The Second Sense: A Disneyland Playlist, Part 5

All good things must come to an end, and here we are. For the very last leg of this playlist, covering California Adventure, I'm going to change up my methodology—rather than meticulously covering every noteworthy attraction in every land, I'm going to pick theme songs for each land and just the standout attractions therein. California Adventure hasn't been around as long as Disneyland and has spent much of that time flailing for purpose; it hasn't had much of a chance to build up a roster of instant memory-making music. On the flipside, songs in praise of California itself aren't exactly rare. So let's see what we wind up with!

Al Jolson - “California, Here I Come”

Buena Vista Street, with its 1920s aesthetic and mythos centered on Walt Disney's arrival in California, gets assigned this Jazz Age classic. Since it was also part of the area music loop back when this area was Sunshine Plaza, this was an easy choice to make.

“Someday My Prince Will Come”

The incarnation of Carthay Circle Theatre in the theme park is a restaurant, not an actual cinema, but it's there because the original, real one hosted the world premiere of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs...a fact which the park plays up at every opportunity.

“Hooray For Hollywood”

Moving on to Hollywood Land...well, there really wasn't any other possible choice, was there? Another transfer from the old Sunshine Plaza loop, this tune has also been featured in the Esplanade loop since 2001. More to the point, it is probably the most famous song in praise of Hollywood that has ever been written. This was another easy choice.

Main Title from Monsters, Inc.

I give both Management and Imagineering a bit of the side-eye every time I contemplate the presence of Monsters, Inc – Mike and Sulley to the Rescue! in Hollywood Land. I know why it was installed there—because they had an idea and anything was better than the Superstar Limo—but it was an early sign that California Adventure was never going to have the blessing of rock-solid theming. In any case, the score music accompanying the film's opening credits is as good a musical assignment as any.

Pat Benatar - “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”

Okay, so confession: I have been on Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!* (I was with a friend who insisted.) As you must suspect, it's nowhere near as good as The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Not thematically and not in execution. This is what happens when you force one ride to occupy infrastructure specifically designed for a different ride.

But at least the soundtrack is okay. Following the lead of the Gee Oh Tee Gee movies, the action of the ride is accompanied with well-known pop music. I understand there are a few different scenarios, each with a different song, but the one I experienced was the Benatar hit, so that's what our hypothetical layman chooses also.

Randy Newman - “The Time of Your Life”

With the 3-D theater apparently permanently given over to movie previews, “a bug's land” is pretty well devoid of meaningful attractions. It still exists though—for now—so it gets a song. In this case the choice was entirely obvious: “The Time of Your Life” plays over the end credits for the film a bug's life.

Chuck Berry - “Route 66”

The choice of song for Cars Land was equally obvious, if not more so—the land's main walkway is in fact named Route 66, as Radiator Springs is supposed to be located on the famous cross-country road. Chuck Berry's version appears in the film Cars as well as in the area music loop.

“McQueen and Sally”

Part of the problem with having an entire land themed to one IP is that your whole playlist for said land would pretty much have to come from the same movie. The various establishments of Cars Land use plenty of music that doesn't appear in any of the Cars films, but our presumed layman wouldn't necessarily take notice of it. Fortunately, for this more streamlined playlist we'll be bypassing almost all of it. Radiator Springs Racers is the only specific attraction I choose to ping, and I ping it with this score track, a snippet of which kicks off the ride.

Peter, Paul, and Mary - “San Francisco Bay Blues”

The Pacific Wharf area is themed after the docks of San Francisco. The city is colorful enough that numerous songs have been written about it, but this one references the Bay itself. It's also another transfer from the old Sunshine Plaza loop.

Billy Murray and the Heidelberg Quartet - “By the Beautiful Sea”

It's a song about the seaside, and it's old enough to fit in with the Edwardian period theming currently displayed by Paradise Pier. I had hoped to find a calliope version, which would work better with the carnival milieu, but this version is even accompanied by old photos of people in old-timey swimsuits. Could be worse.

California Screamin'

I don't think California Screamin's unique soundtrack has made much of an impression on the general public...but when I went looking for more layman-friendly substitutes, nothing promising turned up**...and I was bumping up against my posting deadline.

“We Belong Together”

Even after assigning “Strange Things” to Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, I still have several songs from the Toy Story franchise I can use for Toy Story Midway Mania. Since the ride's character imagery partakes of all three films in the trilogy (so far), I'm giving it the cheery tune from the end credits of Toy Story 3.

Rossini - William Tell Overture: Final

I have never ridden the Silly Symphony Swings...or its predecessor the Orange Stinger, for that matter. (I'm over the weight limit, not that you asked.) It's not even that significant a ride. But I couldn't resist the excuse to use more classical music.

“Under the Sea”

The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel's Undersea Adventure*** is strictly a middle-of-the-road effort when it comes to dark rides. But it is a major attraction, as these things go, and given that it is basically The Little Mermaid OST: The Ride, I would be remiss if I didn't include a nod to it on the playlist. Personally? I think “Under the Sea” is a bit overrated and definitely overplayed. But it does comprise the single largest scene in the ride.

Ashkon - “Grizzly Peak”

I stepped directly into the shoes of our hypothetical casual fan for a song for the Grizzly Peak area—not having much of a place to start looking for “official” songs, I searched YouTube for “Grizzly Peak song” and was rewarded almost instantly with this. It's countrified enough to suit the area's wilderness theme and includes some ocean imagery for a potential link to California. And of course, there's the title. Coincidence? Almost certainly. But it works for me.

The Dixie Chicks - “If I Fall, You're Going Down With Me”

Finding music for some attractions is hard. Grizzly River Run doesn't have a theme tune of its own, it's not associated with any other Disney IP, and whitewater rafting is not exactly a common topic in popular music at large. However, the queue loop consists of a fictitious broadcast on a country-pop radio station, with this as one of the songs. The Dixie Chicks are mainstream enough to be noticeable, and I thought the title seemed appropriate given the ride's climactic drop.

Soarin'

I actually haven't been on Soarin' Around the World yet. I think it was pretty stupid of them to remake one of California's few standout attractions that actually has to do with California, into something more generic, so I am in no hurry. I've heard part of the soundtrack, however—enough to know that it's a remix of the original rather than a radically new melody. Since the original is readily available on a few different iterations of Disneyland Resort soundtrack, I think it would wind up on the playlist by default.

Aaaaaaand that wraps up this particular project! Not bad, if I do say do myself! I hope you've enjoyed this musical journey, as well as the look through the eyes of someone who is fond of the parks but maybe not as obsessed as we are!

Next week...something else!

(P.S. Happy birthday, Disneyland!)

* Whatever happened to concise attraction names?

** Most songs that reference roller coasters seem to be using them as a metaphor of some kind or other.

*** Seriously, what happened?