Club 33
Playlist Author
Just got back from my first "real" trip of the year. While I didn't get much as far as recording I did see and discover some interesting things...
~The picture on MuppetVision looked great- did they switch to digital projection? Can't remember. The best part, though, was that both before and after the film the hostess referred to our 3D glasses as "safety glasses" (this is funny because MV is the only Disney 3D film where they actually call them "3D glasses"- at HISTA they're "safety glasses", at ITTBAB they're "bug eyes", and at Philharmagic they're "opera glasses".
~During lunch at Storytellers I paid attention to the music loop for the first time. I was able to identify one track, "Blow the Man Down", which I remember hearing on the DLRP CD "Une Journee a Disneyland Paris", from memory, and another track from the Cinderella soundtrack using Shazam. Based on my obervations, there are 3 loops in the hotel, a lobby loop, one loop for Storytellers and one loop for Napa Rose.
Since all three of them are nearly impossible to record I went to hotel guest relations, who directed me to park guest relations. They did not have a list. Rather, the conversation went like this:
Me: "So do you have track information for any of the music loops at the resort?"
CM: "No, but there's a website you can go to I think... [looks in a little book on her desk] ...ah yes here."
She wrote down the url and gave it to me. What did it say? www.disneymusicloops.com
Yes, that's right folks. Disney is directing people to disneymusicloops.com.
~I'm not sure how recent this is, but the mic feed from the band/vocalist that plays intermittently along the waterfront in New Orleans Square (not the Bootstrappers, which play on Tom Sawyer Island) plays on all of the speakers along the Rivers of America as well as in some of the speakers on the second story of New Orelans Square. I've noticed that 90% of the live entertainment at the resort that uses amplification can actually be recorded via induction- one of these days I'm going to go around and record all of them.
~I rode the new It's a Small World for the first time. The changes aren't awful, I suppose- with the exception of the abbreviated rainforest scene and new America scene you could basically ignore them without much effort. I'd say the biggest issue, appropriately enough for this forum, is the music- each character has playing with it some music from his or her respective film, and while they tried to change the keys and tempos to make it fit with the main theme it just doesn't work. Problematically, the new music is too quiet to enjoy or really listen to properly, and loud enough to clash with the music around it. I suppose the biggest issue with the additions is that they dont really add anything- the ride isn't better, or more interesting or more worthwhile or immersive. What the new additions do do is confuse and destroy the storyline- if it's about the people of the world coming together, where on earth do the characters fit in? It just doesn't follow logically. They've taken a ride that was actually about something and turned it into a ride about nothing. The biggest deal? No. But I would have like to have seen that money spent elsewhere.
So that you can judge for yourself, as least as far as the music is concerned, here is a binaural recording I made (headphones, please!):
http://www.sendspace.com/file/oia1q9
~Through some further research I've got a new idea for a better way to record Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. Gonna take some work but could have some interesting results- gonna leave it at that for now.
In other news there's the matter of the queue music loop. The issue is that it does not, in fact, play in the queue at all, it only plays in the loading area, and as a result is almost completely impossible to record. I did manage to get a rough live recording of about 10 minutes of it. What I want to figure out is whether it's the same as some of the WDW loops (like the Seas with Nemo and Friends loop) or something original to the attraction. If someone can tell me positively one way or another, that would be great.
Here's that recording:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/glany8
~I finally solved the mystery of that A Bug's Life Suite track on the Disneyland OA, which didn't seem to be in the A Bug's Land loop at all. The answer? There's another loop! While the outer A Bug's Land/Bountiful Valley Farm area seems to play music from the official soundtrack, as soon as you enter Flik's Fun Fair there's another loop. I did make a complete recording of that- it's clearly not needledrop and that track from the OA is in there. Confusingly, however, when I walked out of FFF and back into the former area the same music seemed to be playing. Further investigation will be needed. At any rate, my recording of the FFF loop sounds very muddy so I'll have to do it again.
I finally confirmed that there are in fact three Space Mountain loops. The first loop plays outside of the mountain and is just the Com Chat. Upon entering the interior queue there is a second loop which is the Com Chat mixed with the safety video every 30 seconds or so. Then as you exit into the photo area there's a third loop which is just the spacey sounding effects on it's own (the Giaccino exit music does not play anywhere).
While the second loop (Com Chat and Safety Video) is easy to record, the other two or not. The Com Chat only loop only plays from cieling speakers that are both A) right over the queue and :mellow: in full view of CMs. At Horizons' request, I did make a 9 minute live recording. I'm not entirely sure if I captured the whole thing or not, nor am I sure if it's the same as the WDW version. We'll have to see. I think an induction recording is possible, but it will have to wait for a day when the park is much less busy and the exterior queue is empty. The exit loop is a differenr problem; easy to record but all of the speakers are right in the center of the very narrow exit hallway, so you can't record it without getting in people's way. What I really need for that is for the attraction to close temporarily when I happen to be in the area, so that there's nobody exiting- not a terribly unlikely occurrence, so we'll see.
