“Whole new worlds”: Music and the disney theme park experience

Abstract

One can easily discover the value of music in the “Disney Experience” by tracing its role throughout the history of the company, from its early use in cartoons to its current incarnation as a stand-alone product (for example, soundtrack recordings). In this paper, I explore some of the ways in which music operates in the Disney theme park experience. In the context of Walt Disney World, my belief is that music functions in at least three specific capacities: 1) music links current Disney experiences to (often romanticized) experiences of the past through nostalgia; 2) music defines the boundaries which separate “same” from “other” in terms of both geography and, ultimately, identity; 3) and music serves as an index for the “Disney Experience” in general; an experience which itself is built upon a commixture of the aforementioned modes of identity and nostalgia.