It's a small, (too) small world

My family and I used to hit up Disney World every holiday season and I LOVED it (well, except for those fun, angsty teenage years when I hated it and why won't you just leave me alone?!) One of my, my mom's and my grandma's favorite rides was "It's a Small World." I always smailed, looking up from my motorized pseud-canoe and the little dolls swaying back and forth, circling the fake ice-covered pond, dancing in clogs among the tulips.

So you can imagine my surprise upon learning the famous ride in Disneyland is now closed. For almost a year. Why? No, not because some overly-PC tourists compainted about the accents/words being stereotypying, or because some kid jumped in the water and got his Crocs stuck in the conveyer belt. It's closed because - rumor has it - visitors are too big. Yup, we Americans have become so overweight that "It's a Small World" needs reinforcement.

I'm sure the Mickey Mouse-shaped ice cream bombs and gooey cheese fries at the end of every ride have nothing to do with this.

I learned about "Small World"'s not-so-small problem from a blog on Huffington Post written by documentary-maker Bryan Young. Young is fascinated with America's obesity epidemic and is currently making a film called "Killer at Large" to illustrate the causes, effects and possible solutions to this problem.

In his blog, Young wrote that while the ride was originally built to hold average-sized visitors, in the last 40+ years, the boats have actually bottomed out, causing operators to stop the ride and help escort people off. (According to different web stories I've seen on the topic, the original boats were designed and built in 1963 based on the average adult male rider weighing 175 pounds; women, 135). "The boats and the ride have been in faithful service with no changes until now," Young writes on HuffPo, "and America's expanding waistline is the culprit." He adds that similar problems have plagued the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride. Damn Keira Knightley!

I used to work for the American Medical Association and fighting obesity was a major area of advocacy. At a conference I one interviewed (now former) U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona, MD, and as we walked across a ballroom at a ridiculously fast clip, I remember his telling me obesity, in his opinion, was the greatest threat to public health today, killing more Americans every year than AIDS, all cancers and all accidents combined (I admit, I don't remember his exact words and refreshed my mind by visiting the web site. But he did say this.)

According to Disneyland reps, heavy tourists are not to blame for the revamp, but rather built up fiberglass patches which have added to much structural bulk to the boats. Sounds like spin, no? Nobody wants to cry in the Magic Kingdom, after all.

What would Ariel the shapely Little Mermaid say about this??

Comments

i posted about this on my own blog as well. Indeed as our world's girth grows larger, the world does seem smaller. Anyhow, i was think about this for a while and i really dont know what to think. On one hand, yes, its not good that we are having an obesity issue, but is it better to leave out those who already cant get on the rides. It must feel devstating having to sit out when all your "thin" friends get to ride (its like when i got pissed when all my tall friends got to ride on the height restriction roller coasters). I think disney is simply after money, if their tourists dont fit, they wont pay the 70 bucks (crazy!? i know, i live 30 min from disneyland) it costs for ticket.

Why don't they just have weight restrictions on the rides? The normal ones shouldn't have to suffer because America likes to cater to the overweight.

Its terrible that people are getting so heavy that all these things are being revamped, inc movie seats etc. Its so unhealthy. Ha ha but the cheese fries at the end of the ride have nothing to do with it. they are alreay heavy getting to the park and those treats should still be available to those who enjoy a treat on vacation but eat heathily year round.

the worst part is, once you are overweight, it is so so so hard to lose it. its a vicious circle, and now that the US has entered this epidemic, its going to be so hard to get ourselves out of it. Prevention is important, but we also have to lose the weight we've gained over the years.

in a sort of unrelated note, i wanted to pass this link to you http://www.prosnack.com/
they are protein bars that my boss just ordered...simple, natural ingredients. unfortunately i cant tell you how they taste because they are his but i might order some for myself. it is so hard to find a protein bar that is simple, all natural, and raw!

anyway, you had written that blog on different bars and i just wanted to call your attention to this one in case you had not heard of it.

When I was a kid being fat was not the norm, but it seems to be now and that is really a shame. Prevention is definately the key. We need to put our focus back on exercise and healthy eating as something we do naturally not a temporary solution.Get off our butts and walk to the corner store, go out and play with our kids, ride a bike,eat some fresh food instead of something fast or frozen. Take charge of your health and that of your childrens.

This is just a rumor. My daughter works for Disney. The real truth is that the ride is old and been repaired so many times that it needed a revamp. This is just a RUMOR! That's it!

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