yensidtlaw1969
Well-Known Member
Some of the most successful rides in the world have only one song where they rely on variations of it to carry you through the whole experience - Given the nature of theme park rides as a medium it often seems like that's a better way to carry guests through to a complete and satisfying experience.Am I an outlier for not wanting a lot of songs in my dark ride? I did enjoy the Splash Mt music (zip..) and, do they use “heigh hi” in mine train (only been on it once, so don’t recall!). Music/audio is obviously huge in attractions and ones I love (eg Haunted Mansion, Pirates, etc), but I am pretty underwhelmed with the 21st-c Disney songbook. (I still don’t get why “Let it go” is such a hit, let alone “we don’t talk about Bruno”?) Maybe it’s because I haven’t seen them in their respective films, where the stories/characters carry them? I really like Coco, but think the actual songs are weak (love the visuals, instrumental stuff, and themes). I kind of feel like they should swing bigger with some rides and not just rely on a song to be the big moment - ideally I’d like a ride/attraction experience to bring more immersion or delight than what could be accomplished by throwing in a songtrack or parking a child in front of a film on Disney+. The more I write, though, the more I think I’m probably in the minority here. Glad others have love for this type of thing!
Attractions like Mermaid which try to jam most of a movie's songbook into a few short minutes don't seem to acquit themselves the same way (though of course Mermaid somewhat famously has issues beyond that). I wonder sometimes if they'd have had more success just letting the ride be a pageant through Ariel's undersea world with "Under the Sea" underscoring the whole thing as opposed to the fractured and fragmented book report it ended up being.
Picking one song that sums up the whole experience you're having seems to work plenty well for Pirates, The Haunted Mansion, and it's a small world. I'd think the premise could work for a number of existing properties, provided they pick the right song.