The original Disneyland in Anaheim, California, will be putting one of its oldest and most famous rides on hiatus in January. Since the It’s a Small World boat ride keeps sinking under the increasing weight of the theme park’s visitors, engineers have to dredge a deeper flume and build more bouyant boats to keep the ride flowing.
The rebuilt course might also spare more hefty guests the painful embarrassment of being pulled from a stuck boat and led out the emergency exit. Already, workers at the ride have to board fewer riders when super-fatties are next in line, much to the irritation of those who have to wait even longer to get on.
The ride was built in 1963 when the average-size American adult male was 175 pounds and the average-size female was 135 pounds. I think now that's the average size of fifth-graders. In any case, riders regularly tip the scales at more than 200 pounds each so some tricky planning is involved.
The ride is an open boat made to accommodate a few rows of passengers. The boat floats down a narrow river-like flume, while passengers are bombarded with the cloying “It’s a Small World After All” tune, making getting stuck extra upsetting.
When It's a Small World reopens, it will be able to transport several hundred more pounds of capacity. Park officials may shut down and reconfigure other rides, like the Pinocchio, Alice In Wonderland and Pirates of The Caribbean rides – all of which have stalled or become annoyingly slow from the weight of their passengers.
The world really isn't so small, huh? But Disney is still fun for the whole fat family!
