There are many beloved attractions at Walt Disney World and many of them that fans would likely love to stay on much longer than a single ride allows. However, if you were literally stuck on a ride for an hour, that might temper your enthusiasm. And it might be that much worse if the ride in question was It’s a Small World.
It’s a Small World has been a popular attraction since it first debuted at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York, before it made its way to Disneyland and then Magic Kingdom. But even if you love the ride, one can imagine being stuck on it for an hour might not be a lot of fun. Several people at Walt Disney World learned that lesson first hand recently, and some who were stuck shared their plight on TikTok. And yes, they had to listen to the song the whole time.
Now, I’ve gone on record saying that I actually really like the song It’s a Small World. It was written by the Sherman Brothers, the Disney in-house song writing team responsible for countless pieces of iconic Disney music in movies as well as the theme parks. They wrote Miracles From Molecules that was recently referenced on the Disney Wish, the classic Winnie the Pooh theme, and of course the Oscar-winning music to Mary Poppins.
If you listen to the lyrics of “It’s a Small World,” it’s a beautiful piece of music about global unity. It’s sung in multiple languages throughout the attraction and like the way music is handled in the Harmonious nighttime spectacular at Epcot, there’s something wonderful about the way you can feel just how much humanity has in common through the music.
Having said that, I like to listen to it for the duration of the attraction, and maybe I’ll even throw the song on when I’m at home if I’m longing for the parks. If I had to listen to it for an hour straight, I might begin to lose my mind along with everybody else who hates the song. And it’s not just that you’re stuck with the song, but the same part of the song, the whole time.
And of course, the problem with It’s a Small World is that there’s only so much that can be done to help guests when there’s a ride breakdown. If you get stuck on the Haunted Mansion you can be walked off the attraction by Cast Members if the shutdown is going to last a long time. But when you’re stuck in a boat nobody can really come to your aid.
Ride breakdowns happen and there isn’t a lot that can be done about them. One hopes that Disney World did something to compensate these guests for their lost time. Genie+ access to at least one ride would be nice, maybe don’t use it on It’s a Small World though.
