Disney gleefully manipulates all five of your senses, particularly your hearing. The primary way that the company does it is by playing recognizable songs during rides. These catchy tunes get in your head and force you to sing along, sometimes unwillingly. Which Disney attraction songs are the best? Here’s my top 13.
13. One Little Spark
Image: DisneyThe Sherman Brothers left an indelible impact on Disney theme park music. You’ll (obviously) see them again on this list, but one of their last efforts is also one of the most memorable. One Little Spark celebrates the creative process while describing everyone’s favorite Epcot dragon, Figment.
12. The Three Caballeros
Image: DisneyThe next two songs fall under the heading of “Blink, and you’ll miss them!” but I have to mention The Three Caballeros. I go hard when I’m at Epcot, and Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros provides a welcome respite on a hot day. You may not even notice, but the song plays throughout the ride, even though you’re distracted by all of the dolls and cartoon animations. The best part for is the snippet of The Three Caballeros that plays during the sky “fireworks.” I always find myself humming it as I walk away from the Mexico Pavilion.
11. You Can Fly! You Can Fly! You Can Fly!
Image: DisneyPeter Pan, the movie, caused audiences to fall in love with this song all the way back in 1953. Two years later, the Disneyland version of the attraction reinforced the notion that the ride sweeps you into the air and provides the sensation of flight. Oddly, the Magic Kingdom version plays an instrumental version of the song, which I feel makes the Disneyland ride superior.
10. In the Big Blue World
Image: DisneyThe starfish at the end of The Seas with Nemo & Friends is one of my favorite tertiary Disney ride characters. He has a seemingly endless slew of quips, but my favorite happens when he complains about In the Big Blue World being played on a loop. I totally understand why cast members who work at this ride would agree with the starfish. Even so, I love the tender sweetness of this tune and always exit the ride feeling content.
9. How Do You Do?
Image: DisneySplash Mountain features three terrific songs from the soundtrack to a movie that Disney would very much like you to forget. I was sorely tempted to list all three here, but I feel that two have better ride usage than the other. How Do You Do? is an infectious ditty employed perfectly early in Splash Mountain to establish the tone.
8. There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow
Image: DisneyWhile One Little Spark came much later, the Sherman Brothers somehow wrote the best eulogy for Walt Disney while he was still alive. This song celebrates the optimism of their dear friend, who had the magical ability to bring many of his wondrous items to life. At the time, it seemed like a somewhat sycophantic love letter to the boss. With hindsight, it’s become so much more and is one of my favorite things about a visit to Tomorrowland.
7. Let It Go
Image: DisneyMost of the entries on this list come from the earliest days of The Walt Disney Company, back when the notion of full-length animated movies seemed remarkable.
While Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and others have redefined Disney soundtracks forever, American Disney parks don’t have rides that commemorate these moments. Realistically, The Little Mermaid is the only one that does out of the revitalized Disney animated library of the past 30 years. But a rare exception exists at the Norway Pavilion.
Disney rebooted Maelstrom with Frozen Ever After, and the centerpiece of this attraction is the unforgettable song from the film, Let It Go. While the other rides listed here have songs incorporated, the structure of Frozen Ever After builds to Let It Go. It’s the backbone of the ride experience, an unprecedented tribute to Disney’s signature song of the 21st century.
6. The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room
Image: DisneyThe Sherman Brothers sure do love their repetition. If you drank each time that you heard the word Tiki in this song, well, you’d die of alcohol poisoning. And I mean early in the song. Even so, The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room is an adorable part of Disney history. It’s the musical accompaniment to a show that was once the most technologically advanced presentation in the history of theme parks. Robotic birds were something that Disney made possible, and guests still revere them to this day. The song is an important reason why, as it’s so darn catchy!
(Yes, this one’s technically not a ride, but you would have been disappointed if I hadn’t included it, right?)
5. Heigh-Ho (It’s Off to Work We Go)
Image: DisneyI’ve tried to populate this list from the perspective of how most people would vote for Best Ride Song. However, I do want to throw in that Heigh-Ho is possibly my favorite integrated song due to the way that it’s utilized. During the dark ride portion of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, you’ll ascend a mountain as shadows appear on the walls. It’s a couple of the stars of the ride, singing happily to their workplace ditty, and I always join them. It’s such an entertaining moment that adds to the Seven Dwarfs theming.
4. Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah
Image: DisneyHere’s the other Splash Mountain song, the one that serves as a kind of reward for surviving the watery journey down the mountain. Post-splash, you’ll enter a cave where all of the animal residents are participating in a group singalong of Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah. Some of them even have musical instruments, while others are dancing (with the skirts raised!) onboard the Zip-a-Dee-Lady. I simply cannot imagine anyone sailing through this scene without smiling.
3. It’s a Small World
Image: DisneyAny discussion of Disney ride songs will end with everyone settling on the same top three. The only debate is the order of precedence. It’s a Small World is undeniably the most influential of the trio, as it’s an iconic piece of music. This stubbornly upbeat message of world peace is the most significant work of the Sherman Brothers and indelibly linked to Disney theme parks. I’d rank it higher if the relentless repetition of the thing didn’t induce nightmares.
2. Grim Grinning Ghosts
Image: DisneyI’ve mentioned the dichotomy of Haunted Mansion on many occasions. Some Imagineers wanted to build a terrifying attraction, while others wanted to imbue the ride with Disney’s trademark sense of humor. Ultimately, both sides won, as Haunted Mansion combines mirth with the macabre.
The theme song to the attraction requires a blend of both. And Grim Grinning Ghosts somehow walks that trick path between scary and silly. Even the title reflects both mental images. For that matter, the lyrics are pretty darned twisted. You’re supposed to bring your death certificate when you return! That’s an exceedingly odd party request…but you’ll do it since you want to socialize with the Grim Grinning Ghosts.
1. Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life for Me)
Image: DisneyWhile all of the songs in the top five are universally recognized, one differentiates itself from the rest. You Ho embodies the best parts of Disney’s marriage of ride and song. Without the musical accompaniment, some of the set pieces on the dark ride would be kind of…dark.
The song sets the tone that everything that happens on Pirates of the Caribbean is all in silly fun, not meant to be taken seriously at all. You’re just supposed to enjoy the drunken shenanigans of some thoroughly mediocre pirates.
