kames was hospitalized with a serious case of stomach ulcers in the mid-1960s. doctors had to completely remove his stomach. in 1968, kames took his family to disneyland following his recovery. his trip to disneyland inspired kames to record the theme song to the disney ride it's a small world. kames personally asked walt disney for permission to record the song, which disney granted. kames became one of the first non-disney employees to record a version of the song.