Just Sayin' Hi


Halloo...

Joined the board a few days ago after attempts to do Google searches from afar about many of the music loops, when I stumbled upon this site. I was really impressed with the thoroughness of the lists I found here and I recognize some names (I think) from other boards or places on the internets....plus I have to admit I kind of love the logo :) So now that I'm here, I thought I'd introduce myself.

I'm a bit of an odd Disney fan in that I'm not, actually, much of a Disney fan...it's probably sacrilege to say "meh" to Mickey, but there you have it. However, I have come to know and love the WDW parks over the last several years. I have a background in perceptual neuroscience and I'm always fascinated by the ways that Disney "manages" our perceptions in the parks to help us feel like we're living the magic...as if we've jumped into the movie, country, era, etc. ourselves. I was initially just fascinated with the visual illusions used to enhance the ride experience, but I quickly learned to appreciate all of the other ways that Disney enhances other aspects of our visits. One of the things I love to do in the parks is walk around, and one time I returned home from a trip reflecting on the role the music plays in creating a feeling or provoking an association to our past experiences. I started to think about how most Americans don't do much walking on a day-to-day basis, yet when they're at the parks, they might walk for 5-10 miles in a single day! The pacing and energy of the music have so much to do with that; it makes you want to keep moving and always promises a new and exciting experience just around the corner. To increase my walking time at home, I thought it would be fun to make myself a playlist and replicate the experience of visiting the parks so that I could walk around the city and pretend I was on vacation! That was how it started, you see...I bought Four Parks, One World, but I realized quickly lots of music was missing. Before I knew it, I was buying other park music--stuff released by Disney, the Balafon Marimba Ensemble (come on, who doesn't love a song titled I Already Have a Husband!?), Norwegian folk music...and then I was taking out park maps to figure out what areas I was failing to "represent" with my musical walks in the park. Little did I know that there are so many experts out there who have put their minds to the same task, albeit even more thoroughly!

I look forward to participating in this site, and to learning ways that I might contribute to the gargantuan effort of identifying and publishing a compendium of information about the vast musical kingdom that is the Disney park system. Of course, I'm also interested in gathering more information about where to find the music and other sound effects for my own collection, to the extent that it's available, and whether we can convince Disney to release more material from their own archives for us to purchase and enjoy!

Thanks to the folks who have already put so much work into figuring this stuff out! Please let us know how we can add to the efforts.
 

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