A few days ago, I wrote a post based upon an original statement from Miceage.com claiming that the boats on the It's a Small World ride in Disneyland were bottoming out and getting stuck due to the growing size of the average American visitor. The concept was that the ride, designed for the 1964-1965 World's Fair, could not accommodate the greater weight of visitors 43 years later. It sounds reasonable.
However, I wanted to dig into this idea a little more. Were there similar concerns for boat rides in Walt Disney World, such as the version of It's a Small World or Pirates of the Caribbean here in Orlando?
I contacted representatives from Walt Disney World to pose the question and received the following answer. Although the Disneyland ride It's a Small World is closing down, it is not because guests are weighing down the boats. The boats are 43 years old and have had repairs throughout the year. Per the Walt Disney representative, the repairs had a cumulative effect to correct wear & tear on the bottom of the boat that essentially increased the depth of the boat. Think of it as one layer of repair upon another.
One of the questions still on my mind is how Walt Disney World deals with the growing size of the average visitor and some of the aging attractions that may not have been designed for additional wait. The short answer is that Disney Engineers regularly inspect the attractions to maintain a safe environment for guests. Many aspects of Walt Disney World were designed with accessibility in mind to accommodate all guests.
So what about the issue of an aging infrastructure and changing guest sizes? We'll have to find out in another post, as the Disney representative promised to ask a few more questions and get back to me with an answer.
Whether you believe that guests are too larger or the repairs have added depth to the boat, it's undeniable that Disneyland is taking action to correct a problem.
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