Alien Swirling Saucers Gets a New Soundtrack From Toy Story 5's Lilypad, With Remixed Classics and a Pizza Planet Song, Starting September 25
The alien saucers in Toy Story Land are about to get a new DJ, and she is a frog-shaped tablet. Starting Friday, September 25, Alien Swirling Saucers at Disney's Hollywood Studios switches to an all-new soundtrack hosted by Lilypad, a new character from Disney-Pixar's Toy Story 5.
Disney announced the change on the Disney Parks Blog on Wednesday, September 16. The new version goes by the name Alien Swirling Saucers: Lilypad's Jams.
Artist concept of Lilypad's screen beside the ride, showing a "New Music Downloading" bar. Image: Disney/Pixar (artist concept)
Who is Lilypad?
Disney describes Lilypad as "a spirited, frog-shaped smart tablet on a mission to connect friends." In the ride's story, she uses her tech to pull the toys together for the new soundtrack, and she is the one remixing and mashing up the tunes. She joins Woody, Jessie and Buzz Lightyear in the backyard.
What is on the playlist
Imagineers recorded the soundtrack in Nashville with what Disney calls "world-class musicians," hopping between genres including pop, country, EDM and alt-rock. The mix is part remixed Toy Story classics and part brand-new songs written for this attraction.
- Reimagined classics: "You've Got a Friend in Me," "We Belong Together" and "I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away."
- New songs: "Pizza Planet Promo," which Disney bills as the Pizza Planet arcade's own theme song, and "Spin It Back, Lilypad," a song honoring the backyard's newest arrival.
- Bonus airtime: Disney says toys like Partysaurus Rex are "sure to get more airtime."
Thomas Niederhiser, Senior Creative Producer at Walt Disney Imagineering, said the team wanted to rework favorite songs from the films while also writing "catchy new original songs, that are singable, sincere and a little cheesy, as one is about Pizza Planet."
Geoff Line, Senior Story Lead at Walt Disney Imagineering, put it this way: "We played with these toys as kids. Now we get to play with them as Imagineers. It doesn't get better than that."
A closer look at the same concept art: the ride's marquee is shown with a row of round letters spelling out "Lilypad Jams." Image: Disney/Pixar (artist concept)
You do not have to ride to catch the show
Lilypad is DJing for everyone in the backyard, whether or not they are riding. According to Disney, guests who are not riding can sing along as "DJ Lily" introduces and hypes tracks from her playlist, and she fills the gaps between songs with a few extras:
- A guessing game where you try to work out which toy she is doodling on her drawing app.
- Puzzles that guests help her unscramble.
- "Home videos" she has recorded of Toy Story characters.
Disney's concept art shows her as a large frog-framed screen beside the attraction, with guests gathered around it. Disney has not said exactly where the screen will sit.
Riders on Alien Swirling Saucers (file photo). Photo: Disney
The timing
Lilypad's Jams starts Friday, September 25. Toy Story 5 starts streaming on Disney+ two days earlier, on Wednesday, September 23.
Disney's announcement does not say whether the current soundtrack stays in rotation or how long the new one will run, so we will be watching for that once the music goes live.
Sources
Image credits: Concept art by Disney/Pixar (artist concept only); ride photo by Disney. All images via the Disney Parks Blog.
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