Music can give you so many emotions. It can make you feel happy, sad, it can bring back nice memories, it can make you feel excited, it can make you feel relaxed and it even can make you look forward to something that hasn't happened yet.
Themepark music is able to do this too! Through the years lots of beautiful scores have been written for shows, parades and attractions. And many of these scores have been written by movie composers.
Music is a big part of your experience when you're in a Disney park. From the moment you arrive, music immerses you into the magic. Like soundtracks can do with movies. Even if you don't realize it, there is music everywhere.
The Imagineers even thought about the tempo of the music, which matches the tempo of the guests, the music is supporting you. The tempo of the music at Main Street U.S.A. is a bit faster in the morning, more upbeat and will guide you quickly to your destination. In the afternoon the tempo of the music is a bit slower.
Inside the shops there is music too! At the Tower of Terror shop at Disneyland Paris for example you can hear jazzy music echoing in the background. I love to walk around there and listen to the music and feel the atmosphere of this attraction.
When you walk to another land the music will change too. Without having to open your eyes you knów you've moved from Adventureland to Frontierland.
Just sitting on a bench and enjoying the area music near an attraction or in a certain land or area can sometimes be just as good as riding an attraction for me personally. Even though i have motion sickness and i can't ride certain attractions, i can still enjoy them just as much as someone else. All thanks to what an attraction looks like on the outside, the attention to detail and some lovely area music, like at 'De Vliegende Hollander/The Flying Dutchman' at the Dutch Themepark 'Efteling' for example.
Many of the attractions have a memorable soundtrack which adds to the experience and emotion of the ride. There are so many soundtracks that i love.
A few Disney attractions and shows with memorable soundtracks for me are:
- Phantom Manor - by John Debney, English ghost host by Vincent Price
- Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune - by Steven Bramson
- Les Visionarium: From Time to Time - by Bruce Broughton
- Spaceship Earth - by Bruce Broughton
- Soarin' over California - by Jerry Goldsmith
- Illuminations: Reflections of Earth - by Gavin Greenaway
Some memorable Efteling soundtracks for me are:
- De Vliegende Hollander - by René Merkelbach
- Fata Morgana - by Ruud Bos
- Spookslot - Danse Macabre by Camille Saint Saëns
- Droomvlucht - by Ruud Bos
- Baron 1898 - De Witte Wieven - by René Merkelbach
- Fairytale Forest: Cinderella - by Karel Willemen and René Merkelbach
- Aquanura Morning Symphony - by René Merkelbach
Listening to the soundtracks when you're at home and not able to visit one of the Disney Parks might bring back nice memories or can make you long to go back and ride the attraction or watch the show again. Even if you don't go on the rides at all, maybe because of motion sickness, the scores are very enjoyable to listen to even if you're just at home.
And listening to these instrumental scores helps me to feel more relaxed but it can definately help me concentrate better while i'm working too.
So yeah, music can do lots for me. I hope it does for you too.
It might sound silly for some but when i first heard the scores of Illuminations: Reflections Of Earth, Soarin' and Mickey's Jamming Jungle Parade i couldn't wait to go to Walt Disney World anymore. I wanted to visit WDW for a while already, but the soundtracks made me long for a visit to this resort even more, so i finally booked a trip in 2008. I wanted to be part of this music, hear it around me wíth the experience of the show/the attraction/the parade.
Recently i've discovered two new beautiful soundtracks.
One is from The Tree of Life Awakenings. A projection mapping show at the Tree of Life in Disney's Animal Kingdom.
From what i've seen on videos it looks amazing. The projections look very bright and colourful and together with the beautiful soundtrack (written by Andrew Lockington) this is another amazing show that i really want to experience myself someday.
The second one is from the new show Rivers of Light (written by Don Harper and Mark Mancina). A nighttime spectacular celebrating the beauty of all living things.
These two beautiful soundtracks make me long to go back to WDW again. But, that will definately be áfter the opening of Pandora. I'm very curious about what the imagineers have created. I want to experience this beautiful new land, the plants, the colours, the details ánd of course the area music and attraction music too.
Also at Efteling there is a new attraction to be opened this Summer: Symbolica. This new darkride looks very promissing and i can't wait to see all the details inside this new attraction and hear the new soundtrack of this ride.
So there are lots of things at Disney's Animal Kingdom and Efteling to look forward to.
And in the meantime... i will listen to all the amazing Disney park and Efteling scores and dream about new places and new experiences. ✨
* Click on the colored links for informative videos, playlists and soundtracks.
