Disney Parks Official Album Releases — No More?


WDWGuy08

Member
Has anyone else here, besides Me, been wondering when we will see a NEW Official Album released? Also, what ever happened to the smaller park related releases Randy Thornton spoke of, that he was going to do and release....... Does anyone have any leads or new information on this or perhaps, Mr. Thornton, if you see this post, could you shed some light on this and any updates you might be able to share with all of us?! THANK YOU for everything you do, kind sir, you are AMAZING!!!!
 

Paul

Active Member
I' ve been waiting to see if there was going to be a response. It is great that two attraction/location specific CDs were released - I hope it is the start of more. It was been a long time since we have had anything related to Walt Disney World. This forum is for the discussion of Disney park music. There used to be multiple topics and responses not too long ago. Now there are weeks between topics and not much in the topics to generate discussion because there hasn't been much new to discuss. If anyone at Disney patrols the forum - there is still a market for park music and money to be made!
 

ebbelein

New Member
I think the fact that Disney recently put two releases on itunes ([itunes='https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-haunted-mansion/id584476712']The Haunted Mansion 40th Anniversary[/itunes] and [itunes='https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/circle-sessions-music-carthay/id584474602']The Circle Sessions[/itunes]) shows that there is something going on in this area. I really hope a lot of people use this legal possibility to get those jazzy arrangements of Disney tunes. (Sad the aforementioned albums are only available on US Itunes).

IMHO it would be a fine way to do more music releases not as general "official albums" but covering special themed areas or attractions... For example: "The Music of Toy Story Mania"... or "A whole new Fantasyland" etc.
 

bshelly

New Member
I visited WDW in October, 2012 in hopes of finding a CD copy of the OA. I asked dozens and dozens of times all around the resort from Downtown Disney to the parks to the resort hotels for the Official Album Music CD. The vast majority of the cast members looked at me as if I was speaking a foreign language. Some thought I was asking about a photo album! It wasn't until our visit to Epcot and our visit to World Showcase when I was just about ready to give up asking. I approached a college-aged girl who was working behind the counter inside the store at the Canada Pavillion. I took a chance and asked her if she had seen the OA or knew of where I could find it. She said "I know EXACTLY what you're talking about and I have those outside on the cart but it's covered up/closed right now. Let me get an umbrella and I'll grab you a copy." It was like a breath of fresh air to find a cast member with a clue. Sadly, I already owned this 2008 2-Disc version, but I felt bad she went to the trouble and bought it anyway. I believe that Disney has lost the understanding that theme park music is very important to the experience. People want the physical media to bring home with them. The only way I would be happy with the OA's being on iTunes and the Google Play store is if they were available in Lossless Audio so I could burn a perfect copy. People are more likely to buy at the parks as an impluse purchase though.
 
Unfortunately, the Official Albums really didn't sell that well (nor does Disney Parks Audio, look at Disneyland/WDW Forever), so it does make sense why Disney had pulled back on releasing that particular souvenir type. Physical media, unfortunately, is well on its way to Yesterland as well...

I'd love if the Music Shops at the parks could have an option where you could select tunes and automatically add them to your device... or have them transferred to a place on Disney's site so you could download them once you're at home -- just like you can look up and download your Photopass photos once you're at your computer after the vacation.

Then again, with how hit or miss Photopass is, I wouldn't trust the Parks to not screw it up when it's something you prepaid for.
 

Paul

Active Member
Well I hope CD format Official Album releases aren't a thing of the past. There have been enough changes to create an update for WDW. New Main Street tracks, Fantasyland changes (not just movie tracks with dialogue like they did with the 1998 CD). A different Frontierland track. Tomorrowland Area Music has never been released. New Sonny Eclipse track. New Dumbo music. Updated expanded Pirates mini-ride through. Return of classic Tiki Room music. New Epcot Entrance track or expanded version. New Test Track music. Mission Space queue music. and the 90% + of the content that never changes for the 1st time visitor.

I would buy downloads but I agree, the quality is not the same.

I had heard there were some copyright issues surrounding the DL/WDW Forever systems. If it was a demand issue - I would have helped out had I known they were to be ending.
 

eyore

DLRP explorer
Playlist Author
Probably a bit of both as most music is now not made by Disney but taken from commercial CDs. Having to pay for each track means that the profit just isn't there any more and remember that CDs have to be stored and transported - all eating into that all important profit. Smaller profit + fewer sales = idea dumped!
 

