Review of the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resort Official Albums by Jeff Kober
Tune in to see what's on the latest releases from the Disney Parks.
Read it here!
Review of the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resort Official Albums by Jeff Kober
Tune in to see what's on the latest releases from the Disney Parks.
Read it here!
I, too, have every "official" album from Disneyland and Walt Disney World. I understand the need to repeat a majority of the tracks from release to release, since so many of the songs are simply iconic and must be available for anyone purchasing an album for the first time. You can't leave out "it's a small world," "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)" or "Grim Grinning Ghosts," or else you'll have very disappointed customers.
Honestly, my expectations for these latest CDs were kind of low. Even though it had been something like five years since the last "official" albums, I wasn't expecting much new to turn up. I was very pleasantly surprised to see more than three or four new tracks on each collection. It doesn't make up for the length of time between the latest releases, but they were at least not thrown together as lazily as I expected them to be.
(In case you're not familiar with the history of the "official" theme park CDs, back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, there was a new "official album" for Walt Disney World almost every year. There might only be a handful of new songs on each new release, but over time, it added up to quite a collection.)
Personally, I don't understand why Disney isn't making more CDs and making more money off this treasure-trove of material. Epcot could easily have three releases available at the same time -- a Future World CD, a World Showcase CD, and a "historic" collection of songs from earlier attractions. Why, when you exit Captain EO, can you not buy a CD containing the two songs used in the show? (I know there are licensing fees involved, but if they can license the Indiana Jones theme, they can license a pair of Michael Jackson songs.)
I hope they continue to update the official albums -- certainly more often than they have in the past few years -- and that they continue to make them available in the theme parks. Downloading the songs is fine, but I like being able to pick up an actual souvenir during my visits. It did take a little hunting to turn up the latest WDW CD on my most recent visit, but that actually made it feel that much more special.
Jeff - thanks for the article. I just started collecting the Official Albums for DIsneyland back in the late 90s - but I have noticed that there is no desire to place any show or parade pieces in any CD material since the 50th with Remember. And the older Holiday Album with Believe -Holiday needs a refresher as well. I thought for sure when WoC-Winter Dreams was created they would come back with a holiday piece - but I was left hanging.
I wonder if its because many of these shows/parades have music based on the famous movies, etc -but its performed new and as such if they created recorded elements like CDs they'd have to deal with residuals, etc. I know there are many sites on the Internet that get their hands on the source material and stream the music so it baffles me when Disney itself does not monetize their content. Oh well - the lawyer angle for Disneyland is so twisted and fortified these days I'm surprised anything gets done efficiently. Thanks for the story.
"[Disneyland] has that thing - the imagination, and the feeling of happy excitement - I knew when I was a kid." - Walt Disney
Like you I have several of the "official" park albums. But I found a real treasure online with the site live365.com. Just search for Disney and you'll come up with several stations that play everything from movie themes to area background music to park soundtracks, including tracks from some long lost attractions like Cranium Command and the World of Motion. I use a program called Total Recorder to record several hours worth, and then some editing software to break this file down into separate tracks (I use Adobe Premiere, but there are many packages including some free ones that will do the trick). Using this method I have greatly increased my library of Disney park music!
The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.
- James Taylor
@danyoung - that's what I use! - I also listen to visionsfantastic, reedycreekradio, etc. Some of the other sites have people recording while on the ride (not source material) so the quality is not so good. It is fun, though, to hear old attractions and compare (I heard a set of Christmas Fantasy from just a few years ago and differences abound). There was a site that had DLP attraction experiences like no other but I forget.
I understand the need for the Parks to offer an item that is for someone who is visiting for the first time - but bring back the kiosk and let me build my own!
"[Disneyland] has that thing - the imagination, and the feeling of happy excitement - I knew when I was a kid." - Walt Disney
I've got a great collection from those build-your-own kiosks, and would LOVE to see 'em come back!
The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.
- James Taylor
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