Disney Sing Along Songs – Disneyland Fun
Disney Sing Along Songs – Disneyland Fun was released on VHS on August 14, 1990, as a tie-in Disneyland’s 35th Anniversary. At the time of its release, I was working in a video store. The store was not prepared for the level of demand for this tape. I wasn’t prepared for how hard I would fall for this tape.
We sold tapes in our store and our initial shipment was ten tapes. As soon as we played the screening copy we had set aside, they quickly began to sell. By the time lunchtime rolled around, we were down to a single tape. At that point, we had only played the tape twice in the store, but I knew I had to have it. So using my employee discount I purchased that last copy.
Disneyland Fun was expertly directed by Michael Dimich. Dimich has had a very long career as a director, working on projects as varied as Kids Incorporated, MADtv, and The Real Housewives of Orange County.
Disney Sing Along Songs
Disney Sing Along Songs are a video series that was released on VHS, laserdisc, and DVD. Each release featured musical numbers from various Disney movies, TV shows, and attractions. The sing-along aspect of the video are lyrics at the bottom of the screen that are animated with a bouncing ball element to help you follow along and sing at home.
In total, they would release 32 Disney Sing Along Songs. Disneyland Fun was the eighth release in the series. What made it special is that it was different than its predecessors. Instead of animation, we had live-action characters in costume shot at Disneyland.
They would eventually release other Sing Along Songs with this format, but for many years, Disneyland Fun, would be unique in its format.
Track List
Disneyland Fun has 13 songs. This includes the Disney Sing Along Songs Intro. I count that because it is entertaining and I would never skip it while watching it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the bouncing ball, but the words are pretty easy to remember after repeated watching
Disney Sing Along Songs Intro
Whistle While You Work
Step in Time
I’m Walking Right Down the Middle of Main Street U.S.A.
Following the Leader
The Great Outdoors
Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah
Rumbly in My Tumbly
It’s a Small World
Makin’ Memories
Grim Grinning Ghosts
The Character Parade
When You Wish Upon a Star
Disney Sing Along Songs Intro
The intro, written by Patrick DeRemer, features Professor Owl and his students. The Professor would appear in two animated Disney shorts, Melody and Toot, Whistle, Plunk, and Boom. Both of which are aptly about music education. Originally voiced by Bill Thompson, here this musical blue owl is voiced by Corey Burton.
As I mentioned they do not include lyrics to sing-along to, but I am including them here just in case you want to sing along.
Is everybody ready?
To sing-along!
With Disney Songs.
A Disney Sing-Along.
Now you at home can sing-along
With your favorite Disney song
We will play every note so you can sing-along.
Join right in, sing-along
With your favorite Disney song
Once you’ve heard every word
You’ll want to sing-along.
But I don’t know all the songs.
We’ll make sure you can’t go wrong.
Sing-along, one and all
Follow the bouncing ball.
You’ll find out before you’re done.
Music’s fun for everyone.
Join right in, sing-along
With Disney’s Sing-Along Songs.
Whistle While You Work
This segment starts with Goofy cleaning up Main Street and whistling, Whistle While You Work from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. This immortal Disney classic was written by Frank Churchill and Larry Morey.
As we continue deeper into the park we are introduced to many characters, all getting the park ready for guests. The song builds in intensity and speed as guests start to pour into the park right before the rope drop.
Step in Time
Mickey and Friends welcome the guests to the Happiest Place on Earth and Disneyland opens for the day. While Step in Time from Mary Poppins plays, we see footage of guests rushing to their favorite rides and queuing up. This is a remarkably honest look at the opening of a Disney Park and the music and action capture a bit of the chaos that park-goers find when they show up first thing in the morning.
Step in Time was written by Disney’s dynamic music duo, the Sherman Brothers.
I’m Walking Right Down the Middle of Main Street U.S.A.
I’m Walking Right Down the Middle of Main Street U.S.A. was composed by Stu Nunnery as part of the Main Street section of the stage show Disneyland Is Your Land. This show ran as part of Disneyland’s 30th Anniversary Celebration in 1985 and was performed at the Space Mountain Stage.
