Disneyland Trip From Hell: Quadriplegic Stuck on 'It's a Small World' Ride for 40 Minutes

By Simone Wilson Fri., Feb. 11 2011 at 5:30 AM

Satan's little helpers

We're pretty sure we had a nightmare about this.

But for quadriplegic Jose Martinez, who made the mistake of taking a nice, relaxing trip to Disneyland in November 2009, there was no waking up from the terror: Due to a computer glitch, his "It's a Small World" boat got stuck in its tracks right before the end of the tunnel.

Unfortunately, the "It's a Small World" theme song did not get stuck along with it. Oh, no. It just kept going. And going. And going. And going.

This, of course, did not pair well with his pre-existing spinal-chord injury.

"It feels like an ice pick going through your temples," Martinez tells the OC Register. "Especially when you couple that with the continuous 'Small World' music in the background."

Weird. that's EXACTLY how it felt in our nightmare. To experience a fraction of the poor man's pain, backtrack infinitely:

But this horror story isn't over yet.

Just when it seemed things could not possibly get any worse for Martinez that November afternoon, Disneyland workers decided to push his wheelchair over to the First Aid tent -- where he was forced to witness a personal performance by Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

"It was like insult to injury," Martinez told reporters.

Orange County Register

Our hero. Seriously.

His legal claim? (What, you mean aside from cruel and fucking unusual punishment?) According to the Register:

Jose Martinez of San Pedro filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Monday, saying the Walt Disney Co. violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to have adequate evacuation procedures for visitors with mobility disabilities.

Martinez says he suffered from dysreflexia, or stress-induced high blood pressure that could have led to stroke or death, while he was stuck in the ride. And so, in perhaps the most justified lawsuit in the history of our "35 percent beef" nation, Martinez is suing the park for all its worth.

Cue the violins (no, really, do):

Martinez told employees that he needed to get off the ride immediately, but he wasn't able to leave until the ride started up again and went to the dock exit, he said.

And still, through it all, the "Small World" survivor maintains his dignity, hoping only that he lives to see a better day. "We're not just trying to sue because it's available," he says. "To us, it's to make the proper changes [at the park]."

And for this reason, we realize that we will never, ever be able to complain about anything, for the rest of our lives.

Tags:

Disneyland, first aid, It's a Small World, lawsuit, Quadriplegic, technical difficulties

We Recommend

Ann Unemori

There is no amount of money in the entire WORLD that could make up for being stuck in that thing for even five minutes more than necessary even in perfect health.To quote Elmer Fudd: "The howwah, the howwah..."

No One

If you revers the song backwards, the lyrics are a bit odd, theyre,

All hail walt DisneyRemember walt Disney Forevver lOve walt Disney And so on,,, hahaha.... What a coincidence!!

8-/

dads

I recall when a ride broke down with me and the wife on board. Great view of the park and surrounding area. Problems happen, best to be patient and understanding

Rodney

For some of the comments about how unjustified the suit is -- remember, the man is a quadriplegic who was put in a life-threatening situation (stress-induced high blood pressure that could have led to stroke or death) because the ride got stuck and Disney did not have the proper facilities for adequate evacuation procedures for visitors with mobility disabilities -- he was stuck for 40 minutes while other passengers had already been evacuated. So he had a valid claim because Disney failed to provide reasonable accommodations to his disability.

Albee351

He's a parasite, plain and simple. What if he wanted to climb Mt. Everest, would he demand Nepal install a lift system and wheelchair ramps? We have to work with what we've got in life, I do, so should he. This lower primate opts to board a BOAT ride, what does he expect? If he rides a rollercoaster, is he expecting a rapid way to extricate him should something go amiss? He has deeper issues that have nothing to do with the Walt Disney Company, or anyone else for that matter. My personal feeling? Reward him with a long boat ride at sea...

Squirrel

Oh, please. If being annoyed for 40 minutes creates a "life threatening" situation for you, stay home.

chris

I hope he wins the lawsuit and then gets hit by a bus when his wheel chair loses power in the center of the street.

It isn't Disney's fault you are crippled, stop looking for ways to blame them.

PingoKingo

Lemme guess, a lawsuit is forthcoming? The bottom feeding, blood sucking attorneys small a gravy train to board lol.

www.anon-toolz.edu.tc

WhatATrip

Good thing he wasn't on acid or mushrooms!

Built2bModest

I'm still confused:

1. Obv the dude paid to be entertained for the day, so didn't he get more than his money's worth? Since when is more Disney a bad thing? He chose to go on that ride so he must enjoy it somewhat, right? If I got stuck on Star Tours all day, Id be so stoked!

2. He can't sit still for 40min? The dude is driving an electric stroller. The seats in the Small World aren't that uncomfortable, he could've even took a nap.

Some adults like to visit Disneyland and act like children again, others like to act like babies.

EnsignRicky

If you had ever been on that ride, you'd understand.

That song starts worming its way into your brain, attempting to replace all of your good memories. It does this about 15 seconds into the ride. By the end, you either hate the song or have forgotten everything that ever made you happy. That ride breaks people.

40 EXTRA minutes of that soul-crushing tune? I'm amazed there was enough of him left to be angry about it...

Cinderella01

You have got to be freaking kidding me. People will sue Disney for anything. What about the other who were stuck on the ride with him and could not get off either. Do they get to claim a lawsuit too or is it just if your handicapped and can play on that sympathy. We have become a sue happy country. Pretty soon Disney is going to start making you sign a waiver to even step into their parks because of people pulling stunts like this. I was stuck on the GM Test Track for 30 minutes one year and they did not have any way to evacuate us either til they got the computer glitch working again and I did not feel the need to file a lawsuit against them. These are things you have to deal with when you get on these rides, it does happen. Maybe people that are not willing to accept this should just not go to Disney.

Ann Unemori

Good, because I hate Disney.