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I took the backstage tour at WDW and they were proud to point out that they even balance the background music between lands to create a subtle transition and no

I took the backstage tour at WDW and they were proud to point out that they even balance the background music between lands to create a subtle transition and not jolt you from one theme to the next. Even the placement of walkway and landscaping elements is a gradient from one to the other.

ant6n 3y ago
How do they do it, like the imuse system of in mokey island 2, where different music layers get added and removed as you move aeound? (See https://youtu.be/7N41TEcjcvM https://youtu.be/7N41TEcjcvM)
- joezydeco 3y ago
  As I recall that was pretty much it. Directed speakers, careful control of volume, etc. Anything better than that gets super complex.
- iamjackg 3y ago
  It's not quite to that level, but they carefully study the acoustics and position all speakers so the transition is gradual and not jarring. They might also choose songs that have elements of both lands to use in areas close to the transition point. Semi-related: if you go on the Disneyland version of Pirates of the Caribbean, there is a short section of caves right between the first and second drop. The section only lasts maybe 10/15 seconds, but it's where you hear A Pirate's Life for Me for the first time in the entire ride as a kind of foreshadowing of what you will see later. Well, as soon as you go down the second drop, which is not that steep or long, the music is completely gone, and all you can hear is the atmospheric ambient music for the "main" cave section. I always found that incredibly fascinating, since you can turn around and see the previous area, but you cannot hear the music at all. EDIT: there is actually something that is closer to iMuse, at least the way it was implemented in the Special Edition. Their parade routes are divided into multiple zones, and the soundtrack is equally divided in sections for each float. They use a positioning system to determine where each float is, and feed the correct section of the soundtrack to that speaker zone. It works incredibly well, and you don't notice it at all while you're there. Listen to the soundtrack for the Paint the Night parade for an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoIpk9F_Okk&pp=ygUhcGFpbnQgdGhlIG5pZ2h0IHBhcmFkZSBzb3VuZHRyYWNr https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoIpk9F_Okk&pp=ygUhcGFpbnQgd... Each section is basically the same length, the whole thing is (mostly) in the same exact key, of course it's the same BPM across the board, and each section has an intro/outro that can act as transition points to mix into the next section. They can also, of course, loop ad libitum if the parade were to stop for a few minutes. Really cool stuff!
lifefeed 3y ago
I love that tour. I recommend it to everyone for their second trip.

ant6n 3y ago

How do they do it, like the imuse system of in mokey island 2, where different music layers get added and removed as you move aeound? (See https://youtu.be/7N41TEcjcvM https://youtu.be/7N41TEcjcvM)

joezydeco 3y ago
As I recall that was pretty much it. Directed speakers, careful control of volume, etc. Anything better than that gets super complex.
iamjackg 3y ago
It's not quite to that level, but they carefully study the acoustics and position all speakers so the transition is gradual and not jarring. They might also choose songs that have elements of both lands to use in areas close to the transition point. Semi-related: if you go on the Disneyland version of Pirates of the Caribbean, there is a short section of caves right between the first and second drop. The section only lasts maybe 10/15 seconds, but it's where you hear A Pirate's Life for Me for the first time in the entire ride as a kind of foreshadowing of what you will see later. Well, as soon as you go down the second drop, which is not that steep or long, the music is completely gone, and all you can hear is the atmospheric ambient music for the "main" cave section. I always found that incredibly fascinating, since you can turn around and see the previous area, but you cannot hear the music at all. EDIT: there is actually something that is closer to iMuse, at least the way it was implemented in the Special Edition. Their parade routes are divided into multiple zones, and the soundtrack is equally divided in sections for each float. They use a positioning system to determine where each float is, and feed the correct section of the soundtrack to that speaker zone. It works incredibly well, and you don't notice it at all while you're there. Listen to the soundtrack for the Paint the Night parade for an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoIpk9F_Okk&pp=ygUhcGFpbnQgdGhlIG5pZ2h0IHBhcmFkZSBzb3VuZHRyYWNr https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoIpk9F_Okk&pp=ygUhcGFpbnQgd... Each section is basically the same length, the whole thing is (mostly) in the same exact key, of course it's the same BPM across the board, and each section has an intro/outro that can act as transition points to mix into the next section. They can also, of course, loop ad libitum if the parade were to stop for a few minutes. Really cool stuff!

lifefeed 3y ago

I love that tour. I recommend it to everyone for their second trip.