~I made a short recording of the Lanai area music for the Enchanted Tiki Room. It's tricky because the loop only plays in between the end of the Tiki Garden Show and the beginning of the Dole Pinapple film (about a 7 minute period every 15 minutes or so). I think the tracks are needledrop but my attempts to identify them so far have been unsuccessful. There's also no way to tell how long the loop is- the only thing I can do is make many recordings when the loop is playing and then cut them all together where they overlap.
~As it turns out, the Phantom Manor Music Box track that plays in the HMH queue during the holiday season plays in the Fastpass area all year round, even though the area is closed to guests. You can still walk in there if you're willing to walk through the exit. If you are a sticker and want to get in there without breaking any rules, do this: go on the attraction, enter the building, go through the stretching rooms. When you get to the portrait hall, take the "chicken exit" on your left before the busts. This will take you through some hallways, then you'll exit through the door by the Crypts that the queue overlooks. Walking by the crypts you'll be taken through the fastpass area in order to exit back into NoS. Fair and square! Course if you're hanging around in there and a CM notices you I'm sure the circumstances that led to your entry into the area will not be the issue under discussion.
~I'm fully convinced that a stereo recording of the main Paradise Pier loop is possible. Unfortunately, the speakers are way out in the open so, again, need to wait for an off-day, and then probably do it very early in the morning or late at night.
~Recording the lobby music for Disneyland, the First 50 Magical Years is actually harder than I thought. Maybe even impossible induction-wise. Doesn't really matter though because it's all theme park music, all that needs to be done is identify it.
~There appears to be a loop of music that plays only in the fort at the entrance to Frontierland. I could only find one speaker that was playing it, and very quietly. It's more rustic sounding than the main Frontierland loop, which is mainly movie soundtracks.
~I made a really good recording of the Tomorrowland Area Music Loop- 10 seconds of it anyway. It's a really difficult loop to record- thusfar the only accessible speaker I can find is on the bottom of the Peoplemover track where it crosses over the outdoor Space Mountain queue. You have to actually leave the queue and walk over there to get to it, and then the surface the speaker is on is slanted. Again, gotta wait until there's no one around.
As usual, I left the resort having added more things to my To Do list than I completed. At any rate, I'm getting more intimately familiar with the details of the park, audio-wise, and I've certainly got plenty to do in 2009.
~The picture on MuppetVision looked great- did they switch to digital projection? Can't remember. The best part, though, was that both before and after the film the hostess referred to our 3D glasses as "safety glasses" (this is funny because MV is the only Disney 3D film where they actually call them "3D glasses"- at HISTA they're "safety glasses", at ITTBAB they're "bug eyes", and at Philharmagic they're "opera glasses".
~During lunch at Storytellers I paid attention to the music loop for the first time. I was able to identify one track, "Blow the Man Down", which I remember hearing on the DLRP CD "Une Journee a Disneyland Paris", from memory, and another track from the Cinderella soundtrack using Shazam. Based on my obervations, there are 3 loops in the hotel, a lobby loop, one loop for Storytellers and one loop for Napa Rose.
Since all three of them are nearly impossible to record I went to hotel guest relations, who directed me to park guest relations. They did not have a list. Rather, the conversation went like this:
Me: "So do you have track information for any of the music loops at the resort?"
CM: "No, but there's a website you can go to I think... [looks in a little book on her desk] ...ah yes here."
She wrote down the url and gave it to me. What did it say? www.disneymusicloops.com
Yes, that's right folks. Disney is directing people to disneymusicloops.com.
~I'm not sure how recent this is, but the mic feed from the band/vocalist that plays intermittently along the waterfront in New Orleans Square (not the Bootstrappers, which play on Tom Sawyer Island) plays on all of the speakers along the Rivers of America as well as in some of the speakers on the second story of New Orelans Square. I've noticed that 90% of the live entertainment at the resort that uses amplification can actually be recorded via induction- one of these days I'm going to go around and record all of them.
~I rode the new It's a Small World for the first time. The changes aren't awful, I suppose- with the exception of the abbreviated rainforest scene and new America scene you could basically ignore them without much effort. I'd say the biggest issue, appropriately enough for this forum, is the music- each character has playing with it some music from his or her respective film, and while they tried to change the keys and tempos to make it fit with the main theme it just doesn't work. Problematically, the new music is too quiet to enjoy or really listen to properly, and loud enough to clash with the music around it. I suppose the biggest issue with the additions is that they dont really add anything- the ride isn't better, or more interesting or more worthwhile or immersive. What the new additions do do is confuse and destroy the storyline- if it's about the people of the world coming together, where on earth do the characters fit in? It just doesn't follow logically. They've taken a ride that was actually about something and turned it into a ride about nothing. The biggest deal? No. But I would have like to have seen that money spent elsewhere.
