Alien Swirling Saucers' Lilypad Soundtrack Is Live, and One of Its 10 Songs Is an Instrumental Taylor Swift Track From Toy Story 5

Taylor Swift is now playing in Toy Story Land. Sort of.

Alien Swirling Saucers: Lilypad's Jams debuted at Disney's Hollywood Studios on Friday, September 25, and once the full setlist came out, it included a track Disney had not mentioned in its announcement: an instrumental version of Taylor Swift's "I Knew It, I Knew You."

Lilypad's screen outside the ride with "I Knew It, I Knew You" on her music player. Photo: WDW News Today

Where the Swift song comes from

Taylor Swift wrote and produced "I Knew It, I Knew You" with her longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff, and the song is featured in Toy Story 5, according to Disney Tourist Blog. The site says it was inspired by Jessie's story in the new film, a thread that started back in Toy Story 2.

Lilypad herself is a character from Toy Story 5, a frog-shaped smart tablet who now serves as the ride's DJ. When Disney announced the overlay on the Disney Parks Blog on September 16, it named remixed classics and two new original songs, but it did not name the Swift track. Our earlier story covers that announcement.

The full setlist

Each ride plays one randomly chosen song from the rotation. Here is the list as WDW News Today reported it:

• "Pizza Planet Promo" (new)
• "Spin It Back, Lilypad" (new)
• "You've Got a Friend in Me" (new remix)
• "We Belong Together" (new remix)
• "I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away"
• "Hay Un Amigo En Mi"
• "Partysaurus Rex Anthem"
• "I Knew It, I Knew You" (instrumental)
• "Woody's Roundup"
• "Buzz Beats!"

According to WDW News Today, every classic song on the list gets a remix for the ride. "Buzz Beats!" is a space-flavored track with famous Buzz Lightyear quotes worked in, and "Partysaurus Rex Anthem" takes its cue from the 2012 Toy Story Toons short and weaves in Rex quotes.

"Buzz Beats!" cued up on Lilypad's screen. Photo: WDW News Today

What got cut

When we covered the announcement, Disney had not said whether the old soundtrack would stay in rotation. Now we know: most of it is gone.

According to WDW News Today, the old list was "We Belong Together," two remixes of "You've Got a Friend in Me," "Ride Like the Wind, Bullseye!," "Zu-Zu (Ken's Theme)," "When She Loved Me," "Strange Things" and "Emperor Zurg's Planet." Only "We Belong Together" and "You've Got a Friend in Me" came back, both as new remixes.

What else is new

The entrance arch now carries a row of letter beads spelling out "Lilypad's Jams." Photo: WDW News Today

• A new banner: the entrance arch now carries the Lilypad's Jams name, in a banner WDW News Today describes as inspired by a friendship bracelet.
• A DJ for passersby: a larger-than-life Lilypad sits in a flowerbed outside the ride and plays songs from the setlist for guests walking by, so you can hear the music without riding.
• Screen extras: WDWMagic reports that Lilypad's screen runs texts, doodles, unscramble puzzles and "home videos." Disney's announcement had invited guests to guess her doodles and help with the puzzles, but WDWMagic noted that these sequences "play automatically and aren't influenced by guests interacting with her, at least from what we observed today."

Buzz Lightyear turns up in one of the "home videos" on Lilypad's screen. Photo: WDW News Today

Even the boss took a spin

Walt Disney World President Joe Schott rode the updated attraction, WDW News Today reported on Saturday. Schott wrote in his post, "To the Cast Members and Imagineers who make every spin around the galaxy fun, I knew you would make this update special for our Guests!"

One critic's take: too mellow

Tom Bricker of Disney Tourist Blog says he likes the song, but calls the instrumental "too mellow and laid back" for an overlay he reads as built to get guests dancing along. He guesses the instrumental choice came down to rights or royalties. He also points out that Walt Disney World has not announced an end date for the overlay, or whether there will be one.

So what's your call: is an instrumental Taylor Swift song a win for Toy Story Land, or would you rather have "Strange Things" back?

Sources

• WDW News Today, Taylor Swift Song, Full Set List Revealed for Alien Swirling Saucers at Disney's Hollywood Studios
• WDW News Today, Disney World President Joe Schott Rides Updated Alien Swirling Saucers at Walt Disney World
• WDWMagic, Alien Swirling Saucers: Lilypad's Jams Debuts at Disney's Hollywood Studios
• Disney Tourist Blog, Taylor Swift Song Makes Toy Story Land Debut at Disney World: Full Playlist for Lilypad's Jams Ride Overlay
• Disney Parks Blog, Lilypad Bringing New Music to Alien Swirling Saucers at Disney's Hollywood Studios

Image credits: All photos by WDW News Today.