Let's call this a late-addition Monday Buzzkill: Over the weekend, the L.A. Times reported that Disneyland will be shutting down its iconic It's A Small World ride for 10 months beginning in January in order to give it a "much-needed facelift"—in particular, the deepening of the water channel and a more buoyant redesign of the boats to help deal with the increasingly frequent problem of boats bottoming out and becoming stuck, particularly in the Canadian and Scandinavian segments. (The Pirates Of The Caribbean, incidentally, often experiences the same problem.) Disneyland spokesman Bob Tucker insists the problem has nothing to do with fat tourists, however, saying that the problem stems from the "layers and layers" of fiberglass that have been used over the years to patch problem areas—although the Times does helpfully point out that Americans are, on average, 25 pounds heavier than they were in 1960. Of course, it makes sense that Disney wouldn't want to say anything that would discourage tourists from feasting on various fried and creamy mouse-shaped things in its theme parks; in fact, according to the article, "when somebody gets booted from the [Small World] boat, Disneyland ride operators make sure the guests don't leave disappointed: They hand them a food ticket." Problem solved!
Join the discussion...