So that you can judge for yourself, as least as far as the music is concerned, here is a binaural recording I made (headphones, please!):
http://www.sendspace.com/file/oia1q9
~Through some further research I've got a new idea for a better way to record Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. Gonna take some work but could have some interesting results- gonna leave it at that for now.
In other news there's the matter of the queue music loop. The issue is that it does not, in fact, play in the queue at all, it only plays in the loading area, and as a result is almost completely impossible to record. I did manage to get a rough live recording of about 10 minutes of it. What I want to figure out is whether it's the same as some of the WDW loops (like the Seas with Nemo and Friends loop) or something original to the attraction. If someone can tell me positively one way or another, that would be great.
Here's that recording:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/glany8
~I finally solved the mystery of that A Bug's Life Suite track on the Disneyland OA, which didn't seem to be in the A Bug's Land loop at all. The answer? There's another loop! While the outer A Bug's Land/Bountiful Valley Farm area seems to play music from the official soundtrack, as soon as you enter Flik's Fun Fair there's another loop. I did make a complete recording of that- it's clearly not needledrop and that track from the OA is in there. Confusingly, however, when I walked out of FFF and back into the former area the same music seemed to be playing. Further investigation will be needed. At any rate, my recording of the FFF loop sounds very muddy so I'll have to do it again.
I finally confirmed that there are in fact three Space Mountain loops. The first loop plays outside of the mountain and is just the Com Chat. Upon entering the interior queue there is a second loop which is the Com Chat mixed with the safety video every 30 seconds or so. Then as you exit into the photo area there's a third loop which is just the spacey sounding effects on it's own (the Giaccino exit music does not play anywhere).
While the second loop (Com Chat and Safety Video) is easy to record, the other two or not. The Com Chat only loop only plays from cieling speakers that are both A) right over the queue and :mellow: in full view of CMs. At Horizons' request, I did make a 9 minute live recording. I'm not entirely sure if I captured the whole thing or not, nor am I sure if it's the same as the WDW version. We'll have to see. I think an induction recording is possible, but it will have to wait for a day when the park is much less busy and the exterior queue is empty. The exit loop is a differenr problem; easy to record but all of the speakers are right in the center of the very narrow exit hallway, so you can't record it without getting in people's way. What I really need for that is for the attraction to close temporarily when I happen to be in the area, so that there's nobody exiting- not a terribly unlikely occurrence, so we'll see.
~I made a short recording of the Lanai area music for the Enchanted Tiki Room. It's tricky because the loop only plays in between the end of the Tiki Garden Show and the beginning of the Dole Pinapple film (about a 7 minute period every 15 minutes or so). I think the tracks are needledrop but my attempts to identify them so far have been unsuccessful. There's also no way to tell how long the loop is- the only thing I can do is make many recordings when the loop is playing and then cut them all together where they overlap.
~As it turns out, the Phantom Manor Music Box track that plays in the HMH queue during the holiday season plays in the Fastpass area all year round, even though the area is closed to guests. You can still walk in there if you're willing to walk through the exit. If you are a sticker and want to get in there without breaking any rules, do this: go on the attraction, enter the building, go through the stretching rooms. When you get to the portrait hall, take the "chicken exit" on your left before the busts. This will take you through some hallways, then you'll exit through the door by the Crypts that the queue overlooks. Walking by the crypts you'll be taken through the fastpass area in order to exit back into NoS. Fair and square! Course if you're hanging around in there and a CM notices you I'm sure the circumstances that led to your entry into the area will not be the issue under discussion.
~I'm fully convinced that a stereo recording of the main Paradise Pier loop is possible. Unfortunately, the speakers are way out in the open so, again, need to wait for an off-day, and then probably do it very early in the morning or late at night.
~Recording the lobby music for Disneyland, the First 50 Magical Years is actually harder than I thought. Maybe even impossible induction-wise. Doesn't really matter though because it's all theme park music, all that needs to be done is identify it.
~There appears to be a loop of music that plays only in the fort at the entrance to Frontierland. I could only find one speaker that was playing it, and very quietly. It's more rustic sounding than the main Frontierland loop, which is mainly movie soundtracks.
~I made a really good recording of the Tomorrowland Area Music Loop- 10 seconds of it anyway. It's a really difficult loop to record- thusfar the only accessible speaker I can find is on the bottom of the Peoplemover track where it crosses over the outdoor Space Mountain queue. You have to actually leave the queue and walk over there to get to it, and then the surface the speaker is on is slanted. Again, gotta wait until there's no one around.
As usual, I left the resort having added more things to my To Do list than I completed. At any rate, I'm getting more intimately familiar with the details of the park, audio-wise, and I've certainly got plenty to do in 2009.
