Fun Fact #11: "It's a Small World" is too small for this world

It's no secret that Americans are becoming more and more obese, it seems as though every day a new study is released proclaiming how dangerously fat Americans are becoming. But this article just struck me as especially sad because it declares Americans are too fat for one of my favorite childhood rides.

I chose this picture because it was the first one that popped up when I googled it and because I loved the stylish outfit that the couple in the center of the boat are wearing. I'm especially a huge fan of their matching hats (click on the picture to see them in all their glory), which I chose to include it even though it's obviously dated

"It's a Small World" was built in the 1970s (when Americans were lighter), and now Americans have become so heavy that the boats can't deal with extra weight and get stuck:

The Small World ride now must accommodate adults who frequently weigh north of 200 pounds, which it often cannot do. Increasingly, overweighted boats get to certain points in the ride and bottom out, becoming stuck in the flume.

The ride monitors attempt to leave empty seats on many boats to compensate for the hefty, but this routinely antagonizes the hundreds of paying customers waiting in line. When a boat does bottom out, a long line of other boats backs up behind it, their passengers slowly going mad from listening to the ride's theme song.

The ride monitors must then track down the stuck boat and attempt tactfully to help a rider or two to exit at one of the emergency platforms, which the riders in question do not always deal with graciously

The visual imagery this quote provides is just kinda sad, can you imagine being asked to get out off a ride because your extra weight caused the boat to get stuck? How awkward would that be? I've been to Disneyland countless times and "It's a Small World" has often stopped but I always thought the ride had just stalled for mechanical reason. I once saw some a heavyset couple getting off a boat when the ride had stalled, but I never realized that it was because they were causing their boat to sink and therefore delay the whole ride.

This article also totally reminded when Space Mountain was stopped when my family and I were on it It happened because a car with a lot of heavy people had gained too much momentum and was going too fast, it was about to hit a lighter car in front of them when the ride was stopped. All the lights were turned on, and I can promise that the ride is far scarier when it's lit because you realize how close the beams are to your head.