Even if you’ve never been on the attraction, you can probably sing the theme song to Disneyland’s It’s a Small World ride. But as of tomorrow, you’ll need to brush up on the lyrics.

It’s the first change ever made to the song, written by Robert and Richard Sherman, better known as the Sherman Brothers, who also wrote Disney classics such as “A Spoonful of Sugar” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” from “Mary Poppins” and “The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room” from Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room.

Before his death in May 2024, Richard Sherman penned a third verse for the song, adding to the existing two verses. As Richard’s son Gregg Sherman told the Disney Parks Blog, his father wrote the verse to “celebrate that there’s more that unites us than divides us, and reinforce the message of that song.”

The updated song debuts July 17 on the 70th anniversary of Disneyland’s opening. (That day also includes the official unveiling of the Walt Disney animatronic in the show “Walt Disney A Magical Life” at the Main Street Opera House.)

The lyrics to the new verse are: “Mother earth unites us in heart and mind/ And the love we give makes us humankind/ Through our vast wondrous land/ When we stand hand in hand/ It’s a small world after all.”

It’s a Small World, with its famous aesthetic designed by Mary Blair, debuted at the 1964 New York World’s Fair and opened at Disneyland in 1966. While the ride has been updated to include new animatronics, such as Disney characters and wheelchair-using dolls, the song has remained the same.

To mark the change, Disneyland is presenting “The Last Verse,” a short film that’s a tribute to the song and the Sherman Brothers, at the Main Street Cinema on July 17. The duo is also portrayed in the new “Tapestry of Happiness” show, which is projected on the facade of the It’s a Small World ride every night. The event launched in May as part of Disneyland’s ongoing 70th anniversary celebration.