Magic Music

Administrator
Playlist Author
Park music will always play second fiddle to the Disney Channel / Radio Disney fluff. :(

And now we've got this to worry about...

Exclusive: Disney looks for Cost Savings, Ponders Layoffs

(Reuters) - Walt Disney Co started an internal cost-cutting review several weeks ago that may include layoffs at its studio and other units, three people with knowledge of the effort told Reuters, in an early sign that big companies may not be finished tightening their belts.

[Snip]

In terms of profit margin, Disney's studio is the least profitable of the entertainment conglomerate's four major product divisions. The studio had a profit margin of 12.3 percent in 2012.

Its fifth division, the interactive unit that creates online games, lost $758 million over the last three years, according to the company's financial filings. The unit lost $216 million last year.

[background=yellow]Disney could trim jobs at[/background] both the studio and interactive divisions as well as [background=yellow]its music arm[/background], said Tony Wible, an analyst with Janney Montgomery Scott, who has a neutral rating on the company's stock.

[More...]

I hereby volunteer to head up Disney's interactive division. They can pay me $10 million, I'll fire everyone, release absolutely nothing, and save the company $200+ million a year! I'll be hailed as a genius! :D
 

The Trout

Member
I just picked up Circle Sessions this weekend. While I appreciate Disney releasing some of this material, it feels woefully short at 37 minutes, particularly since we know that many more tracks were recorded and play at the Carthay Circle itself.
 
Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, wait, STOP. There's a new Sonny Eclipse track?!
When was this? The last time I was there (and it was fairly recent), the music was exactly the same!
 

Paul

Active Member
I meant another Sonny Eclipse track - 2 have been released. Sonny is still singing his classic tunes as of 3 weeks ago.
 

eyore

DLRP explorer
Playlist Author
I note that it's mp3 only which again reflects on the downturn in CDs (the UK is just losing it's last high street CD/DVD outlet at the moment - HMV - been around since 1921 - you may know it better as His Master's Voice with the trademark of the dog, nipper, listening to the horn of a wind-up). As usual, not available to buy in the UK!!!!
 

Magic Music

Administrator
Playlist Author
I note that it's mp3 only which again reflects on the downturn in CDs

If you ask me, WDR is going about this whole thing backwards! They're pumping out loads of CDs for the stuff that appeals to 10-year-olds, the ones who would rather purchase or steal crummy MP3s, and for the stuff that appeals to the older crowd, they're offering digital downloads only, when we'd much rather have physical media. What kind of sense does that make? :wacko:
 

ebbelein

New Member
i also prefer physical cds over digital-only releases - but if Disney chooses to release more of its park music as downloads i still would prefer the digital files instead of having nothing at all (or some lousy recording i did myself in the park aiming my camcorder at the loudspeaker ;))
 

eyore

DLRP explorer
Playlist Author
True, but old-timers like myself burn them to CDs right away anyway. I doubt teens would bother as all their music is on some little electronic thing that looks like a chocolate bar!
Mind you, things do change. I notice that Video/DVD combi's and record decks are back in the stores over in the UK. Couldn't get them for love nor money a few years ago.
Get yourself an induction mic and a decent recorder to get the park loops ;)
 

The Trout

Member
I've little use for CDs anymore, but I hate that Amazon and iTunes is still exclusively lossy. If lossless audio was readily available online (legitimately), I'd never buy another CD again.
 

DavidG

Member
I used to prefer owning CDs but I'll admit that moving a lot between countries for work and family reasons has made me appreciate having my music on a hard drive… Apart from that, the choice to buy single tracks can be convenient in some cases (especially if Disney keeps releasing the same albums with minor variations).
 

Magic Music

Administrator
Playlist Author
I've little use for CDs anymore, but I hate that Amazon and iTunes is still exclusively lossy. If lossless audio was readily available online (legitimately), I'd never buy another CD again.

Agreed. I should have mentioned that the reason why I continue to prefer physical media is because I refuse to settle for lossy. I rip all of my CDs to Apple Lossless and I also have a growing collection of high resolution 24bit/96-192kHz digital albums from HDtracks and others.

I ... appreciate having my music on a hard drive

Agreed. I've got over 3,000 lossless albums (and have room for another 1,000 or so!) on a single 2.5" 2TB external drive that is roughly the size of a deck of playing cards.
 

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