Christmas music overkill

Tom Morrow

Tom Morrow

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I am one of those folks that is annoyed by Christmas.... until its actually within two weeks or so. That said, I don't mind and enjoy some Christmas decorations. I love things like the IllumiNations holiday tag and Osborne lights. But - the amount of BGM (background music) in the parks that is replaced by the same handful of Christmas music loops is absolute overkill and cheapens the WDW experience.

This is where you Christmas lovers stop reading and reply "No, Christmas is wonderful and you are wrong for not wanting to be forced to endure the same Christmas songs everywhere, for 1/6th of the year, every year!"

Well, if that is what you're going to say, DO NOT reply to this thread. Thanks!

Here's the deal, yes, some people visit WDW around the holidays specifically to see WDW during the holidays. And that's fine, that's what the decorations, the Christmas parties, the Osborne lights, the Holiday offerings at Epcot, the Candlelight processional, Holiday Wishes, IllumiNations holiday tag, etc... are for.

But the music. Replacing SO MUCH of the intended BGM with generic Christmas loops? All that does is cheapen the experience and make WDW feel like your local shopping mall. Hollywood Blvd and ALL of Future World, for example, have the exact same loop. Instead of hearing the carefully picked music that enhances the atmosphere and painstaking detailed theming... it's just generic Christmas music. It is played at the bus stops... the main entrances... entire themed areas... gift shops... resort lobbies... attraction queue loops... if you visit WDW during this time you will literally be hearing the same handful of Christmas music non-stop for your entire trip.

And for every person that chose to visit WDW during the holidays to see it decorated, I'm sure there's an equal number that are only there because its the only time they could coordinate time off for their family. Maybe these people want to experience Walt Disney World, and not "Christmas Walt Disney World."

Again, I have nothing against the decorations and even some Christmas music, I am only ranting about the overuse of Christmas music.

</rant> </bah humbug> etc.
 
Last edited:
rsoxguy

rsoxguy

Well-Known Member
Hello Mr. Morrow, Mr. Tom Morrow.
Christmas is a money maker, and I am of the opinion that WDW currently exists solely to make money. That is, I believe, the primary reason for this seasonal shift in music. It is regrettable that some folks find this annoying and yes, disappointing, on their seasonal trips to the parks. Perhaps a less commercialized society will one day clamor in unison for less Christmas music, but for the present time it would seem that you are in the minority.

(For the sake of proper disclosure I, for one, enjoy the seasonal music. Granted, I have made it a habit to go often, so it is less of a mood killer regarding my Disney World "fix".)
 
Cmdr_Crimson

Cmdr_Crimson

Well-Known Member
*Shudders* I loathe the Christmas music in the parks...I was there during the end of F&W at Epcot and it was just 4 days of listening to the regular loops. I left for 2 days for Universal and came back to hear that Uncomfortable 1970's style Department store christmas music that was playing in Innoventions Plaza.....Not only that...It was the SAME LOOP at every park..:banghead:


Let's just say I was not a happy person...IMO Just play the christmas loop at the entrance and leave the rest of the loops alone...My ears couldn't take that much in every park...
 
Last edited:
lilclerk

lilclerk

Well-Known Member
I am totally with you, and I LOVE Christmas music. I'm one of those crazy people that really enjoyed working in retail during the holidays because the music helped keep me in a good mood.

But the music is such a huge part of the WDW experience, and when it's all replaced by the same generic Christmas music, it really ruined the experience for me. The Osborne lights were really the only "Christmas" thing I enjoyed (yes, we did holidays around the world in Epcot, and MVMCP.) I won't visit around the holidays again.
 
draybook

draybook

Well-Known Member
You'd be mad if you worked with me, because the radio station that plays over the PA system, 104.5 The River, has been playing nothing but Christmas music since November 17th. I'm in Xmas heaven, but some of my coworkers don't share my enthusiasm. My only beef is the limited number of songs that they seem to have in their rotation.

As for hearing it at Disney World, I love it. However, I can see your point about it being overwhelming.
 
unkadug

unkadug

Follower of "Saget"The Cult
bah-humbug1.jpg
 
epcot2004

epcot2004

Active Member
We really missed the loops by ABC Commissary and area music at EPCOT. Did they always replace the BG music with Christmas music? The perfect balance is regular music with the Christmas decorations.
 
