Trapped on Disney’s Small World Ride

Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.

~My Dad

This story is completely true… except for the parts that aren’t. During a really late night recently while preparing for a big charity event that I was blogging, I guess I dozed off. That’s when I heard it… strains of “It’s a Small World After All” coming from someplace out there in the dark. I couldn’t see them, but I knew they were there…

It's a Small World After All - Holland

Those wee smirking Disney dolls singing “it’s a small world” over and over. I suddenly flashed back to when I was five years old at Disney World. The Small World ride I was on broke down, and I was stuck in the “Holland” section… with those creepy little wooden shod demon dolls singing that song over and over and over. I swear, I saw one of the doll’s head do a three-sixty. But I digress. What I only found out more recently is I am not alone in experiencing this “accidental” devastating Disney disaster.

Yes, friends and neighbors I’m here to tell you that fouble’s atroot… the fit has really hit the shan. You see! See what it’s done to my brain? Apparently this conspiracy has been going on for decades. First thought to be mechanical difficulties, and then possibly revenge by employees watching on closed circuit TVs… pay back for their mind numbing jobs, “watch your step, watch your step, watch your step…” But, no! It’s a plot that runs to the core of our culture, that threatens the very minds of our innocent youth.Disney Small World Dutch Doll Protest

BUT NO MORE! It is time we rose up… and… and… what was I saying? I don’t remember. Oh, never mind. It’s a small world after all… it’s a mall world safter all… it’s a wall smorld after all. Come on sing with me! Oh, sorry, gotta go… those nice men in the long white coats are back. I get to take two of the the pink ones this morning.

[mumbling, “It’s a mall world after small…” Michael shuffles off in his bathrobe and bunny slippers to accept the proffered pink pills]

Has something like this ever happened to you?

p.s. If you thought this was funny… or if you just want to get this infernal song stuck in your friends’ heads, feel free to share it.

Save

18 comments

Skip to comment form

  1. Hahahaha! What I love about this post is how absolutely TRUE it is! When I was 13 (my first experience at Disney World), we got stuck on that awful awful ride! I will NEVER go back on it again for fear of getting stuck on it again. I don’t remember what section we were in, but that song on repeat is torture….whichever “land” you’re hearing it in.

    I agree – total conspiracy!

    1. LOL. See… I KNEW I wasn’t the only one! And I know my little girl is going to want to ride it when we take her to Disney World so she can see all those cute dolls. I’ll have to do my best to hide my terror. It’s not good to let your little girl see you cry over singing dolls. 😉

      1. Hahahaha – true – she might not understand why you’re crying…..until the ride stops and she’s asking you why the dolls won’t stop singing. That will be the last time you have to ride it ever again, guaranteed 🙂

        My mom was in Disney a few years ago and thought it would be funny to call me from inside that ride – instant nightmares LOL 🙂

  2. I love it! I don’t ever recall being stuck in It’s a Small World, but after reading Kingdom Keepers, I would be creeped out to be stuck!
    I was recently stuck in Haunted Mansion at WDW, in the section where the bride is offing her husbands. (I rode it by myself, hubby and son were somewhere else in the park.) I don’t want to be stuck there again!

    1. Yikes… you got stuck in the Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World? I must confess as a kid I liked THAT ride (what they used to call an E-Ticket Ride), but I never got stuck on it as I did the Small World ride. I guess if you got stuck in the part where the four ghost faces were singing that song over and over it’d be comparable?

      1. That would definitely it for me!!!(Comparable to your It’s a Small World!) I’m so glad that I wasn’t stuck in the area where the candelabra is floating in the air down the hallway! (not for monotonous reasons, but I would be creeped out!)

  3. I love this post!!! That happened to me the first time I went on the ride (I was 21 and still scared!!!) Once that song is in your head, you can never escape it. My Mother loves it, and she went and bought my son a toy that plays it. Needless to say, that toy has vanished!!!!!!

    1. Too funny, Sarah! Actually if you look at the video clip I included, it’s a British family where the mom got them to go on the ride. Sounds a bit like your experience. The oldest son is filming the HORROR. 😉 Oh, I could never have a toy that played that song. It’s been in my head since I wrote this blog. How do I get it out?

    2. I just got stuck on Little Mermaid for over a half hour!! I was seriously wondering if we were going to end up in the Quantum realm 😂

      1. OMG! That would be terrifying. We also got stuck at the “dead men tell no tales” portion of Pirates of the Caribbean ride. At least the little mermaid music might have been more soothing?

  4. damn you and your mind altering babble songs…now i’m not going to be able to sleep thanks to that song going through my head!

    wm

    1. It had occurred to me that could be a side effect for readers of this blog. Ah well, it’s not so bad. It’s a small world after all, it’s a small world… 😉

  5. Thanks for the laugh this morning, Michael.
    Worse than your story…as a teenager working at McDonalds I would “hear” the fry beepers constantly…sleep included.

    1. Oh, no! Do you still ask people if they’d like “fries with that” even though you’re not at a restaurant? That is ALMOST as bad, but not quite. Glad I gave you a laugh. The blog I just posted isn’t so funny, so it’s hit or miss if one comes here looking for humor. Have a great day.

  6. Funny story, but now I’ve got that damn song stuck in my head too!

    1. Haha! That was my true evil plan. 😉

  7. OH MY GOSH… I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE?!?!

    This is the support group I’ve needed for YEARS after being stuck on that during a summer trip. This was early 2000’s, pre-smartphone, so I couldn’t document the horror.

    Remember, we’re not alone!

    1. Haha! I know, right, Steve? Since then, my family has been stuck on Pirates of the Caribbean (though for shorter amounts of time) at least 4 times. After the 50th time the booming voice says, “DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES!” you slowly loose your mind. :0 It does beg the question, why do we keep getting on these rides? 🙂

Leave a Reply to Barb Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Pinterest
Pinterest
fb-share-icon
Instagram