Background MusicĬontinuing on the topic of things that many guests don’t notice, but that they would definitely notice if it were missing is background music. Lighting might seem like an insignificant detail that many people take for granted, but without this attention to detail in terms of lighting, instead of the great kinetic energy and beauty the parks have at night, they would instead feel dark and empty.

Regular readers of this blog know I’m a huge fan of the lighting of the Disney theme parks, and view it as a big deal in the parks. One thing at which the Imagineers excel is perfectly controlling environments to evoke certain thoughts and emotions, but this really isn’t possible in terms of outdoor lighting during the day, because of that pesky “sun.” Night provides a blank canvas for lighting, and the Imagineers largely use this to great success via hidden show lighting and visible light fixtures. Have you ever noticed that the parks have a totally different vibe and look at night? That they have a certain texture and color not seen during the day? This is the result of meticulously arranged lighting schemes, and when you think about it, it makes perfect sense that the parks would have a better visual storytelling quality to them at night. Whether this means quietly sitting on a bench at park closing in Tomorrowland as the neon and background music assault my senses (totally in a good way) or watching the sunset along the Rivers of America at a tucked-away table in Hungry Bear Restaurant, these moments are as paramount to the park experience for me as doing Haunted Mansion or Pirates of the Caribbean. For me, part of drinking-in the parks is taking quiet moments for relaxation, to soak up the ambiance, and to reflect upon the experience. This will be borne out throughout this post, but what I mean as a general matter is that to me the parks are much more than racing from E-Ticket to E-Ticket, experiencing attractions as if I’m scratching items off of a checklist. Rather, that the parks are so much more than a collection of attractions. I don’t mean that in the hippy-dippy, new-age medical sense (although if some crackpot wants to assert that the parks are beneficial to my health, I’ll totally buy that and use it as an excuse to visit more). I am a huge advocate of the Disney theme parks as holistic experiences.

There are literally hundreds of different things about the parks that put a smile on my face and make me a hopeless Disney “addict,” but instead of simply posting a laundry-list without much explanation for each, I want to focus on a select few, saving the two most important things for last… Quiet Places Sure, the parks wouldn’t be what they are without amazing E-Tickets like Splash Mountain and Tower of Terror, but rides alone are not what makes the Disney Parks special. While America’s national pastime is complaining (sorry, baseball), I think we all mostly enjoy life or, in this case, the Disney theme parks.įor the most part, what I’m going to list here as the “essence” of what I find endearing about the parks is what makes the experience something more than the sum of its parts. I’m guessing this is true for most people. Most of the time, the little pet peeves I mentioned don’t even phase me they’re just little, fleeting moments. Frankly, there’s a lot more that makes Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and the other parks special places imbued with a sense of magic than there are mild annoyances. Now that I’ve “ Aired My Disney Parks Grievances,” I figure it’s time to show the other side of the coin and share why I enjoy the Disney theme parks so much.

Disney magical background