The wait between Walt Disney World vacations can be tough, but you don’t have to power through it without any Disney magic. Previously, we explored 5 ways to cope with WDWithdrawals—aka The Disney Shakes. One of our suggestions was to enjoy some Disney nostalgia during the weeks leading up to your vacation to feed the family vacation fever.
One of our favorite pastimes is listening to Walt Disney World attraction audio and soundtracks. Spotify and YouTube both have extensive playlists of Disney ambient music you can visit at any time. They’re great for pre-trip fun nights, for the journey to Florida, or even just for keeping a bit of that Disney magic in the air around work or the house. Here’s a few of our favorites guaranteed to fire up the warm fuzzies! How many of these do you remember?
1. Parades past and present
“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,
The Magic Kingdom proudly presents our spectacular festival pageant of nighttime magic and imagination,
In thousands of sparkling lights and electro-syntho-magnetic musical sounds,
The Main Street Electrical Parade!”
Do you remember your first Magic Kingdom parade? The anticipation as the lights went out and the air filled with music? The magic of stars come to life and dragons marching down Main Street? For many of us, there is possibly no Walt Disney World soundtrack guaranteed to set off the Disneyphile waterworks quicker than the Main Street Electrical Parade. Other than It’s a Small World and Pirates of the Caribbean, it might take the lead as the most iconic Disney soundtrack in history. If your first Walt Disney World parade came later, you might also remember the mesmerizing fiber optics of Spectromagic and get a similar case of the starry eyes.
Want to revisit Disney’s dozens of daytime parades? You can still find audio for almost any past Walt Disney World parade, from Remember the Magic to Festival of Fantasy.
2. Attraction Audio
Want to really feel like you’re back in the parks? Thanks to the magic of social media, eager Disney fans can revisit attraction audio from almost any Disney attraction from the resort’s extensive history. Want to hear the full evolution of Spaceship Earth from its inception to its current form? Easy. How about revisiting everyone’s favorite Norwegian mind trip, Maelstrom and comparing it to Frozen Ever After? No problem. Some of our favorites attraction audio selections include Peter Pan’s Flight, Soarin’ Over The World, Star Tours, and Test Track. Most rides also have attraction videos you can pull up as well, and most rides also include a catchy second soundtrack for their queue areas.
3. Epcot Ambient Music
While ambient music is available from all over Walt Disney World, one park’s music stands a hair above the rest for adult visitors. Particularly if you are trying to get things done while getting your Disney fix, you can’t go wrong with Epcot’s incredible range of ambient music. The retro-futuristic drones from Innoventions, Future World’s main causeway, and The Living Seas could easily be found on any focus playlist, and World Showcase’s wide range of peaceful themes can quickly send your imagination drifting back to the gondola docks of Italy or the palace of the Terra Cotta warriors in China. One of our favorites is the pre-show music for Illuminations: Reflections of Earth as well as ambience from Mexico, Japan, Morocco, and the United Kingdom.
4. Anything from Animal Kingdom
While it’s easy to find music to feed Disney nostalgia from Magic Kingdom and even Disney’s Hollywood Studios, our other favorite for best Disney ambient music is Disney’s Animal Kingdom. When we are actually in the parks, it’s easy for the ever-present soundtracks to become invisible to our ears. Disney’s Animal Kingdom pulls this off better than almost any other park, seamlessly blending the experience as guests move between The Tree of Life, Africa, Asia, Dinoland USA, and The World of Pandora.
If you want to recreate Disney’s intoxicating atmosphere at home, simply take your pick of almost any of Animal Kingdom’s hypnotic soundtracks. We particularly like the mixes for The Tree of Life, Anandapur, and the beautiful African music from Kilamanjaro Safaris.
5. Disney’s most magical spectaculars
Really want to crank up the nostalgia? It’s time to turn off the lights, turn on some LED’s, crack some glowsticks, and take a trip back in time to revisit the magic of Disney’s greatest spectaculars. While it technically started as a Disneyland show (The Disney World version is abridged), there is possibly no soundtrack that encapsulates the Disney spirit better than Fantasmic. Seriously, if the kids are fans, get ready for them to break out the princess dresses, plastic swords, and audio-animatronic dragons (kids have those these days, right?).
Just as iconic are the soundtracks to Magic Kingdom’s long running fireworks spectaculars—Fantasy in the Sky, Once Upon a Time, Celebrate the Magic, and Wishes. These could be extra fun on the 4th of July while watching fireworks in your hometown! Make sure you have some tissues nearby. Sure, you can listen to the audio for Happily Ever After too, but you’ve got to save some pixie dust for the trip!
What is your favorite Walt Disney World soundtrack past or present?
