In February of 2002, I made my first journey to Florida with my son Alex. It was not long after 9/11, and security was tight. It was also the first big trip I would take by myself with just one kid. So, needless to say, we were a little apprehensive. But, despite all that, it was a very memorable trip, the first of many since.
Of course, when one ventures to Florida, and one had a child with them, one must make the pilgrimage to Disney World. This, of course, was the destination we most wanted to visit. My folks were more than delighted to bring us there. My parents, when at Disney World, become like children themselves (minus the tantrums), marvelling at the sights and sounds.
As we wound ourselves through the Magic Kingdom, my dad was steering us in a particular direction. He kept telling me, ‘Bill, you can’t come to Disney without visiting this one ride….I’m not going to tell you which ride….but you HAVE to go there!’ With that kind of enthusiasm, how could I not go?
We did all the rides we could….the Haunted House, Splash Mountain (4 times), the Pirates of the Caribbean, the Country Bear Jamboree, the Land of Tomorrow. And then, I saw it in his eyes. We had reached the place he most wanted to go. The ‘It’s A Small World’ pavilion.
For those who have not been to and experienced this place, ‘It’s A Small World’ is something to behold. After you enter, you sit in a small boat, and are pulled through this enormous building with separate rooms, all with animatronic children dressed in every kind of clothing seen around the world, and all singing ‘It’s A Small World After All’….but in the native language of whichever culture you were seeing at the time. At first, it’s cute and quaint. By the end, I was ready to stuff gum in my ears, and was pretty close to seizures. Alex and my parents looked like they’d go again if I’d allow it, but uh-uh…no way!
The point of all this is that, while leaving the boat, we met some other people from our home town of Sturgeon Falls. Ironic? Coincidence? Perhaps. But that didn’t stop everyone from standing around and saying ‘It really IS a small world…after all!’. Ha ha. It’s a good thing I was with Alex, and we didn’t have any weapons because security was so tight, or else who knows what would have happened.
The next year, I had the pleasure of bringing my youngest, Mackie, on this same pilgrimage. And, inevitably, we ended up in front of the Small World pavilion. Mackie was only 4 at the time, and my parents were giving me googly eyes, so I gave in. We went back in, to torture our ears with this damned song. And sure enough, after getting off our boat, we met a couple from Sturgeon Falls. And yes, we said the same damned thing.
From what I’ve read, this pavilion is renowned for this phenomenon. I wouldn’t have believed it had I not experienced it myself a THIRD time while visiting there with both kids. This time it was relatives. Now it was bordering on the downright bizarre. I don’t know what’s scarier…the fact that this happened, or the fact that I went a third time. The jury is still out on that one.
Well, they do call it the Magic Kingdom. I’m just never going back to that ride.
Bill's Musings 