Longtime Cast Members Reveal Shocking Reason This Disney Ride Doesn’t Get Updated

A guest shared insight from a cast member wherein they explained why one Disney ride doesn’t get updates that many feel are incredibly necessary.

Updating Disney rides is one of the most basic necessities at the theme parks, and yet many fans constantly feel like rides are not being maintained as they need to. Be it at a domestic Disney Park like Disney California Adventure Park in the Southern California Disney Resort or a global Disney Park like Disneyland Park in Disneyland Paris, maintenance is standard procedure to keep the rides functioning well.

Despite this, every fan is well aware of how it feels to have your favorite ride or attraction—whether it’s a dark ride like Haunted Mansion, a thrilling ride like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, or one like Kali River Rapids—close for maintenance and refurbishment.

(Or occasionally, permanently like Splash Mountain did for its retheme into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.)

Fan Shares Shocking Insight from Cast Member About Lack of Proper Disney Ride Maintenance 

In a recent thread about the “sad and infuriating” state of classic Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort attraction, “it’s a small world,” a fan explained why it was in its current state.

The guest explained that six years ago, while enjoying a Disney vacation at the Magic Kingdom, he had a chance to talk to a cast member about the state of “it’s a small world.” The guest asked the cast member how much of the current attraction was original, and the CM had a surprising answer.

He responded, “About 95%. The thing is, we are pretty sure that the ceiling tiles have asbestos in them, which is fine, if we don’t touch them. But to fix a lot of things, we’d disturb them, and that’d be an abatement situation, which would not only require replacement of the tiles, but taking the ride off line for at least a year. So we just leave it, because our only other option is a big one.”

The guest who grew up in Florida in the ’70s and ’80s added, “I have no reason to not believe what I heard.”

Many fans immediately commented about how that made a lot of sense for Disney rides, and for “it’s a small world” in particular.

One wrote, “…Well, that explains why they haven’t replaced the patchy ceiling tiles noted in another comment. Oof. As a WDW fan and a Small World fan in particular I’d like to see them commit to a long refurb to get the whole thing back in order, but it makes sense why they’re putting it off if it’s a choice between a big project or doing such minor repairs that they’ll never keep up.”

What do you think of this explanation? Do you agree? Let us know in the comments!