD8026 days ago

Let me know when there are permits to demo the building.

Bocabear26 days ago

evidently according to that post, they must! and why are there no characters on Big Thunder? My Child deserves to see the UP characters in the Southwest!