‘The torture’: ‘It’s a Small World’ plays endlessly for Disney visitors stuck on ride

“It’s a Small World,” that love-it-or-hate-it boat ride at Walt Disney World, can give you an ear worm on a normal day. But what happens when the ride gets stuck, and visitors have to hear the song loop over and over, over and over?

A world of laughter can become a world of tears.

“We were stuck for over an hour, the torture,” said user hazeysmom22 on TikTok, who posted a video on July 29.

@hazeysmom22 We were stuck for over an hour, the torture #smallworlddisneybound #disney #disneyworld ♬ Oh No - Kreepa

During the malfunction earlier this summer at the Magic Kingdom in Central Florida, parents and kids sat waiting in their boats, the TikTok video showed. Usually, the ride lasts about 15 minutes.

The journey on a track takes riders through different scenes of miniature dolls dancing and singing. The dolls represent an assortment of countries and cultures. During the ride, the song “It’s A Small World After All” continues on a loop more than a dozen times.

But when things go wrong ...

“They didn’t realize for like 45 mins, everyone was on a boat so we sat there for about an hour stuck with the song on repeat!!” the original poster said in reply to a comment.

Other TikTokers sympathized with the stuck folks — especially with the song going on and on.

“Oh great, now I have the song stuck in my mind and I wasn’t even there!” said user Sara Squiers.

Guests getting stranded on malfunctioning rides isn’t new to Disney World.

In 2020, a boat on Magic Kingdom’s Jungle Cruise sank with guests onboard. And in 2019, riders on Disney World’s transportation rail, Skyliner, were stuck in gondolas with no air conditioning for hours.

But at least they didn’t have to hear “It’s a Small World” on repeat.