This is both hilarious and pathetic. Disney has been forced to close their "It's a Small World" because Americans are now too fat to ride it. The boats, according to Wired, are bottoming out under the weight of all of the fatties, forcing Disney to redesign the entire ride.
The mental image of boats full of fat people stuck in "Scandinavia" is really just too much.
UPDATE: More here.
Eventually a Cast Member runs in to the rescue and tries to graciously help a row or two of riders to exit the boat at the nearest emergency platform. Once a few extra adults step out of the boat, it pops up an additional inch or two in the water and off it goes. Sometimes the heavy riders involved take it all in stride and can laugh about it, but many times the riders involved turn nasty and yell at the Cast Members coming to rescue them. Those Cast Members, it should be noted, weren't even born in 1964 let alone designing rides for the World's Fair. Nonetheless, they take the brunt of some rather horrific tirades from embarrassed people being escorted out of it's a small world. And when the line of people waiting to get on the ride watch the Cast Members sending in boats with empty rows, the Cast Members can also be yelled at for "being lazy" and not filling all the rows. These types of ugly scenarios play out the most frequently during the Christmas season when the park is busiest and the lines for the popular holiday version of the ride are the longest. It's not easy to work at Disneyland folks, even on happy little rides like small world.
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