CAPTAIN HOOK

CAPTAIN HOOK

Well-Known Member
Tom Morrow said:
Well, if that is what you're going to say, DO NOT reply to this thread. Thanks!
Click to expand...
You're entitled to your point of view. HOWEVER, I enjoy Christmas carols and I enjoy Disney at Christmas. I find that I'm that totally immersed in enjoying my Disney vacation that I only really get to notice the songs when I'm in the shops, not while I'm fighting the masses getting across the parks
 
G

gsimpson

Well-Known Member
I partially agree with the OP, having the same rather generic/horrid Christmas music deployed in a large number of locations does cheapen the experience. Christmas has been around for a while now and there have been tens of thousands of Christmas songs recorded but for some reason TDO seems to have chosen the "I Heart Radio" (gag) path of choosing a very small number of tracks and just playing them over and over ad nauseum from every possible speaker.
 
Tom Morrow

Tom Morrow

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Animaniac93-98 said:
DLP suffers from a similar problem of having the same loop play in several different locations. It'd be much better to have different arrangements to fit the theme of specific areas.
Click to expand...
Yep. An example of good use, I would say, is at Rock 'n' Roller Coaster - Christmas rock music. I also enjoy it because it reminds me of the early days of RnRc, when the music loop was a mix and not just Aerosmith. Bad/lazy example is using the same generic Christmas loop for Hollywood Blvd and all of Future World. It doesn't fit the theme of either, it just seems lazy and corporate to me.

For WDW, it annoys me the most when they're still playing it half-way through January.
Click to expand...
This is another major annoyance. A day or two after the new year? Fine. Halfway into January? At that point I think most people would have a hard time arguing that it's just tacky.

Cmdr_Crimson said:
*Shudders* I loathe the Christmas music in the parks...I was there during the end of F&W at Epcot and it was just 4 days of listening to the regular loops. I left for 2 days for Universal and came back to hear that Uncomfortable 1970's style Department store christmas music that was playing in Innoventions Plaza.....Not only that...It was the SAME LOOP at every park..:banghead:


Let's just say I was not a happy person...IMO Just play the christmas loop at the entrance and leave the rest of the loops alone...My ears couldn't take that much in every park...
Click to expand...

I felt that IOA had a minimal amount of Christmas music - mostly at the entrance and Port of Entry, and not much elsewhere. However, US seemed as bad as WDW - almost everything seemed to have been replaced with Christmas music, but at least not the same loops.

I agree, keep it at the entrance and a few select areas.
 
zurgandfriend

zurgandfriend

Well-Known Member
I work retail at the holidays to earn money to visit WDW each year. I have been listening to Christmas music since November 1st. My complaint is that this year they replaced Bing Crosby, Gene Autry and Nat “King” Cole with Michael Buble, Taylor Swift and Johnny Mathis??? Two months of Johnny Mathis could make Santa Claus hate Christmas music.
 
unkadug

unkadug

Follower of "Saget"The Cult
zurgandfriend said:
I work retail at the holidays to earn money to visit WDW each year. I have been listening to Christmas music since November 1st. My complaint is that this year they replaced Bing Crosby, Gene Autry and Nat “King” Cole with Michael Buble, Taylor Swift and Johnny Mathis??? Two months of Johnny Mathis could make Santa Claus hate Christmas music.
Click to expand...
I like Johnny Mathis' Christmas music
 
Matt_Black

Matt_Black

Well-Known Member
I liked DHS's holiday selections, as they fit each area of the park. Rock 'n' Roller Coaster had Christmas Rock, Back by the Chinese Theater there was more standard stuff (Burl Ives, Elvis), and the area around the Muppets theater had Muppet Christmas songs (sadly, I didn't here any from the John Denver and the Muppets album).
 
MaryJaneP

MaryJaneP

Well-Known Member
We are 50-50 here. Not in favor of generic Christmas music loops that are the same in multiple areas. We like Christmas music, but would prefer if they had location specific loops that were Christmas sounding. Might be too expensive (cheaper to use existing songs) to have new music written, produced, and performed. To paraphrase a popular current song, TDO seems to think "its all about that cash, about that cash, no spending" (repeat ad infinitum).
 
wdwgreek

wdwgreek

Well-Known Member
Cmdr_Crimson said:
*Shudders* I loathe the Christmas music in the parks...I was there during the end of F&W at Epcot and it was just 4 days of listening to the regular loops. I left for 2 days for Universal and came back to hear that Uncomfortable 1970's style Department store christmas music that was playing in Innoventions Plaza.....Not only that...It was the SAME LOOP at every park..:banghead:


Let's just say I was not a happy person...IMO Just play the christmas loop at the entrance and leave the rest of the loops alone...My ears couldn't take that much in every park...
Click to expand...

The future according to Filenes and G-Fox! It shouts the futures for sure.....
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom