Dark ride soundtracks

[MrGoat]

Does anyone have any idea/knowledge about how music on dark rides is coordinated? I mean for example, get on Pooh and the song is going. All good, nothing too complicated about that. But then you go into another room, and the music is different, and just started when you entered the room. Same with Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Pirates, etc. (at least, as far as I remember! I could be wrong...). Most of them don't have speakers in the vehicles like on the Incredicoaster or maybe Space Mountain (maybe Pooh does?).

So my question is, how do they coordinate the music so that each guest/vehicle gets the same soundtrack?

I'm completely in the dark here (no pun intended, honest!). I know I've wondered about this while I'm on rides/in the parks, but now I wonder how accurate my memory is.

[yensidtlaw1969]

A lot of sounds - music in particular - are designed on a loop so that it just plays and plays and the guests come through it whenever they happen to - The Haunted Mansion, for example, has different versions of Grim Grinning Ghosts playing in some form in almost every room. As you move from one to the other they bleed seamlessly because even though the music is played on a different instrument than in the last room each room is synced to play at the same part of the song. There are exceptions, but that's generally how that part works. Similarly, on a ride like The Haunted Mansion all of the out-of-Doombuggy dialogue is looped, so you just hear what you hear and it isn't affected by where the Doombuggies are. The in-vehicle narration, however, is activated based on where the Doombuggy is in the ride - I believe tracks are triggered as they pass a sensor. That's why the ride can come to a stop and the Ghost Host doesn't keep going with no regard for the fact that he's getting ahead of where you are in the ride - his bits are only activated when you get to the place that they should be heard.

The dialogue on Winnie the Pooh is similar, the vehicle arrives at the point where dialogue meant to be heard and it triggers the track to play. I bet someone here can go into more detail about how that system actually works, because I don't really know, I just know in essense that the vehicles activate it at the right moment.

Hope that offers at least a little insight!

[Spongeocto4]

To add to conversation, many of the songs that are written for the parks have a repetitive lyrics(like 'Drink up me hearties, yo ho') or repeating melodies. As mentioned above, this allows the music to secretly loop.

It's also no surprise, that the same songwriters are used throughout the park. X Attencio wrote music for Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. The Sherman brothers wrote music for It's a Small World, Carousel of Progress, and the original music from Winnie the Pooh.

[MrGoat]

Very interesting, and helpful, thanks you two! That makes all the sense in the world. Should have thought of it myself lol

[YellowTugStrap]

To add to conversation, many of the songs that are written for the parks have a repetitive lyrics(like 'Drink up me hearties, yo ho') or repeating melodies. As mentioned above, this allows the music to secretly loop.

It's also no surprise, that the same songwriters are used throughout the park. X Attencio wrote music for Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. The Sherman brothers wrote music for It's a Small World, Carousel of Progress, and the original music from Winnie the Pooh.

I didn't know the Sherman brothers made the music for Pooh! Awww, that's why I love it so much!!!

[Co Foo]

I didn't know the Sherman brothers made the music for Pooh! Awww, that's why I love it so much!!!

I highly recommend catching the Sherman Bros. documentary on Disney+. It was excellent.