Vote of the Week: What is the Best Theme Song for a Theme Park Attraction?

By Robert Niles: What's your favorite song in a theme park attraction? Music provides an integral part of many theme park attractions, but on a handful of classic attractions, music is more than an accompaniment. On these rides and shows, theme songs help tell the story and provide a memorable "earworm" that stays with us, reminding us of our visit for many days to come.

But which of these theme songs is the best theme song? Let's leave out the many songs composed for various live shows, area soundtrack loops, and opening ceremonies. We're talking about theme songs, with lyrics, written specifically for theme park attractions, and that did not appear previously in some associated movie.

We've got so many candidates for you today that we're splitting the choice into two votes: one featuring theme songs written before 1970, and another for songs that debuted after that date. To help you pass the time on this Friday in December, we've also selected video clips of each of these songs, so you can kill a half an hour at your computer enjoying some of the best music ever written for theme parks.

So, please, listen to the tunes, pick your favorites, and vote! We will put the two winners up against each other in a champion's vote next week. Here are the candidates:

Vote #1: What's the Best Theme Park Attraction Song from before 1970?

The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room

From The Enchanted Tiki Room

Music and lyrics by Richard and Robert Sherman (theme song starts at 1:48)

It's a Small World (After All)

From It' a Small World

Music and lyrics by Richard and Robert Sherman

There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow

From Carousel of Progress

Music and lyrics by Richard and Robert Sherman

Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)

From Pirates of the Caribbean

Lyrics by Xavier Atencio, Music by George Bruns

Grim Grinning Ghosts

From The Haunted Mansion

Lyrics by Xavier Atencio, Music by Buddy Baker

Vote #2: What's the Best Theme Park Attraction Song since 1970?

If You Had Wings

From If You Had Wings

Music and Lyrics by Buddy Baker

Golden Dream

From The American Adventure

Lyrics by Randy Bright, additional lyrics by Lynn Hart, Music by Robert Moline

It's Fun to Be Free

From World of Motion

Lyrics by Xavier Atencio, Music by Buddy Baker

One Little Spark

From Journey Into Imagination

Music and lyrics by Richard and Robert Sherman

Compass of Your Heart

From Sindbad's Storybook Voyage

Music and lyrics by Alan Menken

Debate the choices in the comments. And thank you, as always, for being part of the Theme Park Insider community. May you happily be humming these tunes all week!

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