The version used here not all that different from the original. Only in this version, we get some great character action that includes Mary Poppins, Alice, the White Rabbit, and a whole lot more.
Following the Leader
Next, we join Donald Duck and a group of kids for a spirited round of Follow the Leader. The song used in this segment is Following the Leader by Oliver Wallace, Ted Sears, and Winston Hibler. Which part of the 1953 film Peter Pan.
Donald leads the kids on a romp through Adventureland with a detour on Jungle Cruise where the bulk of the song plays out. They finish their adventure as they are presumably about to board the Rafts to Tom Sawyer’s Island.
The Great Outdoors
The song The Great Outdoors was not familiar to me before I saw Disneyland Fun. That is because it was the opening song of Country Bear Vacation Hoedown. Which was a seasonal overlay of Country Bear Jamboree at Disneyland that has now been discontinued.
Written by George Wilkins, the song is sung by the Country Bears while some kids enjoy the great outdoors playing on Tom Sawyer’s Island.
Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah
Featuring Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah from Song of the South which was written by Allie Wrubel and Ray Gilbert. This segment covers multiple Disneyland attractions including Star Tour, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, and more. The footage is great and the editing is kinetic, but the best part is the rap break that happens during the Splash Mountain portion of the segment. It is very different from the rest of the song and really shakes things up.
Rumbly in My Tumbly
Another Sherman Brothers Classic! Rumbly in My Tumbly from The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is sung by Pooh Bear himself as tours the many restaurants and food carts at Disneyland. He keeps trying to get his hands on something but just can’t seem to catch a break.
It’s a Small World
The Sherman Brothers strike again. It’s a Small World takes us through the various attractions in Fantasyland, with special attention given to the namesake of the song.
Having never been to Disneyland when I was first exposed to Disneyland Fun, I was particularly fascinated by the Storybook Land Canal Boats. This is why it was one of the first attractions I rode when I visited Disneyland.
Makin’ Memories
Makin’ Memories stresses the importance of capturing your moments at Disneyland on film. Written by the Sherman Brothers, it was originally used for the pre-show for the Kodak-sponsored attraction Magic Journeys.
Magic Journeys premiered in 1982 as an opening day attraction at Journey Into Imagination in EPCOT Center. In 1984 it had a two year run at Disneyland before being replaced by Captain EO.
Grim Grinning Ghosts
This is my favorite segment of Disneyland Fun. It takes place in the spooky foreground of Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion with a slew of villains and scary trees dancing around in the fog to Grim Grinning Ghosts.
Grim Grinning Ghosts is the theme song for the Haunted Mansion and was composed by Buddy Baker with lyrics by Xavier Atencio.
The best part of this segment? It is the Ghost Donald who appears without explanation and dances with all the other villains. I am not sure why, but his inclusion here makes me smile.
The Character Parade
The Character Parade was written by Gerry Dallesandro and used at Disney parks in the Seventies and Eighties in connection with parades. This segment leans heavily into the parade theme showing footage from the Party Gras Parade which ran in 1990 to celebrate Disneyland’s 35th Anniversary.
This colorful parade with its giant balloons would move to Tokyo Disneyland in 1991 until 1993 before being retired.
When You Wish Upon a Star
What an apt song to end on. When You Wish Upon a Star was the signature song for Disney’s Pinocchio. It was written by Ned Washington and Leigh Harline.
It is the end of the night at Disneyland and the various character say goodbye to departing guests while fireworks light up the sky over the Magic Kingdom. Then they all turn and walk into the castle, Mickey and Minnie bringing up the rear, to get some rest and spread more Disney magic the next day.
After its initial VHS release in 1990, Disneyland Fun would get a re-release on April 22, 1994. It would only be available on VHS until September of 2005 when it received a much-deserved DVD release. You can still find it on DVD and of course uploaded by fans online.
