For 43 years, the happy smiley people at Disneyland have been telling us it's a small world after all. But now, finally, reality has set in.
In January, Southern California's signature theme park will be closing its most famous ride – the one where visitors pile into flat-bottomed boats and go on a shiny plastic water tour of Planet Earth to the strains of that supremely irritating song. The ride has to undergo some renovation.
The reason? Disneyland's visitors have been getting not smaller but bigger, wider and fatter, and the boats on the "It's a Small World" ride have developed an annoying habit of running aground under all the extra weight.
Dredger?