Overlawyered: Chronicling The High Cost Of Our Legal System

Man stranded on “It’s a Small World” wins $8,000 from Disney

“A disabled man was awarded $8,000 by Disneyland after the It’s A Small World ride broke, stranding him for 30 minutes while the theme song played on a loop.” [Georgia Daily News]

P.S. “What’s the award if I can’t stop humming the song?” [@ClayNickel]

Filed under:

11 Comments

  • Have you ever been on that ride? I don’t think he got enough compensation.

    • By KDP

  • 30 minutes of ‘it’s a small world’ should be declared torture by the UN. He could claim millions.

    • By ps

  • If only they had water boarded him instead they wouldn’t owe him anything, because then it wouldn’t be torture.

    You know I’ve always thought that punitive damages are important but I don’t think they should go to the defendant. They should go to the state or something. Pain and suffering? Yeah okay that rightly belongs to the defendant but punishing a negligent company shouldn’t mean undeservedly enriching a plaintiff.

  • When we went there in the early 90s when the girls were little.. the ride broke down for about 45 minutes. So there we sat, with these little puppets singing “its’ a small world”. I cannot stand that song now, I guess I should have sued for ‘mental anguish’ and all the rest. I was just glad to get off that darn ride. People are sue-happy.

    • By Diane S

  • What grounds are there for a lawsuit? Technical glitches happen. I was on the ‘Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster’ at Movie World when it broke down. We were stuck until an attendant got us out. It never did me any harm and I got an unusual perspective on the ride.

  • The last time I went to Disney World, I rather liked the “Small World” ride. It was gentle, whimsical, upbeat and charming, and I found myself wishing more of the rides were like it.

  • I liked the ride too. But I think the status of the tune as one of the most notorious “earworms” — impossible to get out of your head afterward — did the most to establish the annoying image.

  • That song is so insidious. As soon as I saw the headlne, my mind started looping the tune. Now I can’t get any shut eye.
    To sleep, perchance to dream.

    • By maro73

  • My brothers and I were at the Disney Pavilion at the NY Worlds Fair in 1964 when the damn ride broke down and we, too, bobbed around in little boats for 30 minutes while “It’s a Small World” endlessly repeated. The most traumatic experience if my young life, one that scarred me permanently. If only I’d thought of suing the bast ids but at 11, my young mind was still forming the warped brain patterns law school would fully develop decades later.
    But the fact that almost fifty years later the same corporation is still subjecting innocent children to this torture convinces me that severe punitive damages should have been awarded: millions, I say, millions!
    Class action suit?

  • So he sued because he got more for his money than expected?

  • The Simpsons included a parody of the ride when the family visits the Duff Gardens theme park.