Ah, the official start of the Christmas season! Last year I marked the occasion with a brief love letter to my favorite WDW Christmas music loop, and this year I am excited to carry on that tradition!
Funny thing is, I may seem to contradict myself here – when I declared my (strong, continuing!) love for the Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge Christmas music loop in 2018, I provided as part of my reasoning its uniqueness. In the process I noted that a lot of holiday loops can sound a little generic, being familiar renditions of carols and all that.
Well, this year I want to share with you my second favorite WDW holiday music loop, which consists of… familiar renditions of carols.
Sort of.
I’m talkin’ ’bout the Echo Lake loop in Hollywood Studios, where they’re not just playing carols – they’re playing old Hollywood carols. Think Dean Martin, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, etc. As a huge proponent of anything you might see on TCM, I’m into it.
And! While a lot of the songs are indeed well-known carols, several are remnants of a bygone era. I mean, maybe you already knew Kay Starr’s “The Man with the Bag,” but I did NOT, and I freakin’ love it. Dean Martin’s “Marshmallow World” – nifty. Ella Fitzgerald’s “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” – iconic. Ella Fitzgerald’s “Christmas Island” – I must learn this immediately.
Like 50% of it is a love letter to Ella Fitzgerald, which I am fine with. Which reminds me – she also does my all-time favorite carol, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.” Sure, so do a lot of people. But she does it WITH THE ORIGINAL, CORRECT LYRICS. When I tell you how much the fake happy lyrics irk me… Hallelujah, indeed!
So yeah. Give Echo Lake’s Christmas music a spin. Or just play AKL’s for the 87th time this month; I’ll be right behind you.
Don’t forget, you can follow FRoA on Twitter @fairestrunofall and on Instagram @fairestrunofall. If you have any questions or thoughts, leave a comment or email fairestrunofall@gmail.com. See ya real soon!